Christos Tsiolkas’ novel The Slap, which was made into the award-winning Australian television series of the same name, will be re-conceived for American television in an eight-part series.

The eight-episode series went into development in mid-2012, and this week NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt told reporters at the Television Critics Association that the network has ordered The Slap.

The suburban story begins at a backyard barbecue when an unrelated adult slaps a misbehaving child. The fallout leaves friends and family relationships in ruins. Tsiolkas set the story in a Greek Australian family with a racially-diverse group of characters, who were reproduced in the television series.