Natalie Dormer, best known for her work in theGame of ThronesandThe Hunger Gamesfranchises, has been cast in the leading role of the new South African crime thriller seriesWhite Lies.
Set in the upscale suburbs of Bishopscourt in Cape Town, South Africa,White Lieswill be both a murder mystery and an “urgent exploration of race and privilege, inequality and identity.” According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Dormer will play Edie Hansen, an investigative journalist whose teenage nephews are accused of murdering her estranged brother. In the course of trying to ascertain the truth behind her brother’s death, Edie is forced to confront “the crumbling local police force, a corrupt political system, and the secretive world of extreme Cape wealth.”
Created bySean Steinberg(The Girl from St. Agnes) and written byDarrel Bristow-Bovey(Rhythm City),White Lieswill commence production in Cape Town on March 6.John Trengovewill act as the series' lead director. Trengove most recently helmed the upcoming thrillerManodromewithJesse EisenbergandAdrien Brody, whichCollider’s ownMarco Vito Oddopraisedas “a unique character study” that “explores how a society that holds inclusive values makes certain men dangerously frustrated.”
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Who Else Is Involved inWhite Lies?
Additional directors set to work on the show includeThati Pele(Blood & Water,Savage Beauty),Catharine Cooke(Reyka,The River), andChristiaan Olwagen(Poppie Nongena,Kanarie). The show will co-starBrendon Daniels(Skemerdans,Four Corners) as a veteran detective who comes into conflict with Edie during the course of her investigation. Other cast members includeLangley Kirkwood(TheMauritanian,Dredd),Morgan Santo(Raised by Wolves,The Watch),Jane de Wet(the 2021Slumber Party Massacreremake), andRobert Hobbs(District 9,Invictus). The series is being produced by M-Net, Quizzical Pictures, and Fremantle as part of the first-look deal Dormer signed with the latter company in 2018.
Says Dormer ofWhite Lies:
“I’m thrilled to be in Cape Town and begin this beautiful, gripping show. South Africa has so much to offer an international audience in its storytelling. I’m truly excited to bring Darrel’s eight episode page-turner to life with such a group of talented directors, led by John, and a superb ensemble cast.”
Dormer most recently starred in the Showtime seriesPenny Dreadful: City of Angels. She will next be seen asthe lead inAudrey’s Children, a biopic about storied children’s oncologist (and Ronald McDonald House Charities co-founder) Dr. Audrey Evans, andoppositeNaomie Harris(The Man Who Fell to Earth,Venom: Let There Be Carnage)inThe Wasp, a psychological thriller based onMorgan Lloyd Malcolm’s play of the same name.
