Will Sharpe’s new HBO drama Landscapers stars two of the UK’s finest actors in the lead roles, with Olivia Colman and David Thewlis set to step into the shoes of Susan and Chris Edwards – a real-life couple accused of double murder.
The series promises to be a must-watch piece of television, and RadioTimes.com can exclusively reveal a featurette that takes viewers behind the scenes of the upcoming show.
The four-minute clip is titled Landscapers: Love, Truth and Fantasy, and sees the two stars – and director Sharpe – discussing Chris and Susan’s relationship and some of the key themes of the four-part series.
“We do all kinds of things for love and often for things that we mistake for love,” Thewlis says at the beginning of the video, before Colman adds: “I don’t know if I’d kill someone for love… but then no one’s ever asked me!”
Sharpe then provides an introduction to the series, saying: “The premise of Landscapers is that Susan and Chris Edwards were accused of the double murder of Susan’s parents, and then of burying them in the parents’ backyard in Mansfield.
“It’s their love story, and along the way we explore various versions of the truth as it may or may not have been presented by different characters.”
Speaking about her character, Colman explains: “What’s fascinated me most about playing the character Susan is her fantasy world. I love the way we see her fantasy and that’s been really fun having someone with such a vivid imagination.
“Susan has quite clear influences in what she considers to be romantic and she loves black and white films and romantic films, she loves westerns, damsels in distress and a heroic man. Chris is her knight in shining armour, her Gary Cooper, her cowboy. She just wanted to be rescued I think.
Meanwhile, Thewlis says: “Chris is always trying to save someone and has never succeeded. He gives up his life to serve Susan, to serve her fantasies to live in her world. And he would say at the end that he never gave up the real world for her, that she was the real world.
“One of the big parts of the story is why – this is not really a spoiler – why he ultimately gives them both up, which he does early on in the story, we see him surrender himself to the British police. And why he did that after 15 years is one of the core questions of the whole series.”
You can watch the full video below, which also sees the pair discussing the nature of their relationship and includes some excerpts from the drama.
Landscapers is co-produced by Sky and HBO and the supporting cast includes Kate O’Flynn (Bridget Jones’s Baby), Dipo Ola (We Hunt Together), Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who), David Hayman (The Nest), Felicity Montagu (This Time with Alan Partridge) and Daniel Rigby (Sick Note).
Landscapers premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Tuesday 7th December 2021. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.