‘The Castaways’: Paramount+ Announces Adaptation Of Lucy Clarke Novel Starring Sheridan Smith & Céline Buckens
Paramount+ has announced a UK Original adaptation of Lucy Clarke’s best-selling novel ‘The Castaways‘, with Sheridan Smith and Céline Buckens taking the lead roles.
The adaptation of Clarke’s thriller sees sisters Lori (Sheridan Smith: “Mrs Biggs”, “The C Word”, “Cilla”) and Erin (Celine Buckens: “Showtrial”, “Warhorse”, “The Ex-Wife”) on the holiday of a lifetime in Fiji. After a huge fight, Erin never boards the island-hopping flight to their tropical resort – and the plane, with Lori on board, never arrives at its destination.
Months later, no wreckage has been found, no survivors discovered. With the search abandoned, Erin remains a lone, desperate voice refusing to give up hope. Suddenly, Lori’s credit card is used in a corner shop in a remote village in Fiji. On the CCTV, Erin recognises the plane’s pilot back from the dead. She immediately sets out from the UK to find him and discover the mystery of her sister’s fate.
Jumping between the two sisters’ perspectives, we follow Erin’s present-day investigation and Lori’s struggle for survival following the crash onto a tropical and remote desert island. As dark secrets are revealed both in the past and present day, each shocking twist and turn slowly reveals the truth about what happened to Lori and her fellow passengers – a truth that someone on the island will kill to keep secret.
Sheridan Smith is the award-winning stage and screen actress who shot to fame on series such as ‘The Royal Family’ and ‘Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps’. She was Emmy nominated and won a BAFTA for the character Chairman Biggs in ‘Mrs Biggs’ and further BAFTA nominated for ‘The C Word’ and her titular role in ‘Cilla’, for which she was also Emmy nominated. On stage, Sheridan is currently receiving rave reviews starring as Shirley Valentine in Willy Russell’s sell-out one-woman West End show.
“I’m so excited to be working with Céline Buckens and to be part of this amazing production bringing Lucy Clarke’s best-selling novel to life,” said Smith. “And, as I’m currently playing Shirley Valentine in London’s West End, it’s ironic that I finally get to go Greece!”
Céline Buckens is a Belgian-British actress, writer and director, best known for her role as Talitha Campbell in BBC mini-series ‘Showtrial’. Her portrayal received great critical acclaim and she went on to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2022 BAFTAs and Best Performance by an Actress at the 2022 International Emmys. Other credits include Steven Spielberg’s ‘War Horse’, Netflix series ‘Free Rein’, ‘Warrior’ and most recently, ‘The Ex-Wife’ for Paramount+.
“I’m really thrilled to bring Erin to life – she’s a firecracker and the scripts bring layers and darkness to such an arresting premise. I hope audiences will be as hooked watching it as I was reading it,” adds Buckens.
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Lucy Clarke, THE CASTAWAYS will be produced by Clapperboard Studios and BlackBox Multimedia, with the show filming on location in Greece and Fiji from next month. Ben Harris (‘Young Wallander’, ‘Devils’, ‘Marcella’) serves as executive producer and lead writer on the series. Polly Buckle (‘Merlin’, ‘A Discovery of Witches’) and Jesse O’Mahoney (‘Eastenders’, ‘Hollyoaks’) also write on the series. Andy Tohill and Ryan Tohill (‘Dagliesh’, ‘The Dig’) are directors for the show, with Myf Hopkins serving as the producer.
“I’m so delighted that The Castaways is being made for Paramount+,” said Author Lucy Clarke. “It promises to be an incredible adaptation; the scriptwriting is electric, and Sheridan and Céline are perfectly cast as Lori and Erin. It is such fun working with the teams at Clapperboard and BlackBox who couldn’t be more passionate about bringing my novel to life.”
Mike Benson is executive producer for Clapperboard, whilst Giuliano Papadia and Chiara Cardoso are executive producers for Blackbox Multimedia. ‘The Castaways’ was ordered by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK, at Paramount, and will be distributed globally by BBC Studios.
‘The Castaways‘ does not yet have a premiere date, but will air on Paramount+ in the UK. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when they get a UK premiere date.
