Tamsin Greig & Rish Shah Join Cast of 'Sweetpea' as Season 2 Filming Begins
Ella Purnell in "Sweetpea"
(Photo: Starz)
Filming is officially underway on the second season of the darkly comedic thriller Sweetpea, and the Sky and Starz co-production has announced several key new cast additions for its sophomore outing, several of which British TV fans will instantly recognize.
Sweetpea stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets) as Rhiannon Lewis, a repressed wallflower who turns serial killer when she's finally pushed over the edge by the repeated slights of a world that seems to delight in ignoring and belittling her. The story of an overlooked young woman who comes to life by dispensing death, Sweetpea is bitingly funny, shockingly bloody, and a surprisingly deft exploration of loneliness and isolation. But although Rhiannon begins to discover her own agency through committing violence, moonlighting as a vigilante-esque serial killer creates its own entirely new set of problems. Scrambling to deal with the fallout from the first season's shockingly bloody cliffhanger, Ella will have to work overtime to keep her secret life secret, all while navigating a new promotion, a rebound relationship, and a dogged investigator determined to catch her out.
New faces joining the cast for Season 2 include Tamsin Grieg (The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) as AJ's mother, Live; Rish Shah (Overcompensating) as Rhiannon's new romantic interest Gabriel; Taj Atwal (Riot Women) as Freya, her new boss at the Carnsham Gazette, and Jenny Walser (Heartstopper) as an adoring new friend named Daisy.
Here's the Season 2 synopsis.
Killer wallflower Rhiannon Lewis is back in Season 2 of the iconically brazen and darkly comic thriller. Navigating a new promotion, an irresistible rebound, Marina still hot on her trail, her sister selling her family home and a copycat killer threatening to expose her, the kill list is mounting. But now that she's harnessed her rage and found her power, Rhiannon is forced to question whether her perfect ex AJ, was right: is she a monster?
Alongside Purnell, the returning cast for Season 2 includes Jon Pointing (Queenie), Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso), Leah Harvey (A Gentleman in Moscow), Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who), Nitin Ganatra (Miss Scarlet), and Alexandra Dowling (The Doll Factory).
"We are thrilled that Sweetpea and the world of Carnsham are back in full swing for Season 2, with new and exciting characters for what promises to be an intoxicating ride for Rhiannon as she continues on her murderous journey," Executive Producers Purnell, Ella Jones, and Patrick Walters said in a joint statement. "This season, the stakes are even higher, and as the consequences of her actions begin to close in, questions of morality and justice will come into play.”
The series is adapted from C.J. Skuse’s novel of the same name, and written by Selina Lim, Emme Hoy, Anna Jordan, and Laura Jayne Tunbridge. Season 1 director Ella Jones will helm episodes 1, 5, and 6, while Coky Giedroyc (Save Me) will direct episodes 2-4. Executive producers include Purnell, Jones, and Walters, alongside Helen Gregory, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman for See-Saw Films.
Sweetpea Season 2 doesn't have a premiere date as yet, but filming is currently underway in London. The first season is currently streaming on Starz.
