Hulu is teaming up once again with the UK’s Channel 4 and writer Jack Thorne for the latter’s new drama series, The Light (working title).
Two of three-time BAFTA winner Jack Thorne’s previous works — National Treasure and National Treasure: Kiri — are Hulu Original series co-produced with Channel 4.
The trio’s third series together is The Light (w/t), which is currently filming on location in Wales and features a top-notch cast. It explores the nexus between blame, revenge, and justice, as well as the contentious question of responsibility — social, corporate, and personal — that arises within the story.
Set in the fictional town of Glyngolau, the four-part drama explores a forgotten community devastated by disaster. An explosion on the construction site of a much-needed and sought-after regeneration project in this “left-behind” town claims the lives of many children who broke into the building site to make mischief. As grief gives way to anger, the community finds itself forced to confront difficult truths amid the search for justice.
BAFTA and RTS awards winner Sarah Lancashire (Kiri, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) plays Polly Bevan, the wife of the local politician who championed the project and the person to whom the community turns following the disaster. Her husband, Councillor Iwan Bevan, played by Mark Lewis Jones (Living a Lie, Chernobyl, Keeping Faith), loves his hometown and is a respected figurehead for the community. He was passionate about restoring the town to its former glory… but at what cost?
Behind closed doors, Iwan and Polly’s relationship is more complicated than outward appearances suggest, made even more so by the fact that their rebellious teenage daughter, Leona (Jade Croot, Casualty), does all she can to aggravate her father. But when she suffers life-changing injuries as a result of the accident on her father’s site, the family finds itself tested to the limits.
BAFTA winner and Emmy® nominee Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen, Westworld, 1864) plays Harriet Paulsen, the executive at Kallbridge Developments, which has overseen the project in Glyngolau. On hearing the news of the disaster, she immediately heads to the site but finds herself the focus of raw grief and anger. Harriet is tough and has a ruthless streak, but her desire for self-preservation and to protect the business she’s helped build comes into sharp conflict with her compulsion to do the right thing. Working alongside Harriet at Kallbridge is Tim (Nabhaan Rizwan, Informer), her smart and eager Executive Assistant, whose good sense may be clouded by his desire to protect Harriet at all costs.
While the search for the truth behind these events unfolds, the community seeks strength in each other. Polly relies on her oldest friends — Angela Griffiths (BAFTA nominee and RTS award winner Joanna Scanlan, No Offence, Getting On) and single parent Greta (BAFTA Cymru Award winner Eiry Thomas, Keeping Faith, Rillington Place) — who, like her, were born and raised in Glyngolau. Both Angela and Greta have lost daughters in the accident, and their grief soon turns into fury and a demand for action and justice.
Another local whose life is also shattered by the events is Debbie Kethin (Genevieve Barr, The Silence, Press), who must wrestle with the fact that her husband was responsible for security at the site and that the disaster, which also claimed his life, happened on his watch.
Two outsiders in Glyngolau also become involved in the tragedy. After having rescued Leona from the wreckage of the collapsed building, Martin Harris (Shaun Parkes, Line of Duty, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) finds himself at the center of events, and he and Polly find in each other someone they can truly trust. Meanwhile, Philip Walters (Adrian Scarborough, Killing Eve, Blunt Talk) circles the community, asking questions and probing for details about what happened. Those he seeks information from have their own questions, such as who is Philip, what is his agenda, and why should members of the community place their trust in his action plan for justice?
As the stakes rise for all concerned, and as each side looks to see how the law can best serve their needs, Kallbridge hires Laura (Ruth Madeley, The Rook, Years and Years) to serve as Harriet’s counsel.
A production of The Forge (Ackley Bridge, The Miniaturist), The Light (w/t) is directed by Sandra Goldbacher (Ordeal by Innocence, The Hour), produced by Morenike Williams (Killing Eve, Delicious), and executive produced by George Ormond (National Treasure, Kiri) and George Faber (Shameless, Skins).
The Light (w/t) will premiere in the US as a Hulu Original series, exclusively on Hulu.
Stay tuned for updates.
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