Holliday Grainger Set to Star In Upcoming Disney+ U.K. Thriller 'Playdate'

Streamer Disney+ isn't particularly known as a destination for British programming, especially in America, where anything that isn't Marvel, Star Wars, or overt family-friendly fare is almost immediately ported over to sister site Hulu rather than housed on its primary app. But with the two services inching closer to becoming a single destination experience, and an increase in series in development, that assumption seems to be well on the way to changing.

After all, Doctor Who will officially call Disney+ home with the arrival of the series' 60th anniversary specials this November. Offbeat comedies Extraordinary and Wedding Season both made their way to America over the last year via Hulu, and there's every reason to suspect that the buzzy forthcoming period dramas The Ballad of Renegade Nell and A Thousand Blows will do the same. And now, Disney+ is taking its first steps into the popular world of contemporary British thrillers with Playdate. (What I'm saying is it looks like Anglophiles will probably want to invest in a subscription sooner rather than later.)

Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Alex Dahl, Playdate will be adapted by Catherine Moulton (Baptiste) and follow the story of a woman who is forced to face every parent's worst nightmare when her young daughter is kidnapped. 

Young mom Elisa is thrilled when her daughter Lucia is invited to her first overnight playdate with her new best friend Josie. But when she arrives at what she believes to be the other girl's home, she discovers the beautiful house was actually a holiday rental and the family that let it is long gone --- along with Elisa's daughter. As a manhunt for the girl stretches across Europe, Elisa and her husband Fred find themselves facing uncomfortable questions from the authorities. And as their seemingly perfect family begins to unravel under the pressure, long-held secrets begin to come to light. 

Here's the official synopsis. 

Elisa’s world is turned upside down when her young daughter Lucia is kidnapped at a sleepover. Who is the mystery woman who took Lucia, and what secrets does she know about Elisa?

The series features a talented ensemble that includes Holliday Granger (The Capture), Denise Gough (Under the Banner of Heaven), Ambika Mod (I Hate Suzie), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Bronagh Waugh (Ridley), and Michael Workeye (This Is Going to Hurt).  

“Playdate is a brilliantly twisty thriller with a terrifying, instantly relatable hook," Johanna Devereaux, VP of Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA, said in a statement. "We are very proud to be working with celebrated producers, a visionary director Eva Husson and rising star writer on this must-see thriller.”

The five part series is directed by Palme d’Or nominee Eva Husson (Mothering Sunday) and hails from The Power of the Dog and It's a Sin producers Tanya Seghatchian, John Woodward, and Nicola Shindle. 

Production commenced this summer in France and the U.K., but the planned airdate for the series is as yet unknown.