Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.
At one point in her life, Jennette McCurdy was best known for her role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon TV series iCarly and Sam & Cat. But as an adult, McCurdy took a step away from acting and instead pursued her true dream since childhood: writing. McCurdy’s debut was a memoir entitled I’m Glad My Mom Died. It was a critical success that’s now being adapted into a television series. McCurdy is also releasing a novel in 2026. It seems like the upcoming year is going to be a very good one for the former child actor turned bestselling author. Here’s everything we know about the TV series and novel!
In July, Apple TV+ announced that they would be adapting McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died into a series. The 10-episode series will star and be executive produced by Jennifer Aniston. McCurdy will also serve as an executive producer as well as a writer and showrunner, alongside Ari Katcher (Ramy, Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show). The series is also coming together thanks to Sharon Horgan’s Merman, LuckyChap, Jerrod Carmichael, and Erica Kay.
According to Apple TV+’s press release, the series “will center on the codependent relationship between an 18-year-old actress in a hit kid’s show, and her narcissistic mother who relishes in her identity as ‘a starlet’s mother,’ set to be played by Aniston.” It does seem like the series might change the names and fictionalize some aspects of McCurdy’s story, but details about Aniston’s role and the rest of the series have yet to be announced.
All Access members can read about Jennette McCurdy’s upcoming novel below.
Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.
No release date has been announced for the series yet, but if we’re lucky, we’ll see it sometime in 2026. Fingers crossed!
One thing we’ll definitely be getting in 2026? A debut novel from McCurdy. The book, entitled Half His Age, is set to be published by Ballantine Books on January 20, 2026. It follows the story of Waldo, a seventeen-year-old girl who enters a relationship with her teacher. McCurdy describes it as a “novel about sex, class, consumerism, power, self-discovery…as seen through the eyes of one very lonely teenage girl. I really wanted to write about sex. I wanted to explore consumerism—rampant consumerism—and its effects on young people, as well as the complicated aspects of desire.”
McCurdy began work on the novel in 2023 and was inspired by the works of Lisa Taddeo and Ottessa Moshfegh. According to a Vogue interview, McCurdy is interested in stories that explore “suburban ennui, female desire, and complicated protagonists.” McCurdy describes her protagonist, Waldo, as “ravenous, horny, blunt… She has a voice that is entirely her own… I hope that people will really connect with Waldo. Growing up, I wish I had seen an 18-year-old character portrayed in this way.”
Half His Age is available for preorder now! And keep your eyes peeled for more details about the Apple TV+ adaptation of I’m Glad My Mom Died.
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