In an autumn that has made household names of Richard Madden (Bodyguard) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), the most recent reason to stay in arrived last Sunday – in the shape of the BBC’s new spy thriller, The Little Drummer Girl, adapted from a John le Carré novel.
Widely tipped as ‘The Night Manager 2’ (the actual second series of which is apparently in the works), the show is set in Europe in 1979 and follows a team of Israeli spies. And despite being a slower burn than The Night Manager, it was hailed after its first episode as ‘gripping espionage’ (The Guardian), a ‘beautiful and oddly disconcerting piece of film- making’ (The Independent) and ‘more plausible than previous Sunday night incumbent, Bodyguard’ (The Times).
But beyond that, critics praised the woman at its centre: 22-year-old breakthrough actress Florence Pugh. She plays Charlie, a young actor recruited as an agent for the Israeli secret service by a mysterious man (Alexander Skarsgård) while on a work trip in Greece. Charlie is the exact female character in a spy thriller we’ve been waiting for: she’s forthright, intelligent and crucially not just a male character’s love interest.
‘People are ready for roles like this, they need it,’ says Florence when I meet her for coffee in Soho. ‘When I started there were lots of conversations about it needing to change. What’s great now, though, is that before it was a bit of a luxury. Now, it’s like, “No, these characters need to be written and women need to be playing them and people need to be seeing these stories.” I’m incredibly lucky I’m able to enjoy the outcome of what so many people have been talking about and fighting for.’
Florence is more than happy for The Little Drummer Girl to be compared to The Night Manager (‘It’s not a bad thing, as it’ll make people watch it,’ she says), but she seems reluctant to admit that the series could change her life (just look at how Tom Hiddleston’s name soared after his turn in The Night Manager, another Le Carré adaptation). ‘I haven’t been prepping myself for fame. I’m just excited for people to watch it. I don’t know how it’ll change me or my life, but I’m hoping for the best.’
Florence’s previous credits include a much-lauded performance as Lady Macbeth, which won her a nomination for the BAFTA Rising Star award last year, and a part in King Lear with Emma Thompson, who Florence has described as a mentor. I suggest to Florence that it feels like she is on the cusp of superstardom. Indeed, The Little Drummer Girl’s director, Park Chan-wook, has said, ‘I am excited at the prospect of seeing how the drumbeats of Florence Pugh, the most energetic female actor I have seen recently, will resonate with the audience.’ She has also been described as the ‘next Kate Winslet’.
NOW READ: The TV Shows You Can't Miss This Autumn-Winter
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1 of 10Les Misérables
Hold the rousing rendition of One Day More: the BBC's new version of Victor Hugo's sprawling epic tale has been adapted (by Andrew 'Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice,' Davies, no less) straight from the book, meaning there'll be no singing the songs of angry men. What the series will have in common with the recent movie musical, though, is an impressive cast. Lily Collins will play struggling single mother Fantine, The Affair's Dominic West is troubled hero Jean Valjean and David Oyelowo is his nemesis Inspector Javert. Plus, a handful of The Crown's new royals will be joining in, too: Olivia Colman plays the villainous Madame Thernardier and Josh O'Connor (the show's new Prince Charles) takes the Eddie Redmayne role as student revolutionary Marius. BBC One; expected later this winter
2 of 10The Little Drummer Girl
Two years after The Night Manager served as Tom Hiddleston's extended Bond audition, another John Le Carré novel, 1983's The Little Drummer Girl, is getting the big-budget miniseries treatment. The magnetic Florence Pugh gets a long-overdue lead TV role as Charlie, a young actress who gets caught up in a high stakes espionage plot when she becomes involved with an Israeli intelligence officer (played by Big Little Lies' Alexander Skarsgard). BBC One; expected later this autumn
3 of 10Black Earth Rising
Expect big things from Black Earth Rising. A cinematic thriller with a labyrinthine plot that explores the legacy of international war crimes and the West's relationship with Africa, it also marks the first partnership between the BBC and Netflix. Chewing Gum's Michaela Coel plays Kate Ashby, a young woman who was rescued from the Rwandan genocide as a child and adopted by a hotshot British barrister. When Kate's mother (The Crown's Harriet Walter) takes on a case involving an African militia leader, she becomes embroiled in a deeply person - and potentially perilous - quest for justice. BBC Two; expected later this autumn
4 of 10Bodyguard
Whatever the current mania for re-making the entire '90s entertainment back catalogue might have you thinking, BBC's Bodyguard has nothing to do with the Whitney Houston movie. Rather, it's the latest series from Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, a stylish thriller which stars Keeley Hawes as a divisive Home Secretary and Game of Thrones's Richard Madden as the war veteran assigned as her new protection officer, despite his distaste for her political beliefs. BBC One; August 26th
5 of 10Wanderlust
A flurry of eye-brow raising headlines branding Wanderlust the 'most controversial' and 'most explicit' BBC drama to date has surely only served to raise anticipation for this new six-part series. Toni Collette stars as Joy, a therapist struggling to keep the spark alive in her marriage after an accident causes her to reassess the relationship. Potentially Ofcom-bothering sex scenes aside, it looks set to explore big questions about family, love and monogamy. BBC One; expected later this autumn
6 of 10Maniac
Emma Stone's Netflix debut also doubles up as a Superbad reunion. In Maniac, which has been adapted from a hit Norwegian series and directed by True Detective's Cary Fukunaga, she re-unites with her former co-star Jonah Hill. This time, the pair play strangers who take part in a pharmaceutical trial, testing out a wonder drug which promises to repair the mind entirely, be it from mental illness or heartbreak – until the side effects kick in, dragging participants into another dimension entirely.Netflix; September 21st
7 of 10The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
If there's currently a Riverdale shaped hole in your viewing schedule (no judgement here), steel yourself for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Netflix's reboot of the '90s teen classic. Don't expect much of the cosy comedy and talking cats that characterized the Melissa Joan Hart show, though: it's been reimagined as a dark coming of age story, with horror classics like Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist cited as influences. Didn't see that coming, did you? Kiernan Shipka (aka Mad Men's Sally Draper) stars, plus it's set in the town along from Archie and co, leaving the door open for a crossover episode further down the line…Netflix; October 26th
8 of 10Killing Eve
How could Phoebe Waller Bridge top a hit like 2016's Fleabag? By stepping behind the camera to direct and produce Killing Eve, a new series that marries the pitch black humour of her debut with all the pacy, high-octane thrills of a spy drama. Based on a series of novels by Luke Jennings, it stars Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh as Eve, a bored, deskbound MI5 analyst who is suddenly tasked with bringing down Villanelle, a vicious but undeniably glamorous Russian assassin played by Jodie Comer. Soon, the two very different women are locked in mutual obsession, taking turns to trap one another in cat and mouse mind games. BBC One and BBC Three; expected in September
9 of 10Vanity Fair
Autumn wouldn't be autumn without the promise of a new period drama to schedule our Sunday evenings around. Stepping up to fill the old Downton slot is ITV's lavish new adaptation of Vanity Fair, Thackeray's sweeping satirical novel. The seven-part series follows the machinations of devious social climber Becky Sharp (played by rising star Olivia Cooke), a brash anti-heroine who's an anomaly in the ranks of simpering bonnet-clad women that tend to populate classic novels. ITV; expected September
10 of 10The Romanoffs
Ever had an inkling that you're a bit… different? Special, maybe? Potentially a long-lost member of Russia's royal dynasty? While we try to confine our own royal wish fulfillment to repeat viewings of The Princess Diaries, Amazon's intriguing new anthology series The Romanoffs tells the stories of people scattered around the world who have one deeply-held conviction in common: that they're the descendants of Russia's ill-fated Romanov dynasty. With showrunner Matthew Weiner at the helm, the show's cast has become a mini Mad Men reunion, featuring Christina Hendricks, John Slattery and costume designer Janie Bryant. Amazon Prime; October 12th
Florence takes a sip of her coffee. ‘You’re making me nervous,’ she says with a laugh. ‘But it’s nice knowing that you don’t necessarily have to prove yourself every time you go to work or every time you go for a meeting. It’s been a couple of hard- working years, which have paid off.’
Her next part – which she rushed to the US to start filming as The Little Drummer Girl was released – is in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women, alongside a seriously A-list cast including Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep and Timothée Chalamet. Not bad for a 22-year-old who many people had never even heard of this time last year.
‘Those women are who I’ve been looking up to since I was tiny,’ she says of being chosen to star in the film. ‘I can’t believe that I’m there. I’m so aware that that is a very special treat.’ And then she adds, rather sweetly, ‘I’m pretty amazed that Greta knew who I was.’
That’s something she’ll have to get used to.