Jenna Coleman Drama ‘The Cry’ to Stream, Air on Sundance in U.S.

Jenna Coleman and Ewan Leslie in "The Cry" (Photo: BBC/Sundance)

Programme Name: The Cry - TX: n/a - Episode: The Cry - Teaser (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Alexandra (ASHER KEDDIE), Chloe (MARKELLA KAVENAGH), Alistair (EWAN LESLIE), Joanna (JENNA COLEMAN), Elizabeth (STELLA GONET) - (C) Synchronicity - Photographer: Lachlan Moore

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The Sundance Channel has snapped up the American broadcast rights to upcoming Jenna Coleman BBC drama The Cry.

The four-part series will first stream on the network’s SVOD channel, called Sundance Now, before airing on the network itself. There’s no firm streaming or broadcast date for The Cry in the U.S at the moment, likely because an airdate hasn’t been announced in the U.K. yet. (Or, at least, nothing has been confirmed beyond vague statements that it's “coming this autumn.”)

Based on the 2013 novel by Helen FitzGerald, The Cry follows the story of a young couple whose baby is abducted in a rural Australian town. Coleman, in a role that’s a bit different from her usual gig these days as the Queen of England on period drama Victoria, plays grieving young mother Joanna. She and her husband must struggle to keep their marriage together in the face of unimaginable loss and intense public scrutiny.

Actor Ewan Leslie, who recently starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Top of the Lake: China Girl, will play Alistair, Joanna’s husband. The larger ensemble cast also includes Sophie Kennedy Clark, Alex Dimitriades and Shareena Clanton.

The BBC describes The Cry as “a journey into the disintegrating psychology of a young woman, exposing the myths and truths of motherhood.”

Yikes. That certainly sounds…dark. But definitely interesting, and like it presents an acting challenge for Coleman, who’s spent the past few years playing a woman (Victoria) with a very different kind of relationship to motherhood.

“’The Cry’ is exactly the sort of top-quality, psychological thriller that our discerning audience craves,” Jan Diedrichsen, general manager of Sundance Now, said in a statement. “We are excited to be the exclusive home of The Cry in the U.S.”

What do you think of the look of The Cry? Interested in giving Coleman’s new role a shot? Let’s discuss.


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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