David Cronenberg‘s 1988 film Dead Ringers (get it HERE) was seared into Oscar winner (for her role in The Constant Gardener) Rachel Weisz’s memory from the moment she first saw the film, as she found it to be “deeply psychological, deeply twisted, perverse and thrilling”. So when Megan Ellison of Annapurna Pictures asked Weisz if there were any projects she was keen to make, Weisz brought up the idea of a TV series version of Dead Ringers where she would play the twin lead characters. The project started moving forward in that moment, and Alice Birch – whose credits include Lady Macbeth, The Wonder, Normal People, and Conversations With Friends – was soon brought on board to write (along with an all-women writing team), serve as showrunner, and executive produce the series with Weisz and Ellison. We’ll get to see the result of their collaboration when this six-episode version of Dead Ringers is released through Amazon Prime Video on April 21st… and with the premiere date just a couple months away, British Vogue has unveiled a batch of first look images from the show. You can check them out at the bottom of this article.
Based on the novel Twins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland (pick up a copy at THIS LINK), the original film starred Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot Mantle. In the show, it’s Weisz who will be playing the Mantle twins, the most successful, brilliant and extraordinary people you’ve never met. Identical from head to toe, these two OB-gyns are on a mission to change the way women birth, starting with Manhattan. Drugs, pioneering but very much illegal medical research, sex and falling in love, this drama based on the David Cronenberg 80s cult classic, takes us to darker and stranger territory than we could have possibly imagined.
It has been said that the Dead Ringers series will feel similar to the film, but will have a different tone and explore themes like women’s health and the issues it faces, including underfunding, as it focuses on the two professional women, the Mantle twins, who are excellent at their jobs while also trying to navigate life outside of work. In the series, the Mantle twins share everything: drugs, lovers, and an unapologetic desire to do whatever it takes, including pushing the boundaries on medical ethics in an effort to challenge antiquated practices and bring women’s healthcare to the forefront.
To hear more about the approach Weisz and Birch took to the material, click over to British Vogue‘s interview with Weisz.
Weisz is joined in the cast of Dead Ringers by Michael Chernus (Werewolves Within) as Tom, “a brilliant scientist, working with Elliot on a groundbreaking but perilous new project”; Poppy Liu (Hacks) as Greta, “Beverly and Elliot’s watchful and meticulous house manager who runs their lives with complete efficiency and her own hidden agenda”; Britne Oldford (The Umbrella Academy) as the sisters’ lover Genevieve; and Jennifer Ehle (1923) as Rebecca, a character British Vogue describes as “a cut-throat lesbian investor”.
An Amazon Studios and Annapurna Television co-production, Dead Ringers is being executive produced by Weisz, Birch, Ellison, Stacy O’Neil, Sue Naegle, Ali Krug, James G. Robinson, David Robinson, and Barbara Wall.
Are you looking forward to watching the Dead Ringers series on Amazon? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below. Here are the first look images: