Series · Review ·
East of Eden
Zoe Kazan's seven-episode East of Eden widens Steinbeck's novel to the full Trask story, and critics mostly rave, especially about Florence Pugh's Cathy and Hoon Lee's Lee. They split on a softer Cathy and on a grim, slow pace.
A rich, serious adaptation that stops just short of a masterpiece. It earns four stars.
Created by Zoe Kazan · 2026 · 7 episodes, about an hour each · Netflix
The setup
John Steinbeck's 1952 novel is the story of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, in California's Salinas Valley, told across generations and built around the old Cain and Abel story. Most people know only the 1955 film, which covered the back half of the book. Zoe Kazan's seven-episode series goes wider. Christopher Abbott plays Adam Trask, Mike Faist his brother Charles, Joseph Zada the son Caleb, and Florence Pugh the enigmatic Cathy Ames. Hoon Lee plays Lee, a character the film left out. The cast also includes Ciarán Hinds and Martha Plimpton. That is the first act, and this review stops there.
What works
The reaction is warm, and it is strongest on the ambition. On Rotten Tomatoes the series opened at roughly nine in ten positive reviews, and critics keep saying it understands why the book matters in a way the film did not. The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg says as much, and the AV Club goes further and calls it a new standard for literary adaptation on television.
With East Of Eden, Kazan has built a towering new standard for what literary adaptations for TV could and should be.
Hunter Ingram, AV Club
The performances get the most space. Pugh's Cathy is described as terrifying, and Variety's Alison Herman pairs her with Hoon Lee as standout work that stays with you. The Bay Area Reporter calls Lee's role the emotional centre of the series. Seven hours also give room to the sprawl of the novel and the question at its heart: whether people are shaped by what they inherit or by what they choose.
What doesn't
Here the critics split. The sharpest argument is about Cathy. In the novel she is close to a born monster; the series gives her more context, and the Wall Street Journal's John Anderson reads that as a failure of nerve. Others defend it: one viewer-facing piece argues that understanding her is not the same as excusing her, and that it makes her more frightening. Newsday found the whole thing grim and slow. TV Guide calls it a fine, full adaptation that never quite becomes a masterpiece. The Bay Area Reporter finds Abbott's Adam one-note, and says a narrative device in the last two episodes is confusing and distracting.
Is it for you?
Tap what applies. This is a reading of the reviews, not a prediction.
Where to watch
All seven episodes arrived on Netflix on 1 October 2026. Availability varies by country, so check your local listing.
Sources: Forbes (round-up of critics), Bay Area Reporter, CinemaBlend, NSS Magazine. Quotes from AV Club, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the Wall Street Journal, Newsday and TV Guide are as quoted in the Forbes round-up.