Witch Hunt casts Sarah Lancashire in dark Netflix thriller from The Split creator
Sarah Lancashire leads Netflix thriller Witch Hunt as a woman returning home after 30 years in prison for killing three of her daughters.
Award winning Sarah Lancashire is taking the lead in a dark new Netflix thriller from The Split creator Abi Morgan, playing a woman who returns home after spending three decades in prison following the deaths of three of her daughters.
The six-part Witch Hunt stars Sarah as August Howell, a descendant of the woman known locally as the Witch of Cambridge. August has spent 30 years behind bars after being convicted of drowning her three young daughters, but her eventual release brings her back to a community that does not want her there.
Her arrival soon creates fresh fear in the university town as concern grows that August’s return has triggered a modern-day witch hunt. When a killer emerges, police are forced to turn to the one person with an unusually personal understanding of August and her history.
That person is Professor Wren Howell, August’s surviving daughter, who has built a career as an academic and investigative psychologist. The investigation brings mother and daughter back into one another’s lives as past resentments, local folklore and a new murder begin to collide.
The series is written by Abi, whose previous work includes The Split, and marks a reunion with Sarah more than 25 years after the pair last worked together.
Rather than operating solely as a conventional crime drama, Witch Hunt will combine a dark thriller with elements of gothic horror and modern-day witchcraft. At its centre will be the complicated relationship between August and the daughter she left behind when she went to prison.
Sarah is already familiar to Netflix viewers through Black Doves, while her acclaimed television roles include playing the fantastic Catherine Cawood in police drama Happy Valley.
SISTER Pictures is producing the new series, with Jane Featherstone among its executive producers. Netflix announced Witch Hunt as part of its first UK Upfront on September 24.
Netflix has not yet confirmed when filming will begin or when Witch Hunt will be released, so there is currently no confirmed streaming date.
