Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer, The Outlaws) is returning to Netflix for her next television project. According to Deadline, Gunning has been cast as one of four leads in Feral, a dark comedy thriller based on Shirley Conran’s 1987 novel.
Deadline notes the project marks Gunning’s return to Netflix following her breakout performance in Baby Reindeer. Unlike Baby Reindeer, Feral follows four very different women who are forced to survive on a dangerous tropical island after their husbands, who work as mining executives, are kidnapped.
The women must overcome their differences, insecurities and vanities if they want to survive. Gunning will play Annie, a dutiful wife who gave up her own ambitions to raise four sons with her domineering husband, Duncan. The other three leads have not yet been announced.
Jude Mack (Ted Lasso, Prime Target) created the series, while Emma Freeman (Interview with the Vampire, Stateless) will direct. Liza Marshall (Hamnet, Mary & George) will produce alongside Laurie Borg (Foundation, Industry).
The role brings Gunning back to Netflix after the success of Baby Reindeer. In the limited series from Richard Gadd (Sex Education, Against the Law), Gunning played Martha, woman who becomes obsessed with Gadd’s bartender and comedian Donny Dunn. Her performance earned several major honors, including an Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA TV Award.
As mxdwn previously covered, Baby Reindeer’s awards success came while Netflix faced an ongoing legal dispute over the series. Fiona Harvey filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over her alleged portrayal, disputing elements of the story and its presentation as a true story. The earlier coverage also highlighted the show’s continued awards recognition during the controversy, including BAFTA nominations for Limited Drama, Leading Actor and Supporting Actress.
Since Baby Reindeer, Gunning has taken on several film projects, including Steven Soderbergh’s (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven) The Christophers and Sunny Dancer opposite Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us, Game of Thrones). She is also set to appear in Marc Forster’s (World War Z, Finding Neverland) Anxious People and the Apple TV series Berlin Noir. Yet, as of now, Netflix has not announced a release date for Feral.