The BBC and Sister have released first look imagery for the upcoming five-part thriller The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies, the first original series from sibling writing duo Penelope Skinner (Fresh Meat, Linda, Briony Hatch – a graphic novel) and Ginny Skinner (Briony Hatch – a graphic novel).
This is the story of two women – Alice Newman and Cheryl Harker – and the conman, Dr Rob Chance, that they have in common; a dark thriller about three characters trapped in a tangled triangle.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (In Fabric, Boxing Day), Alistair Petrie (Sex Education, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Night Manager) and Rebekah Staton (Raised by Wolves, Home) lead the cast as Cheryl, Rob and Alice respectively.
Cheryl (Jean-Baptiste) is a bestselling fantasy fiction author who, recently bereaved, now lives alone with her poodle, Goblin. Alice (Staton) is a formidable but long-underestimated PA who lives in a bungalow with her young son, magician partner. Rob (Petrie) is an eccentric and celebrated ecopreneur (allegedly). Three apparent strangers with nothing in common, except Rob’s dupes, deceptions and delusions.
The billing for the show is this: “We all know the story of the dastardly yet charming conman who pulls off a devilish con. That story is as old as the con itself. This is not that story. This is a story about lies and artifice, about our weakness for self-deception, and about the rapid ascent of the modern fraudster. It is the story of an unexpected friendship between two very different women and the power they’ll discover when they raise their voices in joyous rage. As they finally find the courage and self-belief to take charge, the con is on to try and take a sociopathic predator down.”
Executive producers for Sister are Naomi de Pear (The Power, This is Going to Hurt, Flowers), Lydia Hampson (Fleabag, Cheat), and director of Development Alice Tyler (The Baby, Landscapers, Flowers) with Georgie Fallon (Dalgliesh, Criminal U.K) producing for Sister. Penelope Skinner and Ginny Skinner are executive producers, alongside Jo McClellan and Nawfal Faizullah.
Directors for the series are Robbie McKillop (Guilt, Clique) and Nicole Charles (Hair Power: Me and My Afro).
Also starring are Derek Jacobi, Romola Garai,
The series will air on BBC One and iPlayer in 2023.
Pippa Considine
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