David Thewlis to Star Opposite Olivia Colman in HBO Crime Drama ‘Landscapers’

Will Sharpe tapped to replace Alexander Payne as director of the four-episode limited series

David Thewlis
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David Thewlis has been cast to star opposite Olivia Colman in the HBO and Sky crime drama “Landscapers.”

The four-part limited series, inspired by real events, tells the story of a seemingly ordinary couple who become the focus of an investigation when two dead bodies are discovered in the garden of a Nottingham house.

Thewlis will play Colman’s husband, Christopher Edwards. Additional cast members include Kate O’Flynn, Dipo Ola, Samuel Anderson, Karl Johnson, Felicity Montagu and Daniel Rigby. Will Sharpe will direct all four episodes, stepping in for Alexander Payne, who dropped out of the series in October.

“Landscapers” was created and written by Colman’s real-life husband, Ed Sinclair. The project is produced for HBO and Sky Studios by Sister in association with Colman and Sinclair’s South of the River Pictures. Executive producers include Sharpe, Sinclair and Colman, as well as Jane Featherstone and Chris Fry of Sister. Katie Carpenter is producer.

“It’s a huge privilege to be collaborating with Ed, Sister, Sky, HBO and our extraordinary cast and crew on this exciting project,” Sharpe said in a statement. “We cannot wait to unearth for you the bizarre shape-shifting truths that lie buried in the unsettling yet deeply romantic world of ‘Landscapers.’”

“This is without [a] doubt the very finest project I have worked on for many years,” Thewlis adds. “Everything about ‘Landscapers’ is magical, there is nothing like it and I’m impatient to get to work so that its brilliance can be shared with the rest of the world.”

Here is the full series description from HBO:

Mild-mannered husband and wife Susan (Colman) and Christopher Edwards (Thewlis) have been on the run from reality for over 15 years. When Christopher makes a startling call home to his stepmother, their role in a terrible crime that remained undiscovered for over a decade begins to emerge into the light. As their relationship is subjected to the glare of a full police investigation, the devoted couple are separated for the first time in their marriage.

As the investigation moves forward, inspired by Susan’s obsession with old Westerns and classic cinema, the fantasists cast themselves as Hollywood heroes in narratives of their own invention. Powered by Susan’s extraordinary imagination, Susan and Chris’s fantasy world provides a much-needed sanctuary from real-world horrors and their own clawing guilt, but also threatens to undo them completely. In its visually bold and unique style, LANDSCAPERS pivots through various perspectives from Susan and Chris to the police officers and lawyers involved in the investigation. Exploring the idea of multiple truths, LANDSCAPERS asks just how far are you prepared to go for the one you love?

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