Three Women, the latest offering from STARZ, is based on the 2019 book of the same name by Lisa Taddeo. Considered to be a groundbreaking work by Taddeo, the non-fiction book was lauded for its originality and portrayal of female sexuality.
The series and book are based on true events. Taddeo had dedicated eight years of her life to deeply studying the lives of her subjects, namely, Lina, an unhappy Indiana housewife; Maggie, a young waitress who was allegedly groomed by her high school teacher; and Sloane, a New England restaurateur who had quite an unconventional agreement with her husband.
The Three Women series, created by Taddeo herself came after much anticipation and premiered on September 13, 2024. Since the show follows the source material very closely and the author herself is associated with the show’s creation, Three Women tells the true story of Lina, Maggie, and Sloan.
Three Women introduces a character inspired by Taddeo
Since both the show and book are inspired by real-life events, it is not surprising that the show adds another real-life character to the list of women whose lives are being explored in Three Women.
While the show is about Maggie (Gabrielle Creevy), Sloane (DeWanda Wise), and Lina (Betty Gilpin), a fourth character named Gia is also focused on in the show. Gia’s character is inspired by Taddeo and Shailene Woodley plays the role.
Gia’s character is a writer in the show just like Taddeo and she works as the narrator and serves as the link between the viewers and the three main characters.
Three Women traces the origin of the book
Three Women, the show, opens with Gia at the home of Gay Talese (James Naughton), who is the writer of Thy Neighbour’s Wife. She is there to discuss her latest book and bluntly tells him that if she wants to write about sex as Gay did, she must have sex with married men for the experience.
While this was not mentioned in the book, Taddeo herself confirmed that a version of this exact conversation did take place in her real life, which further shows how the series is rooted in true events.
The series then goes on to explore how like Taddeo’s own journey into writing the book, Gia also realizes that she does not need to write her book from a male perspective and can rather offer a detailed portrayal of female sexuality.
Taddeo offers insight into the true stories that led to Three Women
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Taddeo talked about how difficult it was for her to adapt Three Women for the screen as it is a story of real people. She said,
“When there are real people involved, it’s incredibly nerve-racking. I didn’t write about people who are famous; I wrote about real people with private lives. I didn’t want anything I wrote to affect their trajectory unless it would be in a positive way, which I did feel I could do with Maggie.”
She further mentioned that despite the difficulties, she did feel delighted upon getting this opportunity to tell the stories of these women through a different medium. Since the show is likely to reach more women, Taddeo believes that would perhaps make them feel less alone.
Three Women can be streamed on STARZ.
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