During the Halloween season last year, it was announced that Damian Lewis, whose credits include Billions, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Homeland, and Dreamcatcher, will be playing two roles in the supernatural black comedy The Radleys. Now Deadline has confirmed that filming is underway on The Radleys, and they revealed the names of several of Lewis’s co-stars. They include Kelly Macdonald (Operation Mincemeat), Harry Baxendale (Holmes & Watson), Bo Bragason (The Ballad of Renegade Nell), Sophia Di Martino (Loki), and Shaun Parkes (Small Axe).
Euros Lyn (Heartstopper) is directing The Radleys, which has been written by Talitha Stevenson and is based on a novel by Matt Haig (pick up a copy HERE). Set in a quiet, suburban English town, the film charts the story of the Radleys, who to their neighbours are as ordinary as they come. But beneath the surface, parents Peter (Lewis) and Helen (Macdonald) are concealing a dark secret from their teenage children, Rowan (Baxendale) and Clara (Bragason). They are abstaining vampires, who choose not to drink blood despite their natural cravings, making them more and more bloodthirsty by the day. When Peter’s twin brother Will arrives on the scene (also played by Lewis), a proud, practicing vampire who openly embraces his hedonistic, bloodthirsty lifestyle, the family has to confront some home truths.
The adaptation aims to be “wickedly funny and scarily relatable”.
The Radleys is coming to us from Genesius Pictures and was developed with British Comedy Award winner Jo Brand. It’s being produced by Debbie Gray. Lewis is executive producing through his production company Ginger Biscuit Entertainment. Other executive producers include Julia Stuart and Laura Grange of Sky, Mark Gooder and Alison Thompson of Cornerstone, Peter Touche, Andrea Scarso and Christelle Conan of Ingenious Media, and Julian Gleek of Genesius. The film is being financed by Sky and Ingenious Media. Cornerstone is handling the worldwide sales and distribution.
Stuart provided the following statement: “I’m very excited to watch Matt Haig’s The Radleys come alive on screen as it begins production with top British talent including Damian Lewis and Kelly Macdonald. Wickedly funny and darkly compelling, I’m so pleased to bring this film to Sky Cinema in 2024.“
Gray added: “Delighted to be partnering again with the team at Sky Cinema on our adaptation of Matt Haig’s wonderful novel The Radleys. An exciting script to produce and a unique black comedy under Euros Lyn’s brilliant direction.“
Filming is taking place in London and Yorkshire, and is scheduled to last for six weeks.
Are you interested in The Radleys? Have you read the Matt Haig novel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.