Fallout actor Ella Purnell is taking a deadly detour to star in the coming-of-'rage' drama Sweetpea, which has just released its first trailer.
Purnell takes on the lead role of Rhiannon Lewis, described as "a quiet wallflower who develops a vengeful and intoxicatingly liberating taste for murder," in the deviously twisted tale, which adapts C.J. Skuse's cult novel of the same name. The first footage teases her dark path from the girl next door to a stone-cold killer.
Lately, Rhiannon’s been getting angry. Like… really angry.
— Sky TV (@skytv) August 1, 2024
Ella Purnell stars in #Sweetpea, coming to Sky and #Starz in October. pic.twitter.com/EjtOAccFu0
"People walk past her in the street without a second glance. She's continually overlooked for a promotion at work, the guy she likes won't commit, and her dad is really, really sick," per the synopsis for the series. "Then everything in her life turns upside down. Rhiannon is pushed over the edge and loses control. Suddenly, the wallflower is gone, and in its place is a young woman capable of anything."
Purnell, who recently led Prime Video's Fallout video game adaptation, said working on Sweetpea (as an actor and executive producer) had been "one of the most fulfilling experiences" of her career so far and that she hoped audiences would enjoy getting to know her character "through a uniquely dark and comedic lens."
Before Fallout, Purnell was perhaps best known for the role of Jackie in the hit TV show Yellowjackets but also had a memorable turn in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. She voiced Jinx in the League of Legends series Arcane and appeared alongside Dave Bautista in Zack Snyder's zombie movie Army of the Dead.
Joining Purnell on the Sweetpea cast are Nicôle Lecky, Jon Pointing, Calam Lynch, Leah Harvey, Jeremy Swift, and Dustin Demri-Burns, who will collectively bring to life the story that Kirstie Swain has adapted for the screen from a script she co-wrote in partnership with Krissie Ducker, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, and Selina Lim.
The six-episode series will premiere on Sky and streaming service NOW in the UK and Starz in the U.S. and Canada this October.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
