David Duchovny, best known for his roles in The X-Files and Californication, is coming back to our screens in a plum role for Prime Video – and you don't need to be Scully to deduce that he's probably not going to be the good guy. He'll be starring alongside Game of Thrones' Carice Van Houten as the heads of a wealthy family that a young man, played by comic Jack Whitehall, attempts to infiltrate.
If that reads an awful lot like the plot for Saltburn for you, then you're not alone. While Prime Video is keeping the rest of the plot secret for now, we're speculating that following the success of dark comedies like The White Lotus, this may be a new winning formula for the best streaming services. Also, given that the show is called Malice, it's a safe bet that the family isn't going to be a particularly happy one.
It's still very early days though, as the series hasn't even been officially announced yet. The news comes via trade title Variety, which says that the streamer has commissioned the show from Expectation Entertainment and Tailspin Films.
Malice: what we know so far
In addition to the casting of the three lead roles, Variety has learned that the show will be written and executive produced by James Wood. Wood's resume is an impressive one. He wrote the well received adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall, created and wrote the Victorian doctor sitcom Quacks, and won a BAFTA for his sitcom Rev, which starred Tom Holland as a very unusual priest in inner city London. He's also written for the hit shows Casualty and Cold Feet.
Those writing credits are interesting because while they're all very different shows, with the exception of Casualty, they're all comedy dramas – and third lead Jack Whitehall has largely been cast in comedies or comedy dramas such as 2017's Bounty Hunters. While it's possible that Malice may play it entirely straight, it's also possible that it could be laced with the kind of pitch-black humor that made shows such as Succession, Beef and The White Lotus streaming successes. The truth is out there, somewhere.
Malice will stream on Prime Video but the launch date has yet to be announced.
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