Sophie Rundle to Star in New Mystery 'After The Flood'

Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders) is headed back to the on-screen police force for the first time since her turn as PC Kirsten McAskill back in the early years of Happy Valley. The actor, who was last seen as Ann Lister’s wife, Anne, in Gentleman Jack, has landed the lead role in a brand new contemporary mystery series, After The Flood. An original drama from Quay Street Productions, the wholly original story is a six-part series produced by Nicola Shindler, who was also Russell T Davies’ partner in getting It’s A Sin made for Channel 4.

The series hails from actor-turned-writer Mick Ford (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) and centers around a dead man discovered in a car park after a devastating flood. The body is initially written off as yet another casualty of the rising waters, but PC Joanna Marshall (played by Rundle) feels like something doesn’t add up. In the press release announcing the casting, Shindler said, “When Mick Ford brought the kernel of the idea of After the Flood to us, we were immediately drawn in. Not just by the catastrophic repercussions of a deadly environmental disaster in a town that could very well be our own, but also the intricacies and deception at the heart of the characters’ stories.”

ITV Studios owns Quay Street Productions, but despite the apparent vertical integration, that doesn't necessarily mean the show will automatically go to ITV or BritBox U.S (which is jointly owned by ITV and the BBC) here in the U.S. (Case in point: It's a Sin, which was produced by QSP, but aired on Channel 4 and streamed on HBO Max.) However, in this case, the network is keeping it all in-house. After The Flood premieres on ITV1 and ITVX in the U.K., and will then follow with a debut in America on BritBox. 

Here's the show's synopsis:

After the Flood is a mystery thriller set in a town hit by a devastating flood. When an unidentified man is found dead in a lift in an underground car park police assume he became trapped as the waters rose, and as the investigation unfolds PC Joanna Marshall becomes obsessed with discovering what happened to him. How did he get in the lift and why does no one know who he is? 

Rundle will be joined by Philip Glenister (Belgravia) as property developer Jack Radcliffe and Lorraine Ashbourne (I Hate Suzie) as Marshall's mum, Molly; Nicholas Greaves (Bodyguard) plays Marshall's boss and surrogate father figure Sergeant Phil Mackieand, and Matt Stokoe (Jamestown) is her husband. Other co-stars include Jonas Armstrong (The Bay) and Jacqueline Boatswain (Carnival Row). Ford is penning all six episodes, and director Azhur Saleem (Doctor Who) will helm all installments.

After The Flood is expected to start filming later in 2023, no release date has been announced as yet.