The logline for “Never Let Me Go” makes it sound like the series would have gone in a very different direction from Mark Romanek’s adaptation. The film centered on three friends, Kathy H, Ruth C, and Tommy D (played by Mulligan, Knightley, and Garfield, respectively), living on a farm as organ donors and recalling their youth. The fact that they’re clones, which the TV logline gives away outright, is a twist that only comes in the second act of the movie, while the idea that they’re living on borrowed time as their organs are harvested serves to reflect human mortality.
In the film, as far as I can recall, there’s no character named Thora who sparks a revolution in the outside world. This almost makes the “Never Let Me Go” series sound like HBO’s “Westworld,” with clones substituted for robotic hosts. “Westworld” was also preemptively canceled last November, just shy of its final season, and now it and Viola Prettejohn’s previous show, “The Nevers,” are headed to FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television). Those series at least had the benefit of one or more seasons to tell their story, whereas “Never Let Me Go” has now joined the ranks of shows that have entered development and been greenlit, only for the network to suddenly back out.
It’s been years since I watched Romanek’s movie, but I do remember there was a lot of euphemistic talk of characters “completing” their organ donations before going the way of all flesh. It would seem “Never Let Me Go” has indeed completed its donations and will now go the way of a canceled clone adaptation.