Annette Bening and Sam Neill lead Apples Never Fall, which will be coming to the BBC later this year.
If you’ve been a fan of Big Little Lies or Nine Perfect Strangers, the chances are pretty damn high that you’re going to enjoy the latest series adapted from Liane Moriarty’s novels – which is now coming to the BBC.
Apples Never Fall is the 2021 novel by Moriarty, and its small-screen adaptation certainly got audiences talking when it first debuted in the US earlier this year.
Well, now UK viewers don’t have to miss out on the action for too long, as the BBC has acquired the seven-parter, meaning it’ll be on our screens later this year.
The show is led by Annette Bening (Nyad, American Beauty) and Sam Neill (Peaky Blinders, Jurassic Park) as Joy and Stan, whose seemingly perfect post-retirement life isn’t quite what it seems as secrets start to surface about their marriage.
On the news of the BBC’s acquisition of the drama, Sue Deeks, head of programme acquisition at the broadcaster, said: “Suspenseful and sinister, Apples Never Fall is a compelling mystery drama that will keep BBC viewers intrigued until its riveting final episode.”
According to the synopsis: “Apples Never Fall centres on the seemingly picture-perfect Delaney family. Former tennis coaches Stan and Joy have sold their successful tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives.
“While they look forward to spending time with their four adult children, everything changes when a wounded young woman knocks on Joy and Stan’s door, bringing the excitement they’ve been missing.
“But when Joy suddenly disappears, her children are forced to re-examine their parents’ so-called perfect marriage as their family’s darkest secrets begin to surface.”
Bening is, of course, known for a wide range of roles over the years, including in The Kids Are All Right and American Beauty, and she most recently starred in Nyad.
New Zealand actor Neill is also known for his roles in Jurassic Park, Peaky Blinders and then, more recently, in The Twelve.
As well as Bening and Neill, the rest of the cast is made up of some familiar faces, such as Jake Lacy (The White Lotus), Alison Brie (GLOW), Conor Merrigan-Turner (Thai Cave Rescue) and Essie Randles (The Speedway Murders), who star as their four children.
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The series has been adapted by writer, showrunner and executive producer Melanie Marnich (The OA, The Affair), so something tells us this is going to be at the top of our watchlist.
The show is also being executive produced by David Heyman (Wonka, Barbie), Gregory Jacobs, Liane Moriarty, Annette Bening, Joe Hortua, Albert Page and Jillian Share.
While initial reviews of the series said it doesn’t quite compare to Moriarty’s adapted series gem Big Little Lies, we’re sure it’ll be the kind of programme that keeps us guessing until the end – if the trailer is anything to go by.
In it, we see that the Delaney family is quickly spiralling out of control after the news of their mother’s disappearance, but where is she?
While some of her kids think the answer could lie with the mystery woman who is seeking solace at Stan and Joy’s home, suspicion also falls on Stan, who is plainly quizzed by the press over whether or not he’s killed Joy.
The series is certainly set to dissect some interesting family dynamics, with Marnich previously saying (via Variety) of Apples Never Fall: “You have to know these people love each other, otherwise they can’t cause each other pain.
“There’s a phrase in [Moriarty’s] book that’s something like: ‘You can love somebody and hate somebody. Both things can be true.’ You can look across the table at your husband, your wife or your child and resent them and love them more than anything. Both things can be true.”
Apples Never Fall is coming to the BBC later this year.
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