EXCLUSIVE: ITV and Ben Stephenson‘s indie Poison Pen have found their lead actress for new serial killer drama The Dark in the shape of Laura Donnelly.
The Nevers star Donnelly, who has a key role alongside Colin Farrell in the upcoming second season of Apple drama Sugar, will play Scottish Detective Monica Kennedy, the protagonist in the crime series.
When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, she fears this is the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community. As paranoia rises, suspicions and secrets are forced into the light, and the locals start to realize there is a serial killer hidden amongst them. Additional casting is in process.
There are hopes the adaptation of GR Halliday’s novel From the Shadows can become a returnable series with two more books already penned in the trilogy: Dark Waters and Under the Marsh.
Former Bad Robot exec and BBC drama chief Stephenson told us last month the books put him in mind of iconic 1990s crime hits The Silence of the Lambs and Basic Instinct.
Belfast native Donnelly, who trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, is known for screen roles in HBO’s The Nevers, Starz’ Outlander, FX’s Say Nothing, and Marvel’s Werewolf By Night. The Olivier winner and two-time Tony nominee has excelled on stage in collaborations with partner Jez Butterworth and director Sam Mendes, including The Ferryman and The Hills Of California.
The show is being penned by Matt Hartley, a playwright who has previously written on EastEnders and Hollyoaks. It will start filming in and around Glasgow this year and is produced in association with ITV Studios, which will distribute the series internationally.
Stephenson, Preethi Mavahalli, Luke Woellhaf and Fern McCauley will executive produce alongside Hartley. Matt Brown will be producing the series, which also has Lena Rae and Nessah Muthy writing and Gilles Bannier as lead director and EP.
This is the second ITV commission 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 Offer.
