The novel was partially inspired by the crash of Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 on May 12, 2010, which resulted in the deaths of all 103 passengers and crew except a 9-year-old boy.[1]
Premise
Young Edward Adler is the lone survivor of a plane crash that takes the lives of his family. He and others affected by the tragedy connect with one another to cope with their respective losses and pain.
Cast
Main
Taylor Schilling as Lacey Curtis, the aunt of Edward who becomes the guardian of him when her sister dies in a plane crash.
Colin O'Brien as Edward Adler, the sole survivor of a plane crash.
Anna Uzele as Adriana Washington, the granddaughter of a senator who died in the plane crash
Idris DeBrand as Kojo, a Ghanaian whose sister died in the plane crash and comes to America to get his niece.
Carter Hudson as John Curtis, Lacey's husband and co-guardian of Edward.
Maxwell Jenkins as Jordan Adler, Edward's brother who died in the plane crash, who had a secret girlfriend.
It was announced in February 2022 that Apple TV+ had given a ten episode greenlight for the series, which Jason Katims developed from Ann Napolitano's novel. Colin O'Brien was cast in the title role, with Connie Britton and Taylor Schilling also announced to star. Fisher Stevens was set to serve as director for the pilot episode.[3] Additional casting was announced in March 2022 as production began in New York City, with filming taking place at Central Park.[4][5] In April, Brian d'Arcy James was cast for a recurring role.[6] On April 19, 2023, it was reported that the series was canceled after one season.[7]
Release
Dear Edward was released on February 3, 2023, with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.[8]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 57% approval rating with an average rating of 6/10, based on 30 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Sincerely acted and occasionally quite moving, Dear Edward nevertheless bears the signature of overdetermined schmaltz that's too intent on wringing tears."[9]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 61 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]