UKTV’s Alibi Orders ‘The Red King’ From Being Human’s Toby Whithouse
UKTV’s Alibi has ordered ‘The Red King‘, a new character-driven mystery-thriller, set on a remote island with a strange cult history, from ‘Being Human’ creator Toby Whithouse, with Anjli Mohindra, Adjoa Andoh, Marc Warren and Jill Halfpenny amongst the cast.
Smart, capable and by the book Grace Narayan (Anjli Mohindra – The Lazarus Project, Vigil) was flying high as an inner-city police sergeant before being forced into a ‘punishment posting’ on the small, antiquated island of St. Jory. Confronted by the forgotten and unsolved case of missing teenage boy Cai, Grace quickly discovers that she must overcome scarce evidence, extraordinary local characters, and the island’s strange cult history to uncover the truth.
The Red King is a character-driven mystery-thriller, that combines the powerful story of a knotty police investigation with chilling, atmospheric folk-horror through the island’s eerie past devotion to a pagan God called the Red King and the cult of the True Way.
Alongside Anjli Mohindra (The Lazarus Project, Vigil) in the lead, the star-studded lineup includes, Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte) as Lady Heather Nancarrow and Marc Warren (Van Der Valk) as Dr Ian Prideaux. Further cast include Jill Halfpenny (The Long Shadow, Everything I Know About Love) as Ann Fletcher, Mark Lewis Jones (Keeping Faith, Outlander) as Gruffudd Prosser, Oliver Ryan (Steeltown Murders, Pennyworth) as Mihangel Pugh, Sam Swainsbury (Mum, Fisherman’s Friend) as Father Douglas Carrisford, Lu Corfield (Showtrial) as Lowri Bain, James Bamford (Luther: The Fallen Sun) as Owen Parry and Maeve Courtier-Lilley (The Outpost) as Winter Bain.
The six-part series is created and written by Toby Whithouse (Being Human, The Game) and produced by Quay Street Productions (‘Nolly’, ‘Significant Other’), in association with ITV Studios, which will handle international distribution, and supported by North East Screen.
“Working with Quay Street and UKTV has been a genuine joy,” says Whithouse. “This has been a passion project for all of us. A genre-bending mystery, combining drama, suspense and horror, starring some of the best actors in television. We’re so excited to share these characters and their stories with you.”
The UKTV Original series has been commissioned by Philippa Collie Cousins, senior commissioning editor, with Pete Thornton, head of scripted, and ordered for Alibi by Emma Ayech, channel director, and Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning. Executive producers are Nicola Shindler (Nolly, It’s A Sin, Stay Close) and Davina Earl (Men Up, Safe, Come Home) for Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios), Philippa Collie Cousins for UKTV and Toby Whithouse.
“The Red King has been such an exciting project to bring to the screen, working with the team at UKTV,” adds Davina Earl, Executive Producer, Quay Street Productions. “Toby Whithouse has a wonderfully distinctive voice, and his scripts are deeply intriguing, darkly funny and truly scary. The cast are a stellar mix of some of our most well-known and beloved actors. Plus, we get to showcase the North East as we create this compelling and atmospheric drama, which, as a North Easterner, is incredibly rewarding.”
The series will be directed by Daniel O’Hara (Stay Close, The Stranger, Brassic), who is also executive producer, and produced by Guy Hescott (Without Sin, Whitstable Pearl).
“Toby Whithouse has created a clever and ambitious crime drama set in a vivid island location, and this dark and original tale will have audiences gripped,” commented Hilary Rosen, Alibi director of commissioning. “We are delighted to be collaborating once again with Nicola Shindler and her fantastic team at Quay Street Productions.”
‘The Red King‘ does not have a UK premiere date yet, but begins filming today, and will air on UKTV’s Alibi in 2024. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
