Matt Smith will star in and executive produce a Sky Original adaptation of Nick Cave’s darkly comic novel The Death of Bunny Munro in the titular role.
The six-part series is written by BAFTA winner Pete Jackson and writer Nick Cave serves as Executive Producer.
Matt Smith:
“To work alongside Nick Cave on The Death of Bunny Munro feels like a great honour. It’s a brilliant exploration of love, grief, and chaos. At its heart a deep, difficult, and tender story about a father and son, coping with loss and change. Clerkenwell Films and Sky feels like the perfect home to make such a bold story and Pete has delivered such wonderful scripts, both funny and heart breaking in equal measure. I can’t wait to collaborate with Isabella and begin the journey with everyone at Clerkenwell.”
Following his wife Libby’s suicide, sex addict, door-to-door beauty product salesman and self-professed lothario Bunny Munro finds himself saddled with a young son and only a loose concept of parenting. Together with nine-year-old Bunny Junior he embarks on an epic and increasingly out-of-control road trip across Southern England as the two struggle to contain their grief in very different ways.
As Bunny bounces from one sales pitch to the next, trying to seduce any woman he meets, Bunny Junior kills time talking to the ghost of his mother and distracting himself from the dawning realisation that his dad isn’t just fallible, he’s a fucking mess. As he starts to unravel, Bunny realises he must do something to rescue his son from his own outdated notions of what it is to be a man. The Death of Bunny Munro is a darkly comic and unflinching modern-day parable as well as a tender portrait of the relationship between father and son.
The search for an actor to play the young Bunny Junior is already underway, with the hope of uncovering an exciting new talent.
Nick Cave:
“Finally, someone with the courage to take on this unholy tale. I am thrilled that Sky and Clerkenwell Films are bringing Bunny to life, in all his flawed glory, and I can think of nobody better than Matt Smith to play him.”
The Death of Bunny Munro is produced by Clerkenwell Films, who are wholly owned by BBC Studios, in association with Sky Studios. The series will begin filming in Spring 2024 across the south of England and will be available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in the UK.
