EXCLUSIVE: ITV and Ben Stephenson‘s indie Poison Pen have discovered their lead actress for brand new serial killer drama The Darkish within the form of Laura Donnelly.
The Nevers star Donnelly, who has a key function alongside Colin Farrell within the upcoming second season of Apple drama Sugar, will play Scottish Detective Monica Kennedy, the protagonist within the crime collection.
When the physique of a younger man is discovered eerily staged within the idyllic Scottish wilderness, she fears that is the start of a terrifying marketing campaign that may strike the guts of a rural group. As paranoia rises, suspicions and secrets and techniques are compelled into the sunshine, and the locals begin to understand there’s a serial killer hidden amongst them. Further casting is in course of.
There are hopes the variation of GR Halliday’s novel From the Shadows can turn into a returnable collection with two extra books already penned within the trilogy: Darkish Waters and Below the Marsh.
Former Dangerous Robotic exec and BBC drama chief Stephenson instructed us final month the books put him in thoughts of iconic Nineties crime hits The Silence of the Lambs and Fundamental Intuition.
Belfast native Donnelly, who skilled on the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, is thought for display screen roles in HBO’s The Nevers, Starz’ Outlander, FX’s Say Nothing, and Marvel’s Werewolf By Night time. The Olivier winner and two-time Tony nominee has excelled on stage in collaborations with accomplice Jez Butterworth and director Sam Mendes, together with The Ferryman and The Hills Of California.
The present is being penned by Matt Hartley, a playwright who has beforehand written on EastEnders and Hollyoaks. It can begin filming in and round Glasgow this 12 months and is produced in affiliation with ITV Studios, which can distribute the collection internationally.
Stephenson, Preethi Mavahalli, Luke Woellhaf and Fern McCauley will government produce alongside Hartley. Matt Brown will likely be producing the collection, which additionally has Lena Rae and Nessah Muthy writing and Gilles Bannier as lead director and EP.
That is the second ITV fee for ex-BBC drama chief Stephenson’s Poison Pen, following Adultery, which is being written by Danny Brocklehurst.
Donnelly is repped by JAG London, CAA, and Sloane Supply.
