Paramount Plus Announces The Casting For The Original Series The Doll Factory

Esme Creed-Miles, Eanna Hardwicke, Mirren Mack, and George Webster lead the cast for the new Paramount Plus original series The Doll Factory.

Paramount Plus has quite a few irons in the fire with regard to its original series at the moment. It recently announced the director for its series A Gentleman In Moscow. It has also got fare such as The Burning Girls, and The Flatshare currently in production. It has now announced the cast for the original series The Doll Factory. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Elizabeth Macneal, the series features an ensemble cast. Leading the cast are Esme Creed-Miles, Eanna Hardwicke, Mirren Mack, and George Webster.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Paramount+ has today announced the casting for its new original series THE DOLL FACTORY (6 x 60”), produced by Buccaneer and adapted from the Sunday Times bestselling novel of the same name by Elizabeth Macneal.

 Leading the cast is Esmé Creed-Miles (“Hanna”) as Iris, who dreams of becoming an artist, and by night, secretly paints herself. Éanna Hardwicke (“Normal People”) is Silas, a taxidermist who owns a shop filled with his creations, Mirren Mack (“The Witcher: Blood Origin”) is Rose, Iris’s twin sister who works alongside her in the doll shop and George Webster (“Wedding Season”) is Louis, a painter and member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

ALSO STARRING

Joining the ensemble cast for THE DOLL FACTORY are Pippa Haywood (“Bodyguard”), Sharlene Whyte (“Stephen”), newcomer Reece Kenwyne-Mpudzi, Freddy Carter (“Shadow and Bone”), Saoirse Monica Jackson (“Derry Girls”), Laurie Kynaston (“The Sandman”), Jim Caesar (“The Witcher”), Akshay Khanna (“Chloe”), Aysha Kala (“The Undeclared War”) and Nell Hudson (“Outlander”).

THE STORY

Set in London, in 1850, THE DOLL FACTORYtells the story of Iris, who paints dolls for a living alongside her twin sister, Rose. Silas is a taxidermist who dreams of one day finding an item so unique he will be catapulted to fame. Louis is a painter searching for his next muse. When Iris meets Silas, and then Louis, she is offered an opportunity to escape and start a new life. To do so, she must abandon her sister, sacrifice her reputation, and launch herself into the unknown. But as Iris’ world expands, a story of dark obsession begins to unfold.

BUCCANEER

Buccaneer, the London-headquartered production company behind returning scripted series “Marcella”, “Crime”, “Whitstable Pearl” and new commissions “The Burning Girls” (Paramount+) and “So Long, Marianne” are producing THE DOLL FACTORY. Tony Wood, Anna Burns, and Richard Tulk-Hart are Executive Producers for Buccaneer. Rising British screenwriter Charley Miles is adapting the series for screen and will also serve as Executive Producer. Sacha Polak (“Hanna”, “Dirty God”) is directing the series, whilst Suzanne McAuley (“Magpie Murders”,“Maigret”) is the Series Producer and Julie Harkin (“I May Destroy You”, “Becoming Elizabeth”) is the Casting Director.

THE NOVEL

THE DOLL FACTORY was a #1 bestseller in The Times and #2 bestseller in The Sunday Times in hardback and praised by The Sunday Times as ‘a remarkable example of historical fiction’. It has been translated into 30 languages. The novel’s author, Elizabeth Macneal is also the Executive Producer on the series.

“We are so excited about the group of people we’ve brought together for this show. Charley and Sacha are an incredible team, and we couldn’t wish for a more talented cast to be bringing to life the characters we love so much. A huge thanks to Paramount+ who we are delighted to be working with again, and to our partners at Cineflix, SBS, and TVNZ. Finally, thank you to Elizabeth Macneal, who has been a dream collaborator from the very start” said Anna Burns, Executive Producer at Buccaneer.

DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION

Cineflix Rights will be distributing the series internationally and public broadcasters SBS in Australia and New Zealand’s TVNZ have also boarded the historic thriller. Filming for THE DOLL FACTORY has commenced on location in and around Dublin, Ireland, and will continue through to 2023. Local production in Ireland is provided by ShinAwil.

The series was ordered for Paramount+ by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK, at Paramount.  THE DOLL FACTORY is part of Paramount+’s strategy to commission 150 international originals by 2025. The title joins a growing slate from the UK production community, including THE FLATSHARE, A GENTLEMEN IN MOSCOW, NO ESCAPE, and THE BURNING GIRLS.

CAST IMAGES

The Doll Factory is currently in production and will be released exclusively on Paramount Plus sometime in the future. Check back here at the Future Of The Force for any further developments.

Source: Paramount Plus

Carl Roberts

Carl Roberts is the News Editor for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!