Hot Picks: The Cuckoo

The Cuckoo follows husband and wife Nick and Jessica as they relocate to the countryside with their daughter Alice. Initially they have grand plans for their new home, but the financial crisis soon takes its toll. Nick must pick up a second job, Alice has to switch schools and the family takes in a lodger – which is where the problems really begin.

“The Cuckoo is in the classic tradition of the suburban thriller, which always works well with global buyers,” says Abacus Media Rights (AMR) managing director Jonathan Ford.

“It has a psychological element that intrigues audiences – the sense that this story could happen to them, or someone on their street. It’s very much in the vein of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.”

In The Cuckoo, the problematic lodger is a beautiful, flirty woman called Sian – who quickly starts overstepping boundaries. She is too familiar with Nick, borrows Jessica’s clothes and exerts undue influence on Alice. Eventually, it turns out that Alice is adopted, and Sian is her birth mother. Sian, it further transpires, has a troubled past.

“The revelations lead to an edgy, fearful climax,” explains Ford. “Sian is played by Jill Halfpenny, an actress who has done well in this kind of thriller.”

Aside from the innate appeal of event thrillers, Ford says, the circumstances the family find themselves in will resonate with audiences. “The idea of the family facing financial struggles and needing extra income is something most people can understand at the moment, because of the cost-ofliving crisis. Taking in a lodger is one way to counter this,” he notes.

Aside from recognised talent in Halfpenny, Ford talks up The Cuckoo’s strong package. “The series was written by Barunka O’Shaughnessy [Motherland] and has Lee Ingleby in the role of Nick. His profile is especially high with buyers because of The Long Shadow. Claire Goose, as Jessica, will be known from shows like The Bay and The Coroner.”

AMR has been involved in the project since the start, so knows the series intimately. “We’ve worked with producer, Clapperboard, before on series like Deadline and Maxine,” says Ford. “We liked the treatment, and the fact that Jill Halfpenny was attached.”

The UK commissioner is Paramount-owned Channel 5, which has built up a decent reputation for domestic drama in the past few years. “The perception of C5 drama has improved in the past 24 months,” says Ford. ‘The quality has gone up, its model is understood by the rest of the world and it has had recent successes like The Inheritance. Referencing C5 as a partner is much more influential when talking to buyers than it was maybe two or three years ago.”

Ford says AMR will have visuals to show buyers at the London TV Screenings, with the full series due for delivery in May. A couple of European deals have already been done, which should help whet buyers’ appetites.

“Some of the targeted streamers, with a British/European element to their line-up, will be interested,” he adds. “And it will work for free TV and basic pay-TV broadcasters looking for event pieces with schedule flexibility. Because of the genre, its appeal is reasonably broad.”