'Playing Nice' to Premiere on BritBox in August

Many dramas, whether television shows or feature films, bill themselves as some variation of a parent's worst nightmare. Shows like The Stolen Girl, for example, follow the story of an elaborate kidnapping scheme, while dramas like Broadchurch revolve around the horrifying murder of a young boy, and recent series like Adolescence explore the terrifying possibility that a child is the one who committed an act of horrific violence. Then there's Playing Nice, the ITV drama that's set to premiere on BritBox this August, which gives a new and uncomfortable meaning to the term. 

The four-part series follows the story of two families who discover that the toddlers they've raised since birth aren't their own. For once, this isn't a nefarious scheme, but rather a simple case of overwork and exhaustion — the two children's name tags were accidentally switched at the hospital, and each set of parents took the other's child home with them. But when the truth comes out, two families are left to make an agonizing decision: Whether to reclaim their biological children or continue to raise the sons they know and love.

The main cast is comprised of a quartet of performers who will be very familiar ot Anglophiles and fans of PBS shows in particular. Former Grantchester Hot Vicar James Norton plays Pete Riley, and Niamh Algar (Mary & George) is his partner, Maddie, the parents of young Theo, while Downton Abbey alum Jessica Brown Findlay and James McArdle (Sexy Beast) play Lucy and Miles Lambert, mom and dad to David. Challenges mount for both couples as they find themselves at odds within their own relationships about what it means to be a family.

Here's the series synopsis:

Set against a sweeping Cornish landscape, two couples discover that their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up, and face a horrifying dilemma: do they keep the sons they have raised and loved, or reclaim their biological child? Living a waking nightmare, Pete and Maddie are jettisoned into the world of the other couple; Miles and Lucy . At first it seems all four are agreed on a solution, but it soon becomes clear that hidden motives are at play. How far can each couple trust the parents of the other child - or even each other? As Pete and Maddie are stretched to breaking point, they realise they will stop at nothing to keep their family together.

Alongside the main quartet of actors, the ensemble also includes Sunetra Sarker (Professor T), Phil Davis (The Gold), Sam Hoare (Grace), Lucy Phelps (The Chelsea Detective), Theo Ogundipe (Mickey 17), Philippe Spall (Wolf Hall), Miriam Lucia (Too Much), and Poppy Roe (Hijack).

Based on the best-selling novel by JP Delaney, the four-part series is adapted for the screen by Grace Otofori-Attah (Malpractice) and directed by Kate Hewitt (One Day). The series is produced by StudioCanel, alongside Norton's production Rabbit Track Pictures. Executive producers include Norton, his Rabbit Track co-founder Kitty Kaletsky, Joe Naftalin, Isobel Carter, Otofori-Attah, and Kate Crowe, with Nick Pitt as series producer. 

Playing Nice will premiere on BritBox on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, with two episodes, followed by a new installment every week through the beginning of September.