By Mashable | Created at 2026-09-02 15:16:51 | Updated at 2026-09-20 21:04:10
2 weeks ago
Florence Pugh stars as the villainous Cathy Ames.
By
Belen Edwards
Entertainment Reporter
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
on September 2, 2026
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Florence Pugh steps into the shoes of one of literature's great villains in East of Eden, an upcoming limited series from Netflix.
Based on John Steinbeck's magnum opus, East of Eden is written and executive produced by Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks, The Big Sick). Notably, her grandfather Elia Kazan directed the 1955 East of Eden movie starring James Dean. However, while that film only adapted the final section of the novel, Zoe Kazan's series looks to adapt more of Steinbeck's multigenerational epic, with an extra focus on Cathy Ames (Pugh).
Characterized as pure evil and a monster with a "malformed soul," Cathy is East of Eden's primary antagonist. She and her husband Adam Trask (Christopher Abbott) settle in the Salinas Valley, where she gives birth to twins Cal (Joseph Zada) and Aron (Joe Anders). What follows is a sprawling riff on the Cain and Abel story from Genesis.
East of Eden's first full-length trailer introduces the key players from each generation, including Adam and his half-brother Charles (Mike Faist), Trask family servant Lee (Hoon Lee), and Cal and Aron. At the center of it all is Pugh's commanding take on Cathy. Jo Van Fleet won an Academy Award for her role as Cathy in the 1955 East of Eden. Could Pugh be in for similar acclaim?
East of Eden premieres Oct. 1 on Netflix.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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