More new drama... Close To Me, Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm
TV on Sunday evenings is just too good to be true at the moment.
Over on BBC One, the fun begins with Doctor Who, and continues with the Strictly results show and, later, glossy drama Showtrial. ITV has the double whammy of The Larkins and Angela Black, and now Channel 4 is getting in on the act with Close to Me, a big-budget six-part psychological thriller based on the novel of the same name by Amanda Reynolds.
The book was her debut and went on to become a huge success, so it should have come as no surprise when the TV rights were snapped up. The writer is beside herself with glee at the idea of seeing her characters on screen.
“Can you imagine how excited I am to share this news?” She wrote on her website when the series was first announced. “It’s surreal, to say the least. I am so happy with the casting and the brilliant screenwriter, Angela Pell, and director, Michael Samuels, who I know have been working on this throughout lockdown. Cannot wait to see Jo and Rob on screen!”
Jo and Rob are the married couple at the heart of the story. They appear to have everything – a couple of fantastic kids, a loving marriage and a beautiful home in the country. But everything changes after Jo suffers a fall and awakes to find that an entire year of memories have been wiped from her mind.
She is determined to piece together what happened during that 12-month period, but while doing so begins to suspect that there were big cracks in her supposedly perfect life – and that somebody close to her is hiding a terrible secret. But who is it, and why?
To answer that, you’ll have to tune into the programme, of course. Not that there should be any hardship in that – it has ‘hit’ written all over it thanks to its bestselling source material and a cast to die for.
Connie Nielsen takes the lead role of Jo. She’s perhaps best known for her roles in such hit movies as Gladiator, Wonder Woman and its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984; she also acts as one of Close to
Me’s executive producers. Christopher Eccleston co-stars as Rob, while Susan Lynch, Leanne Best and Ray Fearon are among the supporting cast.
Filippa Wallestam, production company NENT’s chief content officer, says of the project: “This inventive, unsettling and fascinating drama uncovers the deception that can lie below the surface of a seemingly perfect family life. The constantly twisting plot, straight to camera dialogue and great indie soundtrack will draw in viewers, while also exploring a subject rarely highlighted on screen — the female mid-life crisis.
“Connie Nielsen and Christopher Eccleston are hugely charismatic talents and this series asks a question that everyone can relate to – what do we really know about ourselves and those closest to us?”