James Norton's new drama, Playing Nice, will shock you - here's why
If the idea of a TV drama starring James Norton fills you with as much joy as it does us, then get comfortable and listen up. The Happy Valley star is leading the cast of ITV1’s new four-part series, Playing Nice - and while it might not be the sort of show that will have us grinning from ear to ear, it is the sort that will have us glued to our sofas - and our screens.
James plays former journalist, Pete, who has a seemingly happy life with his chef wife Maddie (Niamh Algar, Raised by Wolves) in Cornwall. That is until the day that they’re hit with the devastating truth that their toddler, Theo, isn’t their biological son - and that he and another boy were switched at birth.
Pete and Maddie quickly find themselves thrown into the world of Miles (James McArdle) and Lucy (Jessica Brown Findlay) - their son’s actual parents - who along with the pair face a truly horrifying dilemma: do they keep the sons they’ve raised for the past three years, or do they reclaim their biological child?
“We want to make the country squirm. We want to have people sitting on their couches at home with their families watching it through their fingers,” James has said of the series.
And we have a feeling that’s exactly what we’ll be doing. Here’s everything else we know about the upcoming drama...
What’s the plot of Playing Nice?
Adapted by Malpractice writer Grace Ofori-Attah from the best-selling novel by author JP Delaney, Playing Nice focuses on two couples living a nightmare as they grapple with what to do. Do they carry on with their lives as if nothing has changed, or do they part with the children they’ve raised and now adore?
At first, it seems that all four agree on a solution, but it soon becomes apparent that hidden motives are at play. Can each couple really trust the real parents of their child – or even each other?
According to James Norton, the show will undoubtedly see audiences asking themselves what they'd do in that situation.
"We've got these different characters, different approaches to the problem, and hopefully it will get the audience asking: Are you a Pete? Are you a Maddie? Are you a Miles? Maybe a Lucy," he has said.
"We want to make them feel uncomfortable. That's the idea. It's definitely about tension and knottiness."
Who’s in the cast?
James Norton, Niamh Algar, Jessica Brown Findlay and James McArdle are joined by the following cast members:
Cara Mahoney (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
Posy Sterling (World on Fire)
Lucy Phelps (Grace)
Phillippe Spall (Downton Abbey)
Akbar Kurtha (Doctors)
When can I watch it?
Playing Nice premieres on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday 5th January, with subsequent episodes airing at the same time on Mondays and Sundays, The show will also be available as a boxset on ITVX on Sunday 5th January.
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