The Serial Killer's Wife - Misplaced Pages

British Television series

The Serial Killer's Wife
Based on	The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter
Screenplay by	Suzanne Cowie Ben Morris
Directed by	Laura Way
Starring	Annabel Scholey Jack Farthing Luke Treadaway
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	4
Production
Executive producers	Andy Morgan Mike Benson Chiara Cardoso Giuliano Papadia
Producer	Jonathan Phillips
Production companies	Clapperboard Studios BlackBox Multimedia
Original release
Network	Paramount+
Release	15 December 2023 (2023-12-15)

The Serial Killer’s Wife is a British drama television series. It is produced by Clapperboard Studios and BlackBox Multimedia. Suzanne Cowie and Ben Morris are writers, with Laura Way as director and Jonathan Phillips serving as the producer. It is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Alice Hunter. It premiered on Paramount+ on 15 December 2023. Suzanne Cowie wrote episodes 1 and 3 and Ben Morris wrote episodes 2 and 4.

Plot

Beth (Scholey) is stunned when her husband, Dr. Tom (Farthing), is arrested in front of all their guests at his surprise birthday party for the murder of Katie, his office assistant. Whispers about the scandal buzz around her like angry bees, and she feels overwhelmed with doubt and fear. She has a daughter, Poppy, with Tom, and in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, she frantically searches his belongings. Instead, she uncovers a dark side: Tom hoards sexually aggressive material and has been cheating on her with Katie and others. Panicked, she confides in Adam, Tom's friend, about her suspicions and growing anxieties.

The plot thickens as Beth's past is revealed: she comes from a humble background, is a social climber, and met Tom in a sex club before their relationship blossomed. Meanwhile, the police investigation uncovers Tom's membership in the same club, and a leaked news report exposes his sex addiction, publicly tarnishing his good name.

Despite Tom's attempts to clear his name, the police conclude he is the culprit. However, a shocking twist emerges: Beth marries Adam, only to discover evidence that he is the real murderer. A gruesome trophy box reveals the extent of his crimes, far exceeding the single murder he framed Tom for. She also see the film that reveals that Adam killed his wife. She finds a paper with a paternitytest made by Adam that shows that Adams child is actually Toms, and that Adam knew this.This breaks the unspoken code between Tom and Adam and spirals into a deadly obsession, driving Adam to become a serial killer.

Emotionally drained and burdened by her knowledge, Beth decides to take matters into her own hands. Manipulating Adam's trust, she feigns ignorance of the truth and during a secluded hike, pushes him off a cliff, taking him out with the secret. To protect herself and ensure Tom remains in prison, she meticulously destroys all evidence linking Adam to the murders.

In a post-credits scene, Jules visits Tom in prison, telling him that she has some of Maxwell’s files on him and that they make for very interesting reading. (Maxwell is Tom’s former lawyer and Jules’s ex-husband.)

Cast

Annabel Scholey as Beth Fairchild
Jack Farthing as Tom Fairchild
Luke Treadaway as Adam Plummer
Angela Griffin as DI Aline Edgeworth
Julie Graham as Beth's absent mother Clover
Shobna Gulati as Headmistress Kiran
Hari Dhillon as defence lawyer Maxwell
Morgana Robinson as Jules

Production

In June 2023, it was announced that Paramount+ had commissioned the series with Suzanne Cowie and Ben Morris as writers, Laura Way as director and with Jonathan Phillips serving as the producer. The series is produced by Clapperboard alongside Blackbox Media. Andy Morgan and Mike Benson from Clapperboard are executive producers alongside Chiara Cardoso and Giuliano Papadia from BlackBox Multimedia. It is an adaptation of a book of the same name by Alice Hunter.

Casting

In June 2023, Annabel Scholey, Luke Treadaway and Jack Farthing joined the cast in lead roles. The rest of the cast were announced in promotional material in November 2023.