The First Look at 'Truelove' Features a Questionable Moral Pact Between Old Friends

Channel 4 has released a first look at Truelove its upcoming "thriller with a twist" that tells the story of a group of old friends who are forced to confront the creeping specter of their own mortality thanks to a death among their cohort, and respond by making a literal death pact. (If this all sounds a bit grim, just remember that this series hails from Charlie Corvell, the writer of the quirky serial killer love story The End of the F**ing World, so just trust that it's probably not going to be as dire as it sounds. And may well end up being strangely heartwarming.)

Truelove follows the story of a group of old friends who are reunited at a funeral. At the wake, with nostalgia and booze flowing in equal measure, talk soon takes a meditative turn and the group discusses what an ideal death might look like. And they make a drunken pact: rather than let each other suffer a slow and dreadful decline when the time comes, they'll help one another have dignified deaths. That's what true love is, after all. But what starts as a fanciful idea all too soon becomes a shocking reality. And as the series continues, it asks difficult questions about the morality of ending a life and the difficult choices older people must make when attempting to navigate their twilight years.

According to the official press release, Truelove "breaks the rules for older characters onscreen" thanks to its core cast of 70-something actors and determination to flip the ageist tropes often so prevalent in dramas like this on their heads. 
 

The series was initially meant to star Julie Walters (Indian Summers), but the actress had to bow out due to the needs of her cancer treatment. Lindsay Duncan (The Wheel of Time) has stepped in to play Phil, an ex-police officer who's finding retirement somewhat boring. Clarke Peters (The Wire) co-stars as Ken, a divorcee and ex-special forces vet who feels similarly at sea. Phil and Ken were teenage sweethearts and despite life having moved on, they have never quite managed to forget each other. The pair reconnect at the aforementioned funeral and are 

The ensemble also includes Sue Johnston (Time) as Marion, Karl Johnson (Mum) as Tom, Peter Egan (Unforgotten) as David, and Kiran Sonia Sawar (The Nevers) as Ayesha, a young police officer who senses there is more to these friends than meets the eye. Further cast members are Phil Davis (Trying) as Nigel and Fiona Button (Grantchester) as Kate.

“Our characters have done amazing things, lived amazing lives and that gives them more edge,” creator Ian Weatherby (Humans) told Deadline. “It is so exciting to push life and death together like two opposing magnets to see what happens. There are some really interesting older characters appearing on screen at the moment.”
 

Here's the series' description: 

Truelove wrestles with the knottiest of ethical questions out there – is it ever right to help end a life? It’s also a love story, as a long-extinguished romantic flame is rekindled between two people who missed out on each other when they were younger, offering them a second chance to experience the love of their lives before time runs out.

“If your friend reached a soul-destroying level of decrepitude, could you help them transition, if asked?” Clarke Peters said in a statement when the series was first announced. “Would it be right, would it be noble, could you do it? Which of that internal triumvirate do you listen to — your head, heart or soul? You know it is illegal in law and scripture to take a life, but could you do it? These scripts explore that moral dilemma in a way I’ve never seen before. It’s funny, it’s dark and it’s full of twists and turns. And DAMN! To tell this story, with this cast, was something I would have dreaded missing out on… Roll on “action”!”

The six-part series is written by Weatherby who co-created it with Covell. It's directed by Chloe Wicks (The Flatshare) and Carl Tibbetts (The Tunnel), and is executive produced by Emily Harrison, Andy Baker, Petra Fried, and Charlie Langdel for Clerkenwell Films, alongside Weatherby and Covell. Alex Walsh-Taylor (Lovesick) is a producer. 

The series is set to premiere on the U.K.'s Channel 4 in early 2024. BBC Studios, which wholly owns Clerkenwell Films, is distributing Truelove internationally, though an American destination for the show has yet to be announced.