Paramount+ Will Try 'Sexy Beast' in the U.S. for the New Year
Ricci Mcleod as Pete, Emun Elliot as Don, James McArdle as Gal Dove, John Dagleish as Aitch, and Kyle Rowe as Larryon in Sexy Beast Season 1
Matt Towers/Paramount+
It seems bizarrely fitting that just as Jonathan Glazer returns to the movies with his highly anticipated holocaust film The Zone of Interest (which opens on Friday, December 8, 2023, and is the U.K.'s selection to represent them in the International Oscars category for 2024), Paramount+ is setting a date for the prequel series based on his feature film directorial debut, Sexy Beast. The film, released in 2000, starred Ray Winstone as Gal Dove, a retired criminal forced into doing one last job by his former BFF, Don Logan, played by Ben Kingsley, and London crime boss Teddy Bass, played by Ian McShane. It earned Oscar nominations and popularized the genre director Guy Richie and actor Jason Statham still work in today.
The prequel series stars James McArdle (Mare of Easttown) in the role of young Gal and Emun Elliot (The Gold) as Don, back when they were still besties, before Gal's relationship with his future wife Dee Dee (Sarah Greene) came between them. Stephen Moyer (True Blood) plays the younger Teddy Bass, still an up-and-comer in the London crime world.
The series was originally announced along with The Gold as arriving on Paramount+ in 2023 in the U.S. However, between The Gold's failure to thrive in the U.S. market and the strike taking longer to resolve than initially hoped, streamers continued to push release dates back. Sexy Beast will now bow stateside in January, though it is not clear if it will be a weekly release or an all-at-once drop.
Sarah Greene as Dee Dee Harrison in Sexy Beast Season 1
Sanne Gault/Paramount+
Here's the series synopsis:
The prequel series explores the origins of Gal and Don’s complicated relationship as they find themselves descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s, while Gal’s budding relationship with Deedee threatens everything in their world.
Stephen Moyer as Teddy Bass in Sexy Beast Season 1
Sanne Gault/Paramount+
McArdle, Elliott, Moyer, and Greene co-star alongside Tamsin Greig (Belgravia), Eliza Bennett (Grantchester), Clea Martin (This Is Going To Hurt), Nicholas Nunn (Time), John Dagleish (The Gentlemen), Robbie Gee (Extraordinary), Paul Kaye (Mood), Lex Shrapnel (Domina), Cally Lawrence (Call The Midwife), David Kennedy (The Murders at White House Farm), Nitin Ganatra (Bodies), and Alice Bailey Johnson (Still Up).
Sexy Beast was written by Michael Caleo, with Jennifer Cacicio, Ed McCardie, and Tony Hamilton-Shannon also credited. Caleo is also credited with directing three of the show's eight installments. AC Chapter One and Anonymous Content produce the series in association with PTIS, the international studio division of Paramount Global. Caleo, Nicole Clemens, Antony Smith, Michael Scheel, JC Acosta, Alastair Galbraith, and David Caffrey are executive producers, along with David Scinto and Louis Mellis, the original film's writers.
Sexy Beast is scheduled to premiere on Paramount+ on Thursday, January 25, 2024.
