Leonard Cohen miniseries to focus on 60-70s

Actor and musician Alex Wolff will assume the role of Leonard Cohen, one of the century’s most beloved Jewish musicians, during a crucial early period in his artistic development in an upcoming miniseries.

So Long, Marianne will follow a young Cohen during his years-long relationship with Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen, which spanned from the early 1960s through the ’70s. Named after the hit Cohen song, the series follows the pair during their extended sojourn on the Greek Isle of Hydra, with segments also set in Norway, New York, and Cohen’s hometown of Montreal.

Variety reports that the show has already been filmed and is selling international rights in territories including the United Kingdom, Greece, and Cyprus, but there is no word yet on a US release. The show is co-produced by Norwegian, Canadian, and German production companies, and bestselling Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbø is credited as a co-writer.

Wolff, the son of Jewish jazz musician Michael Wolff and Christian actress and producer Polly Draper, is known for his roles in the Jumanji franchise and the horror film Hereditary. He also sang and acted with his family in the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band.

No dry-up of interest in the late singer's life

Cohen died in 2016, but interest in his life remains high. So Long, Marianne joins another Cohen screen adaptation in development. Israeli-Canadian journalist Matti Friedman’s nonfiction book Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai is also being adapted into a miniseries by Israeli production house Keshet International and Shtisel writer Yehonatan Indursky. The book covers Cohen’s 1973 concerts for Israeli soldiers on the frontlines of the Yom Kippur War, which the musician embarked on directly from Hydra as his relationship with Ihlen was unraveling.

Cohen and Ihlen’s relationship was also previously covered in a 2019 documentary, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, directed by their one-time Hydra companion Nick Broomfield.