Surprise, 'The Burning Girls' Is on Roku
Samantha Morton and Ruby Stokes in "The Burning Girls"
(Photo: Paramount+)
For those of you who have been waiting for the Paramount+ U.K. series The Burning Girls to make its way to America, we've got some good news for you: It's already here!
The six-part series, based on C.J. Tudor's bestselling novel of the same name is now streaming on the Roku Channel. Though Roku is predominantly known for its set-top boxes and presence on pre-equipped smart TVs, it has also joined the growing world of FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV") services with an in-house channel that offers access to additional premium shows and original content for free, as long as you don't mind sitting through some ads while you watch. (Yes, this is all basically the same value proposition as cable, just brought to you online or through an app now. We know.)
Like many other FAST apps — think Tubi and Pluto TV — the Roku Channel is adding plenty of new and never before seen content in an attempt to attract new viewers, including a ton of stuff that's targeted directly at Anglophiles and those who love British television of all stripes. You can watch Flatshare on Amazon FreeVee, for example, and Pluto TV's classic Doctor Who channel is pretty fantastic, even if it does seem to air "Time and the Rani" a truly ridiculous amount.
The Burning Girls premiered on Paramount+ in the U.K. last Fall, and seems to have arrived on the Roku Channel relatively shortly thereafter though with such little fanfare you'd be forgiven for not noticing it had crossed the pond at all. (Shoutout to eagle-eyed podcast listener Amy from Boston who alerted us to this information!) But all six episodes are now available to stream for anyone via the Roku app or the Roku Channel website.
The Burning Girls follows the story of a village haunted by its dark and turbulent history, which involves multiple disturbing deaths and disappearances It stars Samantha Morton (The Serpent Queen) as Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent struggling to overcome a personal tragedy and looking for a fresh start with her daughter in a small town called Chapel Croft. But the insular village has secrets of its own and attempting to discover the truth about its bloody past comes with very real present-day dangers.
Five hundred years ago, a group of eight Protestant martyrs, including two young girls, were burned at the stake for their faith. Thirty years ago, two teenagers mysteriously disappeared from the village without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish hung himself in the nave of his church. Such a history has naturally left Chapel Croft rife with strange beliefs and mysterious traditions, including one that commemorates those original deaths by setting fire to twig dolls known as "burning girls," and there are consistent rumors of a pair of apparitions who are said to appear to those in trouble.
Alongside Morton, The Burning Girls also stars Ruby Stokes (Lockwood & Co.) as Jack's teenage daughter Flo and Conrad Khan (Peaky Blinders) as Lucas Wrigley, a mysterious alternative teen Flo befriends. The ensemble cast features Rupert Graves (Sherlock), Elodie Grace Orkin (Stranger Things), David Dawson (My Policeman), Paul Bradley (EastEnders), Jane Lapotaire (The Crown), Jack Roth (Medici), Mollie Holder (Sanditon), Safia Oakley-Green (Sherwood), Beth Cordingly (Learning to Walk Again), and John Macmillian (House of Dragon).
The six-part series is adapted by Hans Rosenfeldt (Marcella), with Charles Martin (Skins) and Kieron Hawkes (Ripper Street) taking on directing duties.
The Burning Girls is now streaming on The Roku Channel.
