John Simm & Nikki Amuka-Bird to Star in 'I, Jack Wright' from 'Unforgotten's Chris Lang

Filming for Unforgotten Season 6 may be underway for ITV, but series creator Chris Lang has been busy with more than just the further adventures of Sunny and Jesse. The mystery writer has been busy in between seasons, first with The Thief, His Wife, and the Canoe, which premiered on BritBox in 2023, and now with a brand new series coming to Alibi, I, Jack Wright. The new miniseries is a family drama that's described as "one part dark comedy" and one part "murder mystery."

Alibi, the mystery-only TV channel from UK TV, doesn't produce many stand-alone originals. Most of the series it has that aren't imports are co-productions with other networks: Miss Scarlet and Annika, for example, are done in conjunction with Masterpiece, We Hunt Together with the BBC and Showtime, The Diplomat (no, not the Netflix one, the other one starring Sophie Rundle) with the BBC. I, Jack Wright is only the second they have currently in the works; the first, The Red King, which also does not have an American distributor at this time, is due out this year.

However, landing a high-profile project like this one from a well-known talent like Chris Lang is a major get for the channel's production arm, and the cast lineup is one that is bound to make a splash. The series has signed on John Simm (Doctor Who) and Nikki Amuka-Bird (Luther) as the main leads in the series, with Harry Lloyd (The Lost King) cast as the primary detective in charge of the case.

Here's the series synopsis:

Jack Wright is a powerful and successful businessman, who leaves his family in disarray when they learn of his suicide. When the provisions of Jack's final will and testament are made known, his third wife, Sally, and two sons, Gray and John, are shocked to discover they have been largely cut out of Jack's enormous fortune. As DCI Morgan and DC Jones delve further into the case, they realize Jack's cause of death was, in fact, murder. Their sights turn to the Wright family, where the mother of all feuds is beginning. As each family member becomes more reckless and desperate in their bid to own a piece of Jack's legacy, dark secrets and resentments are revealed with explosive consequences. I, Jack Wright is a propulsive, darkly comic, and moving murder mystery family drama which offers many twists and turns as one family deals with treachery and hidden agendas from all involved.

Amuka-Bird plays Wright's third wife, Sally, Simm plays the eldest son, Gray Wright, and Lloyd is DCI Morgan. They will be joined by Liz Kingsman (Hijack) as DC Katie Jones, Trevor Eve (A Discovery of Witches) as Jack Wright, Gemma Jones (Gentleman Jack) as Rose Wright, Daniel Rigby (Landscapers) as John Wright, and Ruby Ashbourne Serkis (Becoming Elizabeth) as Emily Wright. Other cast set to star include Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education), Zoë Tapper (Grace), James Fleet (Tom Jones), Sabrina Bartlett (The Larkins), and Percelle Ascott (Domino Day).

Lang penned all episodes with director Tom Vaughan (Doctor Foster) helming all six installments and Nickie Sault (The Outlaws) producing. Lang and Vaughn executive produce along with Polly Williams, Arielle Gottlieb, plus Helen Perry for UKTV. 

I, Jack Wright is expected out in 2025. Hopefully, by then, an American distributor will have signed on. (Fingers crossed it's PBS.)