Hot Picks: The Serial Killer’s Wife

Filled with dramatic twists and turns, The Serial Killer’s Wife is adapted from Alice Hunter’s crime novel of the same name.

Set in an idyllic English town, the series follows Beth Fairchild, who has prepared a surprise birthday party for her husband Tom, a local doctor. With most of the village present for the big day, Beth’s world is suddenly turned upside down when the party is interrupted by the police, and Tom is arrested for murder.

At first believing Tom to be wrongly accused, she begins to make shocking discoveries that cast doubt on his innocence, leading her to confide in her husband’s childhood best friend, Adam. As events unravel, she begins to realise that her idyllic life is not as it seems.

“You’re immediately drawn into this story,” says Newen Connect chief commercial officer Leona Connell. “Not only does it have great scripts and a great pace, but it also has a fantastic ending.”

 “Domestic thrillers and crime series are always of interest, and a story like this is less of a risk for broadcasters as there’s an increasing number of slots available for these four-parters”

Told across a tight four episodes, Connell says the format is an ideal acquisition for broadcasters and streaming services looking for programming to drop into a schedule. “It’s very digestible,” she says. “Domestic thrillers and crime series are always of interest, and a story like this is less of a risk for broadcasters as there’s an increasing number of slots available for these four-parters.”

Connell says the tight scripts stem from writer Suzanne Cowie’s experience writing for soaps such as Casualty and Hollyoaks. Cowie writes alongside Ben Morris, whose credits include Channel 5 psychological thriller Penance. Laura Way, who helmed Clapperboard’s C5 true-crime drama Maxine, directs.

So far, Newen Connect has received what Connell says are “very positive responses” to the series, with interest from SVoD platforms and broadcasters in English-language territories.

While these markets are Newen Connect’s primary focus, Connell is confident that the show’s ambition and format mean it will have global appeal.

An additional draw is the all-star cast, with Annabel Scholey (The Sixth Commandment), Luke Treadaway (Lockwood & Co) and Jack Farthing (Rain Dogs) taking the lead roles.

The series premieres in the UK and Ireland on Paramount+, with the rest of the world up for grabs.