Jill Halfpenny, Jonas Armstrong and Rupert Penry-Jones head the cast in a new identity thriller for Channel 5, made by Noel Clarke and Jason Maza’s Unstoppable Film & Television.
When Jodie catches sight of Daniel, a teenage boy, she is convinced she has found her missing son. Whether she is right or not, in that moment her spark of hope is ignited and she commits to a dangerous and transgressive path that will take her to the edge of reason. How far will she go? How far would any of us go to find a missing child?
Jill Halfpenny (Three Girls, Dark Money, Liar) plays Jodie. Since losing her son eight years ago she has been rebuilding her life but when she catches sight of Daniel it threatens to up-end the life that she has carefully pieced back together. Jonas Armstrong (The Bay, Ripper Street, Line of Duty) is Jason, Jodie’s only sibling, the only real support she has had in her life. Always in control, he is a practising lawyer, on the cusp of a huge promotion. Deborah Findlay plays Lynn, Jodie’s mother, with whom she has a fractious relationship. Cody Molko plays Daniel the boy Jodie becomes fixated with and Rupert Penry-Jones (Whitechapel, Silks, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man) plays his father Mark, an architect that keeps a tight rein on his emotions and on his son’s life.
Filming will take place in Dublin and the four-part drama will transmit on Channel 5 later in 2020.
The Drowning is written by Tim Dynevor (Emmerdale), directed by Carolina Giametta (Vera) and is produced by Mary McCarthy. The executive producers are Noel Clarke (Bulletproof) Jason Maza (Bulletproof), Alexandra Stone, and Catriona Mckenzie. It is created by Francesca Brill (Cuckoo, The Bait) and Luke Watson (Britannia, Ripper Street). Sebastian Cardwell serves as the Commissioning Editor for Channel 5.
Noel Clarke and Jason Maza said: ‘We are delighted to be working with the hugely talented Jill Halfpenny, Jonas Armstrong and Rupert Penry Jones on The Drowning, which is being lead by the brilliant director, Carolina Giametta. Working with Carolina and our wonderful writer, Tim Dynevor, the creative process has been a joy. We could not be more excited to collaborate with Channel 5 to bring this story to the screen.’
Channel 5 Deputy Director of Programmes, ViacomCBS Networks International UK, Sebastian Cardwell said: ‘We are thrilled to be working with the team at Unstoppable on this exciting addition to Channel 5’s ever growing drama slate. We hope that audiences will be gripped across the series.’
The Drowning is made by Unstoppable Film & Television for Channel 5, UK in association with all3media international.
Jon Creamer
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