Netflix Is Officially Adapting 44-Year-Old Bestselling Memoir Into Major Series

6 days ago 13

Published Jul 24, 2026, 2:36 PM EDT

Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty.

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Netflix is officially adapting a 44-year-old bestselling book by Marcelo Rubens Paiva into a major series.

Marcelo Rubens Paiva is the author of the 2015 memoir I'm Still Here, which was adapted into the 2024 film following a mother and activist coping with the forced disappearance of her husband, a dissident politician, during the military dictatorship in Brazil. That film won the Oscar for Best International Feature, receiving additional nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress (Fernanda Torres).

Now, according to Deadline, Happy Old Year by Marcelo Rubens Paiva is being adapted into a Netflix series, produced by Amaia Filmes and O2 Filmes, the latter label known for City of God (2002). Paiva, Haná Vaisman (Director of Scripted Series for Brazil at Netflix), Diane Maia from Amaia, and Andrea Barata Ribeiro (O2 Filmes) shared the following statements:

Paiva: Happy Old Year has already been adapted into a play, a musical and an opera, and now, finally, this work, which is so vital to Brazilian culture, is coming to streaming. I’m thrilled to see another marriage between Brazilian literature and the audiovisual arts, bringing our stories from the pages to the screen.

Haná Vaisman: Happy Old Year is a story that manages to reach the universal theme of what it means to be young, from a highly personal account. Perhaps that’s why it created such a strong emotional connection with an entire generation of readers. With this adaptation, we want those who already know the story to be moved by seeing it on screen, and new generations of fans to fall in love with it.

Diane Maia and Andrea Barata Ribeiro: Adapting Happy Old Year for the screen is also a way of engaging with Marcelo’s journey and the courage he had to transform his personal experience into universal literature. There are stories we produce, and there are stories we feel a true need to tell. It’s an honor, as well as a responsibility, to bring it to the screen with all the subtlety and truth it demands.

More to come...