Kait Mae

With the news of Netflix dropping The Selection adaptation, I decided to imagine what the perfect adaptation would be like for me. So, I went back through the series and put in some thought and effort into this hypothetical situation.

How Would I Structure the Show?

A television show or movie could work for this beloved series of mine. That said, I’d much rather see a show since it allows more exploration into characters and more time with the story.

After revisiting the series and marking where I’d separate the book into episodes, I’d make each book in the original series a season, with the last two books into a spin-off show. Each episode would be 30 minutes, and each season would consist of about 16 episodes.

As for the short stories, I’d make those into specials (or simply put, short films). The inspiration for this was Netflix’s Free Rein winter and Valentine’s Day specials. They were short, but not episode-length short – think Disney Channel Original Movie-length at most. This would allow those stories to get told but not get lost within the show as flashbacks or one episode within a season.

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What’s the Vibe I’m Going For Here?

In the perfect world, this show would perfectly balance the royaltycore I keep seeing all over TikTok and light academia. There’s just something about the combination of those aesthetics that reminds me of The Selection.

The costuming would have to include more retro pieces that lower castes would wear and custom couture pieces that upper castes would. That said, we’re not going Reign’s route of just putting all the girls in popular prom dresses of the time.

I’ve even got a costume designer in mind for the whole she-bang: Alexandra Byrne. She’s worked on several types of productions, from Marvel to Emma. She’s proven she can dress royalty and upper-class characters in several of her films, and I’d love to see her tackle America’s style. I think she’d capture that iconic blue dress perfectly.

And Who Would I Cast?

You’re probably tired of me saying this, but unknown and lesser-known actors should have the roles. But there are a few people I could see as specific characters.

First and foremost, let’s get America Singer out of the way. My biggest crutch is I want her red hair to look natural even if she isn’t a natural redhead. After searching several fan casts online, I’ve landed on a three-way tie between Samantha Cormier, Sadie Sink, and Hannah Dodd.

I’ll be frank – I’ve only seen Samantha in The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, and she was good in her role – but she looks just how I imagined America when I read the book. As for Sadie and Hannah, both have shown how well they can handle both emotional and witty sides of themselves. The only question is, can all of them hold up to America Singer’s singing ability?

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Moving on to Maxon, I agree with several people that Michael Provost would do well in the role, but my frontrunners have to be Logan Shroyer or Owen Joyner. I feel Owen could bring the softer and humorous side to Maxon, whom we all love, based on his past Nickelodeon and Julie and the Phantoms roles. As for Logan, when I saw his projects, I thought he had that charming side that Maxon needs.

Now, what about Aspen? I was in the same boat as Maxon and agreed with two popular fan casts. My frontrunner is Finn Roberts based on looks alone, but Matt Cornett is my second choice. Finn was in Netflix’s Greenhouse Academy, and his character reminded me so much of Aspen at several points during the series. As for Matt Cornett, I feel he could bring the charm to a character that has to compete with Maxon.

Let’s move on to Marlee, one of my favorite characters of all time. I once saw someone fan cast Isabel May as her, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that. You would recognize her from Netflix’s Alexa and Katie or Yellowstone spin-off 1883. She’s already shown she can handle emotional scenes, so it’s not too far a jump for her to play America’s best friend in the castle.

On to iconic Selected – Celeste Newsome. I couldn’t find an actress I thought fit perfectly for the role, but I found someone who looked like the Celeste I imagined while reading. That model is Cindy Kimberly. Now, I have no idea if she can act, but if she can – I’m all for her playing The Selection’s resident mean girl.

That’s my hypothetical adaptation of The Selection series. Here’s to hoping a studio gets the rights and does it justice – unlike The CW’s two tries.