Outer Banks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds director Valerie Weiss has signed up to direct Secret of Life, a new four-part series based on the life of acclaimed scientist Rosalind Franklin.
Franklin, who died in 1958 of ovarian cancer at the age of just 37, was instrumental in discovering 'the secret of life,' the double helix structure of DNA.
Her contributions to the understanding of DNA were largely unrecognised during her life, and she has been described as a 'wronged heroine' and even the 'Sylvia Plath of molecular biology,' while fellow molecular biologist James Watson stated that he believed if she had lived, Rosalind would have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The series is written by Rosalind's great niece, Jessica Franklin, and will cover Rosalind's extraordinary achievements across three core sciences as she worked in Paris and London studying the molecular structures of carbons, which laid the foundations of nanotechnology.
"Bringing my Great Aunt’s story to life in way she herself would be proud of, has been both the greatest challenge and the greatest honour of my life," Franklin said. "With her lived experience as a scientist in Rosalind’s own field, coupled with her uniquely nuanced understanding of the complexities of human nature, Valerie [Weiss] is the ideal person to finally give Rosalind’s story and character the justice that history has denied her."
Weiss has a PhD in biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology and a master's degree in medical sciences from Harvard Medical School. Her directorial career has also included work on Suits, Chicago Med and Scandal.
" I feel like I was born to bring Rosalind’s story to the screen," she explained. "She was my hero since I first studied biology. Her battle against misogyny and antisemitism in the halls of Kings could have been all consuming. But ultimately, her success teaches us that the future of science depends on an ability to replace ego with a shared commitment to discovery, progress, and peace."
Rosalind Franklin has previously been portrayed on screen and stage, including in the 1987 TV movie Life Story, in which she was played by Juliet Stevenson.
The play Photograph 51 is about Rosalind and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. In the original production of the play in London in 2015, Nicole Kidman starred as Rosalind. The play has now been adapted for the screen, with Natalie Portman starring in a movie which is being directed by The King's Speech's Tom Hooper and is due for release in 2026.
Secret of Life is coming soon.
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