Nick Cave’s darkly comic novel is becoming a six-part series.
Updated 10/12/24: First look at Matt Smith
Announced last year, Sky have revealed a first look at Matt Smith in The Death of Bunny Munro. He appears alongside his diminutive co-star, newcomer Rafael Mathé.
The series, adapting Nick Cave’s novel, comes from writer Pete Jackson and director by Isabella Eklöf. It’s produced by Clerkenwell Films, in association with Sky Studios.
There’s also now a full synopsis for the series:
Following his wife Libby’s death by suicide, 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 nine-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 realisation that his dad isn’t just fallible—he’s a complete mess. As he starts to unravel, Bunny realises he must do something to rescue his son from his own outdated notions of what it is to be a man. The Death of Bunny Munro is both a wild cautionary tale and a tender portrait of a father and son.
The wider cast includes Sarah Greene (Bad Sisters), Johann Myers (Somewhere Boy), Robert Glenister (Sherwood), Alice Feetham (Boiling Point), David Threlfall (Shameless), Lindsay Duncan (Truelove) and Elizabeth Berrington (Last Night in Soho).
The Death of Bunny Munro will air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in 2025. We’ll keep you posted.
Original article (of 30/11/23) continues…
Matt Smith to star in The Death of Bunny Munro for Sky
Sky have announced that Matt Smith (Doctor Who, House of the Dragon) is to take the title role in an adaptation of Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro.
The series begins filming in Spring 2024 across the south of England, presumably after Smith’s forthcoming West End run in Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.
The Death of Bunny Munro
Following his wife Libby’s suicide, sex addict, 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 nine-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.
The series comes from writer Pete Jackson (Somewhere Boy) and Clerkenwell Films, in association with Sky Studios. The director is Isabella Eklöf (Industry).
Petra Fried, Ed Macdonald and Emily Harrison are Executive Producers for Clerkenwell Films, with Manpreet Dosanjh (Sky Studios). As are Pete Jackson, Matt Smith, Nick Cave and Isabella Eklöf.
Matt Smith said:
“To work alongside Nick Cave on The Death of Bunny Munro feels like a great honour. It’s a brilliant exploration of love, grief, and chaos. At its heart a deep, difficult, and tender story about a father and son, coping with loss and change. Clerkenwell Films and Sky feels like the perfect home to make such a bold story and Pete has delivered such wonderful scripts, both funny and heart breaking in equal measure. I can’t wait to collaborate with Isabella and begin the journey with everyone at Clerkenwell.”
Nick Cave added:
“Finally, someone with the courage to take on this unholy tale. I am thrilled that Sky and Clerkenwell Films are bringing Bunny to life, in all his flawed glory, and I can think of nobody better than Matt Smith to play him.”
The Death of Bunny Munro will air on Sky Atlantic and the NOW streaming service in the UK.