Netflix fans delighted as '10/10' TV adaptation of beloved 1975 romance novel is finally released

Daily Mail​

08-05-2025

Netflix fans have been left 'smiling and giggling' after a hotly-anticipated TV adaptation of a beloved 1975 romance novel was finally released.
Forever, an eight-part programme based on iconic author Judy Blume's book of the same name, hit the platform on Friday - with fans dubbing it '10/10'.
The 50-year-old romance, from the same writer behind timeless coming-of-age tales like Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, is a highly relatable story of first love.
In the TV adaptation, set in Los Angeles in 2018, two young athletes Keisha and Justin (Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr) experience romance for the first time together after meeting at a New Year's Eve party.
After one previous TV adaptation in 1978, this latest streaming version - created by American producer Mara Brock Akil, the mind behind beloved noughties show Girlfriends - has explicitly received Judy's blessing.
And fans have been completely charmed by the sweet love story it portrays, taking to X to gush at the adorable romance.
Forever, an eight-part programme based on iconic author Judy Blume's book of the same name hit the platform on Friday - with fans dubbing it '10/10'
Viewers penned: 'I'm smiling and giggling already. Justin and Keisha have natural chemistry'; 'Justin and Keisha are everything already'
'This show really a 10/10'; 'Oh my God, I'm literally giggling and kicking my feet'; 'Keisha and Justin have my heart already.'
'I'm on episode two and already loving it! Definitely finishing it today.' ; 'Not me already being on episode six.'
'Guys, I'm pacing myself. I just watched the first two episodes of Forever on Netflix and I have "aww-ed" and insane amount of times.'
Commenters were delighted to see the diverse casting too.
They shared: 'Whether you're a fan of young adult television or not, I really need everyone to tap into this because it is so rare for us to get authentic black romance stories these days, especially for black teenagers;
'This is it. This is what we need - a black teen romcom'; 'I just realised that is the first time I've seen a young black romance story like this. We really need more of these.'
Someone else chimed in: 'As a black man, I feel we need this! Hollywood has always had stories with white teens or young white adults showing love.'
Fans have been completely charmed by the sweet love story it portrays, taking to X (pictured) to gush at the adorable romance
Others (pictured) were quick to note the show's binge-worthy story, having flown through several episodes despite it only being released today
Commenters (pictured) were delighted to see African-American actors in the lead roles too
Producer and showrunner Mara told Netflix news website Tudum Judy inspired her own writing style: 'She was one of the first writers I read that dared to be honest about the human condition in young people...
'I'm honoured to reimagine one of my favourite books, Forever...'
And Judy herself is delighted it is Mara at the helm: 'I'm thrilled that Mara has chosen to tell this story through her own lens.
'It is gratifying to know that, 50 years after its release, the love story at the core of Forever... is still resonating with audiences.'
The classic tale got many young women through their adolescence in the eighties and nineties - who then passed it on to their daughters.
But the novel has long been the subject of controversy, frequently censored for its frank portrayal of teen sexual experience.
Mara first brought up adapting Forever... in 2020 - but had to convince the author: 'Judy wasn't sure that it could translate in this modern era, given how exposed young people are to sexuality and the topic of love.'
But once the pair talked more, they 'resonated', Mara said, as the timelessness of the story became clear.
She explained: 'All the questions we have to sort through - the first time you have sex, your first kiss, the first time you say "I love you" - it resonated then and it resonates now.'
The original novel tells the story of Kath and Michael, two New Jersey high schoolers on the brink of graduation who have their first experience of sex together - but it ends up being more satisfactory for him than her, the story's narrator.
But instead of seventies New Jersey, this small-screen adaptation takes us to sunny Los Angeles in 2018.
It is where so many young people pilgrimage to in search of their dreams, Mara explained, so it only further reinforces the story's themes - of thinking big, in life and love.
And while the entire cast of the original novel is white, the leads here are played by black actors, with Mara known for centering African-American stories throughout her television career.
She told the Telegraph she created her beloved sitcom Girlfriends in 2000 as a reaction to Sex And The City: 'On that show, black people had no seat at the table.'
One challenge Mara faced in adapting the story was how to portray the changed context of sex and relationships now - one component of which is the greater discourse around assault and consent.
She explained: 'In the book, Kath is the most vulnerable, as a young woman trying to figure out her place in the world.
'But I'd argue that today it's young black men who are vulnerable.'
With two teenage sons herself, with her husband Salim Akil, also a producer and director, she continued: 'I find it heartbreaking that before you can talk to them about the birds and the bees, you have to introduce the idea of rape.
'You have to help them navigate all these complexities around language and behaviour and that's before they've even figured out if the girl likes them.
'So, once I'd realised that was how we could tell the story, we were off to the races.'