Disney+ UK orders adaptation of Alex Dahl’s ‘Playdate’ from Quay Street & Brightstar

Nicola Shindler

Disney+ has ordered Playdate, a new UK original from Nolly firm Quay Street Productions and Brightstar, the company behind Power Of The Dog.

The five-part psychological drama is adapted by Catherine Moulton from Alex Dahl’s novel of the same name and directed by Eva Husson.

James Dean will produce, while Nicola Shindler executive produces for Quay Street Productions, alongside Tanya Seghatchian and John Woodward for Brightstar, Johanna Devereaux, VP of scripted content for Disney+ EMEA, as well as Dahl, Moulton and Eva Husson, who will direct all episodes.

Production will commence this summer in the UK and France on the series, which follows what happens when a seemingly ordinary decision turns the world of Elisa, mum to two young kids, upside down.

Devereaux said that Playdate is “a brilliantly twisty thriller with a terrifying, instantly relatable hook.”

When her nine-year-old daughter Lucia asks to go on an overnight playdate with her new best friend Josie, Elisa agrees. After meeting Josie’s mother, Rebecca, she’s put at ease by her charming nature and their impressive house. But when she says goodnight to her daughter, she has no idea that she is about to be thrust into every parent’s worst nightmare.

The next day, when Elisa goes to pick up Lucia, she discovers that the beautiful house was a holiday rental. Lucia is missing. Rebecca and Josie have vanished. What started out as her daughter’s first sleepover has turned into an abduction.

As an urgent manhunt unfolds across Europe, Elisa and her husband Fred find themselves the object of police and public scrutiny. Elisa’s perfect family begins to unravel under the pressure, and long-buried secrets come to light. Rebecca took Lucia for a reason. And as viewers learn more about the tangled lives of these women we will wonder if Rebecca was justified in kidnapping the little girl – and whether she might be better off staying hidden.

The order for Playdate comes shortly after Disney+ unveiled premiere dates for its upcoming slate of UK originals, including Wagatha Christie (working title), with Coleen Rooney, and The Full Monty, a follow-up to the 1997 feature film of the same name, which launched this month.