Channel 4 is setting the stage for a deliciously dark new drama, and the cast list arriving alongside Glenn Close reads like a roll call of British screen royalty.
Channel 4, Sony Pictures Television, and Playground have officially unveiled the ensemble joining Close in ‘Up to No Good,’ a six-part series written by acclaimed playwrights Nina Raine (Bach & Sons, Consent) and Moses Raine (Donkey Heart). The project marks the pair’s first television collaboration, translating the wickedly sharp tone of Helene Tursten’s short story collections ‘An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good’ and’ An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed’ into a screen tale steeped in dark humour and quiet menace.
As previously announced, Glenn Close leads the drama as Maud Oldcastle, a woman whose personality could curdle milk at twenty paces… and whose secret life is even more alarming.
Joining her is an impressive supporting cast:
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Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton, Toxic Town) as Hannah
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Gloria Obianyo (Andor, Anxious People) as Astrid
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Anita Dobson (EastEnders, Doctor Who) as Elsa
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Ben Crompton (Game of Thrones, Lockwood & Co) as Barry
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Meera Syal (The Wheel of Time, The Revenge Club) as Margaret
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Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, After Life) as Charlotte
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The story follows Maud Oldcastle, a hilariously brusque and ruthlessly independent older woman whose “nice qualities” barely scratch the surface. Beneath the sharp tongue lies a far darker truth: Maud is a killer.
After years spent caring for her sister Charlotte (Wilton), Maud decides it is finally time to seize a second act. But freedom proves complicated when a suspicious young detective (Jessie) begins investigating a death in Maud’s building and senses something deeply amiss. Past and present start to close in, forcing Maud to confront the consequences of a lifetime lived just beyond society’s rules.
The series is directed by Lee Haven Jones (A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, Y Sŵn) and developed and produced by Playground for Sony Pictures Television, which will distribute the drama globally.
Executive producers include Scott Huff and Colin Callender for Playground, alongside Glenn Close, Lee Haven Jones, Nina Raine, and Moses Raine.
The series producer is Morenike Williams (Killing Eve, Culprits).
Filming is currently underway in London, with additional casting still to be revealed.
