Sweetpea (TV series)

Sweetpea is a British dark comedy-drama television series created by Kirstie Swain for Sky Atlantic. An adaptation of the 2017 novel of the same name by CJ Skuse, it stars Ella Purnell in the lead role. The series premiered on 10 October 2024 on Sky Atlantic. In December 2024, it was renewed for a second series.

Sweetpea
Genre	Dark comedy[1] Comedy-drama[2] Thriller[3]
Created by	Kirstie Swain
Based on	Sweetpea by CJ Skuse
Screenplay by	Kirstie Swain Krissie Ducker Laura Jayne Tunbridge Selina Lim
Directed by	Ella Jones
Starring	Ella Purnell Nicôle Lecky Jon Pointing Calam Lynch Jeremy Swift Dustin Demri-Burns Leah Harvey Camille Coduri
Opening theme	"Do You See Me Now" by Chinchilla
Composer	Isobel Waller-Bridge
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Ella Purnell Ella Jones Kirstie Swain Helen Gregory Iain Canning Emile Sherman Patrick Walters
Producer	Zorana Piggott
Cinematography	Nick Morris
Editors	Lucien Clayton Jo Walker
Running time	41–50 minutes
Production companies	See-Saw Films Sky Studios
Original release
Network	Sky Atlantic
Release	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10) – present

Premise

After enduring bullying during her school years, Rhiannon Lewis is an unassuming young woman who lives with her father and dog in the fictional English town of Carnsham, where she works a mundane job as an administrative assistant at a local newspaper. However, following her father's death, her life is upended by a series of unfortunate events, including the return of her former bully, leading Rhiannon to develop a penchant for murder.

Cast and characters

Main

• Ella Purnell as Rhiannon Lewis, an administrative assistant working at the Carnsham Gazette, often called "Sweetpea" by her boss
• Nicôle Lecky as Julia Blenkingsopp, a classmate from Rhiannon's school years, who is now a local estate agent
• Jon Pointing as Craig, an employee at Rhiannon's father's construction company who ghosted her after their one-night stand
• Calam Lynch as AJ Pierce, the new junior reporter at the Carnsham Gazette
• Jeremy Swift as Norman, the editor of the Carnsham Gazette and Rhiannon's boss
• Dustin Demri-Burns as Jeff Barker, a senior reporter at the Carnsham Gazette
• Leah Harvey as Marina Farrar, a junior detective working for the local police force
• Camille Coduri as Carol on Tuesdays, the hostess at the local pub

Recurring

• Dino Kelly as Marcus, Julia's fiancé
• Nitin Ganatra as Rory, a detective working with Marina
• Ingrid Oliver as Diana St John, a Detective Inspector at the local police force

Guest

• David Bark-Jones as Tommy, Rhiannon and Seren's father, and owner of the construction firm Tommy's Transformations
• Luke McGibney as Mike Roberts, an obnoxious man who crosses paths with Rhiannon
• Alexandra Dowling as Seren, Rhiannon's older sister who lives in France
• James Craze as Ryan Lloyd, a man who disrespects Rhiannon

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Sorry for Your Loss"	Ella Jones	Kirstie Swain	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)
Rhiannon Lewis is a downtrodden wallflower who works as a receptionist at the Carnsham Gazette and has felt invisible most of her life. She developed trichotillomania due to years of school bullying by queen bee Julia Blenkingsopp, and occasionally entertains murderous thoughts. Her father Tommy, the only person who recognises her attributes and encourages her to stand up for herself, dies while hospitalised, leaving Rhiannon bereft. Subsequently, Rhiannon suffers a series of mishaps—she is passed over for a promotion at work by her boss Norman in favour of new reporter AJ Pierce, whom she sees as a nepotism hire; her estranged sister Seren plans to sell their family home and hires Julia, now an estate agent who has moved back to town, to handle the property sale; and when a billboard for Julia's business distracts Rhiannon, her dog Tink is killed by an oncoming car. Angry and drunk, Rhiannon confronts Julia at a nightclub but is rudely rebuffed. At a nearby canal, a man drunkenly urinates on Rhiannon, claiming he had not seen her. Reaching her breaking point, she murders the man with her father's pocketknife and pushes his body into the canal, which boosts her self-confidence.
2	"This Sort of Thing Needs Some Feminine Energy"	Ella Jones	Kirstie Swain & Krissie Ducker	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)
One of Tommy's employees, Craig, gives Rhiannon an offer to buy her father's business. After the police find the dead body of Rhiannon's victim, she receives a call from Jeff Barker, a senior reporter at the Gazette, who has identified the man as Ryan Lloyd. To outsmart Jeff, Rhiannon persuades Norman to send her and AJ to secure a statement from Ryan's family. Ryan's mother claims that he was the perfect son, but Rhiannon sneaks into his bedroom and discovers a restraining order filed against him by a former co-worker, Dave Ferris, who tells Rhiannon and AJ that Ryan constantly bullied him. Julia visits Rhiannon's house for a valuation. Rhiannon convinces Norman to publish the story of Ryan being a bully and for the first time is invited for drinks at the local pub. There, she is startled when the police arrive to investigate Ryan's murder. Rhiannon recognises a man who made a scene at the hospital, which prevented a nurse from attending to her dying father. She follows him out to an alley and stabs him to death. On her way home, Rhiannon stares at a poster of Julia and muses about killing her.
3	"Black Spots in the Garage"	Ella Jones	Kirstie Swain & Krissie Ducker	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)
Rhiannon prepares to murder Julia, and spikes Jeff's coffee with milk of magnesia after discovering she has not received credit for the Ryan Lloyd story. Ryan's mother storms into the Gazette offices and accuses Rhiannon and AJ of betraying her trust, but Rhiannon insists that Ryan was a bully. Rhiannon and Craig have dinner together and eventually have sex. Detectives Marina and Rory bring Rhiannon in for questioning, as she was at a nearby nightclub on the night of Ryan's murder. Rhiannon claims she was at the nightclub with friends, naming Julia as one of them. The body of Rhiannon's second murder victim is found. Rhiannon surprises Craig at Tommy's Transformations, only to find him with Julia, who plans to buy Rhiannon's house and flip it. Enraged, Rhiannon secretly steals Julia's phone and slashes one of her tyres. Rhiannon later offers Julia a ride home, but instead drives Julia to her own house, claiming there is mould in the garage. There, Rhiannon pulls out her pocketknife and confesses to murdering the two men, before demanding an apology from Julia. After a brief struggle, Julia attempts to flee but slips and falls before Rhiannon knocks her out.
4	"Everybody Loves Julia"	Ella Jones	Laura Jayne Tunbridge	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)
Rhiannon ties Julia up in her garage but fails to kill her after she asserts that Rhiannon is responsible for her own unhappiness. At Tommy's Transformations, Rhiannon seduces Craig before stealing the flash drive with the CCTV footage from the previous night. Rhiannon convinces Norman to give her a chance as a junior reporter by writing an article on Julia's disappearance. Marina reviews footage of the nightclub from the night of Ryan's murder and sees Rhiannon arguing with Julia. Rhiannon interviews Julia's fiancé Marcus at the couple's home, where she secretly vandalises a couch and steals some items. Rhiannon publishes her article in the Gazette, finally earning a byline. AJ takes Rhiannon out on a date at the pub, but he leaves when Craig arrives and mentions he has been having sex with Rhiannon. She finds a drunk Marcus, rambling about how Julia has disappeared before, and drives him home. After going through Marcus's text messages to Julia, Rhiannon heads home and confronts Julia with the texts, in which Marcus threatens suicide and accuses Julia of being abusive. Julia breaks down in tears and declares that Marcus is a monster, leaving Rhiannon stunned.
5	"Someone's Been a Naughty Girl"	Ella Jones	Selina Lim	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)
Julia apologises to Rhiannon for bullying her at school. Suspecting that Rhiannon is the killer, Marina discovers Julia's car at Tommy's Transformations and finds the CCTV footage missing. Rhiannon convinces Craig to keep quiet about her visit to Tommy's Transformations on the night of Julia's disappearance. At Julia's search party, Marina learns about Rhiannon and Julia's history, and Marcus threatens to get Rhiannon fired for vandalising his house. Rhiannon follows Marcus, intending to kill him, until Jeff spots her and realises she is the killer. Rhiannon chases Jeff, who is killed by oncoming traffic. After Marcus threatens Rhiannon via text message, she and Julia conspire to frame him for the murders and Julia's kidnapping. Their plan unfolds at Julia and Marcus's unfinished house. When they trip the alarm, Marcus arrives before Julia, who is tied to a radiator, gets him to use the pocketknife to free her while Rhiannon hides and calls the police. As Marcus turns violent, accusing Julia of having sex with her kidnapper, Rhiannon intervenes, and Julia declares she is leaving Marcus. When he threatens to jump from a balcony, Rhiannon pushes him to his death shortly before the police arrive.
6	"Life 2.0"	Ella Jones	Krissie Ducker	10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)
As the police interrogate Rhiannon and Julia separately, both women maintain that Marcus murdered the two men and kidnapped Julia. Marina accuses Rhiannon of being the real killer but is reprimanded by the DI. Rhiannon and Julia celebrate their freedom at a nightclub, where Julia borrows Rhiannon's bank card to buy drugs. Marina breaks into Rhiannon's house and finds the CCTV footage showing Rhiannon slashing Julia's car tyre. Confronted by Marina, Rhiannon points out that the footage was obtained illegally. Julia agrees to recount her kidnapping to the Gazette, creating tension between her and Rhiannon. Rhiannon breaks up with Craig, who blackmails her into selling Tommy's Transformations to him in exchange for his silence. That night, AJ visits Rhiannon and they have sex. The next morning, Rhiannon receives a notification from British Airways informing her of a £474 charge and leaves Julia a voicemail asking if she still has her bank card. AJ receives an exclusive police photo of the murder weapon, which he recognises as Rhiannon's pocketknife. After Rhiannon confesses everything, AJ calls her a monster and tries to leave, prompting her to fatally stab him. As AJ dies in Rhiannon's arms, Seren arrives at the doorstep.

Production

Skuse's 2017 novel was optioned in 2017 by See-Saw Films. In 2019, Sky Atlantic came onboard the project and Patrick Walters, Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman were set as executive producer for See-Saw Films, with Liz Lewin as an executive producer for Sky Studios.^[4] Kirstie Swain has adapted the book.^[5] In 2020, it was revealed to be a six-part series.^[6]

On 3 December 2024, Sweetpea was renewed for a second series.^[7]

Casting

In November 2023, Ella Purnell was cast in the lead role and serves as an executive producer. Also cast were Nicôle Lecky, Jon Pointing, Calam Lynch, Leah Harvey, Jeremy Swift, Dustin Demri-Burns, Luke McGibney and Ingrid Oliver.^[8][9]

Filming

Filming took place in Southend-on-Sea in November and December 2023, with filming locations including Southend Observation Tower on Pier Hill, Western Esplanade's Cliff Lift and theme park Adventure Island.^[10] Filming also took place near the River Colne in Oxhey Park, Watford.^[11]

Title sequence

The title sequence was created by London-based Peter Anderson Studio. it was designed to visually explore the lead character's psychological state, utilising brutalist painting aesthetics and painterly compositions. The sequence features neon lights on rain-soaked streets and transforms everyday objects into symbols of violence, reflecting the duality of her existence. A bespoke typeface, with a hand-drawn aesthetic, contributes to the gritty tone whilst the sharp extensions in the typeface used in the title card were added to enhance the ominous atmosphere.^[12]

Broadcast

The series premiered on 10 October 2024 on Sky Atlantic and Now in the United Kingdom.^[13][14] Ahead of the series premiere, a full trailer was revealed in September 2024.^[15]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Sweetpea holds an approval rating of 85% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ella Purnell is a diabolical delight in Sweetpea, a revenge fantasy that holds a lot of darkness beneath its playful exterior."^[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 69 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[17]

Lucy Mangan, writing in The Guardian, was less impressed, comparing the series unfavourably to the original book.^[18]

Soundtrack

The series score was written by Isobel Waller-Bridge and the theme song ("Do You See Me Now") by Isobel and British artist Chinchilla, who also provided the vocals.^[19]

In addition, the series features a diverse soundtrack of popular music, including tracks from Billie Eilish, Icona Pop/Charli XCX, Labi Siffre and the Spice Girls.^[20]