What if Hillary had never married Bill? This TV show imagines that world

A new TV show – based on a book that came out last year – imagines what Hillary Clinton’s life would have been like if she had never married Bill.

It’s based on the novel Rodham by Curtis Sittenfield (who also wrote teen classic Prep).

The book – and TV show – imagines an alternate life that Hillary Clinton may have had if she had broken up with Bill Clinton when they were still young.

It starts with her in 1971, attending Yale Law School and profiled as an up and coming activist by national media organisations.

While her and Bill Clinton (then a young, charismatic politician in Arkansas) do date, she then breaks up with him after his infidelities and forges her own path in politics.

The exact details of the TV show are still yet to be released – although it will be coming later this year, and will also be co-produced by Sittenfeld.

She’ll be working with Sarah Treem, who also co-created Showtime’s The Affair, which presents one reality from multiple perspectives.

Rodham was a bestseller – and flew off shelves earlier this year – although it wasn’t widely loved by critics.

Sittenfeld has previously written about another former First Lady – Laura Bush, who was married to George Bush JR.

In interviews, Sittenfeld has spoken about why she chose to write this book – despite the fact that she doesn’t actually know Clinton personally – because she felt like they were similar in some ways.

She also said that she doesn’t necessarily expect Clinton to read the book.

She said to the Associated Press:

If Hillary wants to read the book, she's very welcome to and I'd be happy to hear her feedback (even if she thinks parts of it are preposterous), and if she doesn't want to, I don't blame her.

The TV show hasn’t been greenlit yet – the Hollywood Reportersuggested that it’s still in early stages. But there may be an eager audience for it, given how recent TV dramas about complicated women – like Mrs. America, about the conservative activist Phyllis Schafly – have done well in recent months.