Sweetpea, a new Sky Atlantic drama, is the perfect watch for the spooky season - maybe with the doors locked though! From the producers of Heartstopper, this new series follows quiet girl Rhiannon Lewis who is always overlooked and follows how she gains back her power at the people she hates.
Based on the 2017 novel by C.J. Skuse, Rhiannon sometimes makes a list of people she would like to kill. Her life has not been easy so far from her boss at work who won't give her a promotion to her high school bully who's back in town tormenting her. However, things get gory and dark pretty quickly as the female serial killer is no longer keeping her list a fantasy.
The line-up is a storm of rising stars from Bridgerton and Fallout, so who are they and where have you seen them before?
Read on to meet the cast of dark comedy Sweetpea…
Ella Purnell - Rhiannon Lewis
Ella, who plays the lead and is the executive producer of the series, is not a stranger to a darker female role. She's mainly been across the pond in US series such as YellowJackets, which was a thriller series following a group of young soccer girls stranded after a plane crash. More recently, she shot to stardom after being in Amazon’s Original video game adaption Fallout as Lucy MacLean.
Now on her return to the UK, Ella wanted this role to be relatable and not just your everyday female serial killer on screen. Speaking to The Guardian she said: "Women are so often pressured to be likeable and pretty and perfectly packaged, it’s a lot harder to create moral complexity." Rhiannon's inner female rage comes out at everyone around her showing that this is a difficult, dark character to play. So buckle in for not just a gory story but a conflicting coming of age one as well.
Calam Lynch - AJ
Calam is best known for his role as Theo Sharpe in Bridgerton and Camnir in Amazon Prime series Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power. However, in Sweetpea AJ will need to watch his back as the new junior reporter at the Carnsham Gazette - AKA the job that Rhiannon really wanted. To make it worse, AJ is a nepo-baby that got the job because the boss editor fancies his mum and his charming personality overrides this. However, there's a romance brewing between him and Rhiannon in the series making things complicated for her newfound hobby…
Nicôle Lecky - Julia
Nicôle plays Julia, the ex-school bully who works as a luxury estate agent and has moved back to Carnsham with a 'queen bee' attitude. Although, she's not just the classic bully as it's clear there are many secrets about to come to the surface. The actress, best known for BBC drama series Mood, dropped hints of what's in store for her Sweetpea character at the Sky screening: "She’s (Julia) got it all together, their lifestyle, their husband. And I think across the season, you will learn what is really going on for her."
Leah Harvey - Marina
Leah plays the junior detective who is massively underestimated for her detective skills and is the threat to uncovering Rhiannon. She previously starred as Salvor Hardin in Foundation and she gained a BAFTA TV nomination.
Jeremy Swift - Norman
Jeremy plays the bossy Carnsham Gazette Editor who doesn't give Rhiannon a promotion from receptionist and uses her (quite literally) as a coat hanger. However, he begins to notice Rhiannon has a journalistic talent and is soon finding a lot of murderous leads for the paper - but where is she getting them from? He has previously starred in Ted Lasso and Downton Abbey.
Jon Pointing - Craig
Jon joins the cast as the handyman who wants to buy Rhiannon's lates fathers business however, he should be wary of her charming personality as he begins to fall for her. Most recently, Jon has starred in Channel 4's series Queenie.
Dustin Demri-Burns - Jeff
Dustin joins the cast as Jeff who is the senior reporter in the Gazette office and doesn't want to give up his role to young Rhiannon. However, he starts to play with fire when he begins to suspect Rhiannon's newfound confidence in the office as maybe hiding something else. Previously, Dustin has starred in Slow Horses.
Ingrid Oliver - D.I. Diana St.John
Ingrid is playing the chaotic boss that is also great at her job and good at finding strong leads on cases. Her character is training Marina up to be a stronger reporter in the detective force. The actress is best known for Doctor Who and The Watch.
Dino Kelly - Marcus
Dino plays the property developer of Julia (played by Nicole), the handsome bully's husband but there’s more underneath the surface of this marriage than initially seen. He is best known for his work in Alexander: The Making of a God and Peaky Blinders.
Sweetpea premieres October 10 and is available to watch on Sky Atlantic, NOW TV, and Starz.