Peacock has handed a series order to the long-in-development adaptation of Kennedy Ryan’s novel Before I Let Go. The project was announced in 2023 and has now received an official greenlight from the NBCUniversal streamer, moving the work past the development phase and into production prep.
At the center of the story are Yasmen and Josiah Wade, a divorced couple who continue to co-parent following a series of losses and crises that fractured their marriage. The two attempt to rebuild their respective lives, but daily proximity and an unresolved bond resurface desires, wounds, and the possibility of reconciliation. The series will thus operate within contemporary romance territory, but with a premise grounded in the emotional fallout of loss, divorce, and family life after separation.
Before I Let Go is the first title in the Skyland literary trilogy, among Ryan’s best-known works. The author has written more than twenty books across seven series and maintains a first-look deal with NBCUniversal. Bringing this novel to the small screen is therefore not merely the acquisition of a single IP: for Peacock, it represents an entry into a literary world that could offer further adaptable material should the first installment find its audience.
A creative team already tied to Universal
The production setup brings together figures who have long worked within the Universal ecosystem. Kennedy Ryan and Malcolm D. Lee created the series and co-wrote the pilot. Lee, who will direct the project, is known for films in The Best Man franchise, Girls Trip, and Space Jam: A New Legacy; he previously collaborated with Peacock on The Best Man: The Final Chapters and developed an adaptation of Jasmine Guillory’s novel Drunk on Love at the streamer.
Day-to-day leadership of the series will be entrusted to sisters Attica and Tembi Locke, who will write the show and serve as showrunners. The pair previously adapted Tembi Locke's memoir for Netflix into From Scratch. Attica Locke also brings television credits that include When They See Us, Empire, and Little Fires Everywhere. Their first-look deal with Universal Television makes the project a rather direct example of studio strategy: leveraging established creative relationships to cut down on lead times and uncertainties when assembling the team behind a new series.
Executive producers also include Dominique Telson for Blackmaled Productions, Lee's company, Mike Jackson and John Legend for Get Lifted Film Co., as well as Debra Martin Chase. Production will be handled by Universal Global Television and Universal Television, two sister entities within NBCUniversal. It is an integrated pipeline, from rights ownership and development through to the streaming destination, allowing the group to retain a significant degree of creative and industrial control in-house.
The significance of an order arriving after three years
The announcement signals, above all, that Peacock has decided to commit all the way to production on a project that lingered for a long time in its pipeline. Years can pass between initial development and a series order, and not all announced adaptations reach this milestone: rewrites, shifting priorities, budgets, and editorial repositioning can stall a title before filming begins. In this case, the arrival of the Lockes at the creative helm and the involvement of Lee and Ryan in writing the pilot give the series a more defined authorial foundation compared to its initial phase.
For Peacock, which competes with platforms boasting greater critical mass, the move addresses the need for recognizable productions targeted at specific viewer communities. Romance is a genre with a highly engaged following in publishing, across social media, and in book clubs, while stories about second chances at love and blended families have proven they can work well in a serialized format. Naturally, the novel's following alone is not enough to guarantee streaming success: the adaptation will need to find an audiovisual form capable of expanding beyond the readership without losing the elements that shaped the book's identity.
The author's involvement in the creative process is also significant in this regard. Ryan is directly participating in the pilot's script and executive production, rather than simply handing over the rights. This does not imply a literal transposition, nor does it eliminate the standard adaptation choices required by serialized television, but it creates a direct link to the original vision and the community of readers that supported the Skyland series.
A crowded market for romance adaptations
The order for Before I Let Go comes at a time when romance novels and relationship dramas have become increasingly coveted material for streaming platforms. Part of the reason is editorial: well-known books offer an easily summarized premise, characters with an established following, and a springboard for marketing. Yet the competitive advantage is not automatic. On screen, romance must sustain longer narrative arcs, strike the right balance between intimacy and pacing, and, above all, stand out from a growing number of titles targeting the exact same audience.
Ryan's novel starts from a less conventional premise than many first-love stories: Yasmen and Josiah have already lived through a relationship, a marriage, and a breakup. Their story does not simply revolve around winning each other over, but around whether it is possible to rebuild a relationship after events that fundamentally altered its foundations. This is the aspect that could set the adaptation apart, provided the series preserves the space needed to explore both characters beyond just the romantic dynamic.
The production team also points to a dedicated focus on depicting an African American love story—a space where the US audiovisual market has often swung between major hits and stretches of limited production continuity. Lee brings proven experience in portraying Black American ensembles and relationships, while the Lockes have explored themes of family, identity, and grief in their previous work. Bringing these sensibilities together with Ryan's voice gives Peacock one of the strongest foundations on which to build the series' positioning.
What the project still lacks
For now, the series order comes without specifics on episode count, production schedule, budget, release date, or international distribution. No cast announcements have been made either, including the leads for Yasmen and Josiah Wade. These details are critical: they will shape not only the show's creative direction, but also how Peacock positions it within a content offering where star power continues to carry weight.
It also remains to be seen how closely the adaptation will look ahead to the subsequent Skyland novels. While the book being the first in a trilogy provides potential runway, it is no guarantee of future seasons or pre-planned adaptations. The immediate focus will inevitably center on the pilot, casting, and defining the tone. Peacock acquired the project in development three years ago; with the pickup now secured, the next test is turning that internal backing into a series capable of carving out a lasting place in its catalog.
