A Downton Abbey lead and a Black Mirror actor will star in a new show based on a Sunday Times best selling novel.
The series is based on Flatshare, a book written by Beth O’Leary which follows the life of two cash-strapped people in their mid-twenties, who agree to timeshare a bed but not to meet.
The pair, called Tiffany and Leon, agree to split the cost of renting a bed, as the former has a minimum wage job at a “click-bait” news website during the day, and the latter works long night shifts in a hospice.
Unsurprisingly, their plan meets complications when they seem to fall in love via post-it notes, and without ever actually setting eyes on one another.
Jessica Brown Findlay, best known for her portrayal of Lady Sybil Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey, will play Tiffany.
Anthony Welsh – who featured in Fleabag as Jack and in the Black Mirror episode Crocodile, as well as Master Of None, The Great, and The Gallows Pole – will play Leon.
42, a management and production company, is producing the show in association with VIS, the international studio division of Paramount Global.
Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran, executive producers at 42, said: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Beth O’Leary’s captivating bestseller to television.
“Bursting with wit and heart, Flatshare is the perfect love story for a global millennial audience.
“Adapted for the screen by our incredible showrunner Rose Lewenstein, and helmed by Oscar-nominated director Peter Cattaneo, the creative team is a dream come true.
“With Jessica Brown Findlay and Anthony Welsh as our leads, we can’t wait for audiences to fall in love with Tiffany and Leon all over again.”
London-born author O’Leary rose to fame after her book Flatshare made its way onto the Sunday Times bestseller list and was translated into 33 languages.
She has written four books in total, including another bestseller, The Switch.
The series has been commissioned by Paramount+ as part of a strategy to green-light 50 new international scripted originals this year, and filming for the show has already begun.
Also joining the cast are Bart Edwards, who stars in The Witcher, and will play Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend Justin, and Shaq B Grant, known for his portrayal of Raheem in drama Gangs Of London, will play Leon’s brother Richie.
On the new series order, Sebastian Cardwell said: “Flatshare gives a flavour of the high-quality local content that viewers can look forward to from Paramount+.
“With VIS and 42 at the helm, and a brilliant cast attached, I’m looking forward to seeing this adaptation of a much-loved novel come to life.”
Other notable faces in the show include Shaniqua Okwok, who played Solly Babatunde, sister of the vibrant Roscoe Babatunde in It’s A Sin and Jonah Hauer-King who stars in World War Two drama World On Fire, who play Tiffany’s best friends Maia and Mo respectively.
Filming for the new series has begun in Bristol, and will also take place in London and Brighton.