Matt Smith goes full bad boy in the first look at Sky’s six-part series “The Death of Bunny Munro,” based on Nick Cave‘s cult novel.
In the debut image released from the series, Smith — who is playing the title character — sports only his underwear as he gets ready to light up in a laundromat. By Smith’s side is newcomer Rafael Mathé as Bunny Munro’s son, Bunny Junior.
Described as a “wild cautionary tale” and “tender portrait of a father and son,” “The Death of Bunny Munro” takes place after Bunny’s wife, Libby, dies by suicide. According to its official synopsis: “Sex-addicted door-to-door beauty product salesman and self-professed lothario Bunny Munro finds himself saddled with a young son and only a loose concept of parenting. Together with 9-year-old Bunny Junior he embarks on an epic and increasingly out-of-control road trip across Southern England as the two struggle to contain their grief in very different ways. As Bunny bounces from one sales pitch to the next, trying to seduce any woman he meets, Bunny Junior kills time talking to the ghost of his mother and distracting himself from the dawning realization that his dad isn’t just fallible — he’s a complete mess. As he starts to unravel, Bunny realizes he must do something to rescue his son from his own outdated notions of what it is to be a man.”
Beyond Smith and Mathé, “The Death of Bunny Munro” also stars Sarah Greene (“Bad Sisters,” “Rosie”) as Libby, Johann Myers (“Somewhere Boy,” “Without Sin”) as Poodle, Robert Glenister (“Sherwood,” “Hustle”) as Geoffrey, Alice Feetham (“Boiling Point,” “Save Me”) as Yvonne, David Threlfall (“Shameless,” “Funny Woman”) as Bunny Snr, Lindsay Duncan (“Truelove,” “The Morning Show”) as Doris Pennington and Elizabeth Berrington (“Last Night in Soho,” “In Bruges”) as Charlotte Parnovar.
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The show, set to premiere in 2025, was written by BAFTA winner Pete Jackson (“Somewhere Boy”) and directed by “Industry” helmer Isabella Eklöf. Smith, Cave, Jackson and Eklöf serve as executive producers and the series is produced by Clerkenwell Films (“Baby Reindeer”) in association with Sky Studios. Commissioning editor Manpreet Dosanjh is executive producer for Sky Studios while Petra Fried, Ed Macdonald and Emily Harrison executive produce for Clerkenwell Films. Matthew Mulot serves as a producer.