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Rosalind Franklin TV Series In The Works From Groundbreaking Scientist’s Great-Niece & ‘Outer Banks’ Director Valerie Weiss
A television series about Rosalind Franklin, the groundbreaking British scientist whose work was instrumental in understanding DNA's double helix structure, is in development. Written by Franklin's great-niece Jessica Franklin and directed by Valerie Weiss (of Outer Banks), the project will examine Franklin's life more broadly than the concurrent Natalie Portman film adaptation. The series matters because Franklin, who died at just 37 in 1958, has historically been under-recognised for her contributions, though 2023 scientific consensus now acknowledges her as an equal player alongside Watson and Crick in the DNA discovery.
The production is being handled by Elizabeth Bay Productions and will be marketed at MIPCOM Cannes by WestEnd Films. Franklin's structural virology work not only revolutionised molecular biology but later facilitated Covid-19 vaccine development. The casting director who worked on Nicole Kidman's acclaimed stage performance in Photograph 51 is leading the television project. Jessica Franklin described the undertaking as "the greatest challenge and the greatest honour of my life," whilst director Weiss stated that Franklin had been her hero since studying biology, and expressed commitment to giving her story "the justice that history has denied her."
In short
- TV series on Rosalind Franklin in development with Outer Banks director Valerie Weiss
- Written by Franklin's great-niece, distinct from upcoming Natalie Portman film
- Franklin's DNA work finally gaining proper scientific recognition decades after her death
Explained simply
Rosalind Franklin was a British scientist who used X-ray images to study the structure of DNA, the molecule that carries genetic instructions. Her work, including an image known as Photograph 51, helped reveal DNA’s double-helix shape.
In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published a model of DNA’s structure, drawing on evidence produced by Franklin and other researchers. Franklin died in 1958, aged 37, before the Nobel Prize for the discovery was awarded to Watson, Crick and Maurice Wilkins; debate over how her contribution was recognised has continued.
Franklin also made important contributions to the study of viruses, helping establish methods later used in research on diseases. Her scientific work is part of the wider story of molecular biology and vaccine development.
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