Despite creating these characters for her 2018 book, Sally Rooney said that when it came time to adapt the story for TV, she felt more detached from Connell and Marianne. "While I was writing the novel, I was completely alone with Marianne and Connell, and they really felt at times like projections of myself," she told Express. "Writing the show was a different experience, and it allowed me to see the characters in a new way, as if from the outside. I found myself feeling sorry for them – which I don't think I ever did when I was writing the book."