Haunted spouse

HUGHDUNNIT? PREPARE FOR KILLER TWISTS IN THE UNDOING…

Nicole Kidman. David E. Kelley. Infidelity. Betrayal. Murder… If you’re looking for the next Big Little Lies, make an appointment with The Undoing, another HBO/Sky miniseries drama with an A-list cast. It’s a Paddington-baddie team-up of sorts, with Kidman joined by Hugh Grant, who sets the scene for Screen: “Nicole plays a New York shrink,” he explains. “She’s married to my character, a doctor who cares for children with cancer.

“We have a kid who goes to a nice posh prep school in New York and they live a dreamy life, but that quickly changes. By the end of the first episode, one of the mothers at the posh prep school is horribly murdered and my character disappears...”

There are many more twists and turns to come, all set against an imposing Manhattan backdrop. “New York is a really strong cinematic visual in the show,” says Kidman. “There’s an almost fairytale quality to it. New York is a big city to shoot in and it’s a hard city to shoot in, but it’s beautiful when you shoot it properly.”

That striking, storybook-ish aesthetic is courtesy of director Susanne Bier (The Night Manager, Bird Box), leading a local crew who recently wrapped The Irishman. “Susanne Bier is a proper filmmaker, which helped to soothe my innate snobbery about doing

television,” Grant says with a smile. “She’s taken this cleverly written piece of American television and turned it into Scandi noir.”

Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2014 novel You Should Have Known, the six-part saga was adapted for TV by

Big Little Lies creator Kelley – who’s a strong fit for the legal spectacle that takes shape, according to Grant. “Having been a lawyer himself, Kelley is fascinated by trials and the media’s involvement,” says the star. “In an American trial, the prosecution and defence know every tiny detail about every juror – and they do that by lifting stuff from Facebook and other social media. They hire private investigators, too. They conduct these trials in the full glare of the media, which would be prejudicial in Britain.

It’s fascinating to watch.”