BBC Drama Noughts + Crosses will stream in the States on Peacock. According to Deadline, the six-part series will air September 4 on the NBCUniversal streaming service. The series debuted in the UK this past March.
Based on Malorie Blackman’s (Knife Edge, Crossfire) YA book series, Noughts + Crosses reimagines star-crossed lovers in a Europe colonized by Africa. According to Deadline, the series stars new actress Masali Baduza and Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders) as two childhood friends from opposite feuding social classes. Baduza plays Sephy, a young woman belonging to the “Crosses,” the upper class of Black elites. As the daughter of a politician, she falls in love with Callum, a “Nought,” who is a member of the low white class. The trailer can be viewed below.
“Essentially it’s a Romeo and Juliet story,” executive producer Preethi Mavahalli (Captcha) said, via Deadline. “Sephy is princess who lives in her palace and is very privileged, while Callum is the son of a maid that works in the house and they have a shared history. They knew each other as kids and then as they grow older they followed very different paths. Now that they are much older they realize they have a love for each other and this love develops but they face a number of obstacles on the way as the world and society stand against them being together,” Mavahalli told Deadline.
The cast includes members of the couple’s family. According to Deadline, Paterson Joseph (Timeless, The Beach) and Bonnie Mbuli (Catch A Fire, Vagrant Queen) play Sephy’s parents, while Kike Brimah (Love Type D) is her sister. Josh Dylan (Allied) is Callum’s older brother while Helen Baxendale (Friends, Cold Feet) and Ian Hart (The Last Kingdom, Harry Potter & the Sorceror’s Stone) play his parents. Shaun Dingwall (Maigret), Rakie Ayola (My Almost Famous Family), Johnathan Ajayi (Drifters), and rapper Stormzy round out the cast.
The series is directed by Julian Holmes (Daredevil, Iron Fist) and Koby Atom (HAIRCUT), via Deadline. Writers include Lydia Adetunji (Riviera), Nathaniel Price (Tin Star), and Rachel De-Lahay (The Eddy). The show is produced by Johann Knobel (The Shadow Line) with Mavahlli, Kibwe Tavares (Robot & Scarecrow), Patrick Reardon (Project Runway), Jeff Skoll (Captive State), Miura Kite (The Quiet American), Damien Timmer (The Prisoner), and Ben Irving (Paddington 2) as executive producers.