Kate Winslet and Maxine Peake to star in Netflix thriller from Adolescence writer Jack Thorne

Netflix has set Kate Winslet and Maxine Peake to star in "The Unheard," a five-episode limited series about two sisters on the run after an act of revenge goes catastrophically wrong, the streamer confirmed on its Tudum editorial site Wednesday. The project, written by "Adolescence" screenwriter Jack Thorne, was unveiled by Netflix's head of U.K. content, Anne Mensah, during a programming session at the Edinburgh TV Festival, which runs through Friday.

Netflix also confirmed the casting in a post from its official account, using the same logline the streamer has now attached to the project: "This limited series tells the story of two sisters who go on the run after an act of vengeance goes wrong. As they are desperately pursued, we ask the question: What pushed them to this reckless act, and was it ever their intention to get away with it?"

The numbers

"The Unheard" is set as a five-episode limited series. Filming is scheduled to begin in 2027, and Netflix has not announced a release date. The show has drawn comparisons in early coverage to "Thelma & Louise" for its premise of two women fleeing after a violent reckoning, though the studio's own framing leans more on the sisters' motives than a straightforward chase, according to Deadline's report on the announcement.

Winslet and Thorne are both credited as executive producers alongside a trio of production companies: Plan B, the Brad Pitt-founded outfit run by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Nina Wolarsky; Warp Films, led by Mark Herbert and Emily Feller; and Matriarch Productions, the company run by Hannah Walters and actor Stephen Graham. Lebanese-French filmmaker Mounia Akl is attached to direct. Akl, who holds an architecture degree from Beirut's ALBA and an MFA in directing from Columbia University, made her name with the short film "Submarine," which played the Cannes Film Festival's Cinéfondation section in 2016, and her debut feature "Costa Brava, Lebanon," which premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival and won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival before landing on Netflix.

The "Adolescence" connection

The pairing of Thorne with a Netflix limited series carries particular weight this year. Thorne co-wrote "Adolescence" with Graham, and the four-part drama swept the major categories at the 2025 Emmys, winning outstanding limited series, lead actor for Graham and a writing award for Thorne and Graham, according to the Hollywood Reporter's coverage of the ceremony. That Graham's own production company, Matriarch, is among the producers on "The Unheard" effectively reunites part of that creative team, even though Graham himself is not attached as a cast member.

Thorne has hardly slowed down since. He wrote Netflix's limited series adaptation of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," which premiered in May, and the screenplay for "Enola Holmes 3," which the streamer released in July — both credits arriving within months of "Adolescence" becoming Netflix's awards showcase. Philip Barantini, who directed "Adolescence," also directed the "Enola Holmes" sequel, keeping much of that production circle in steady rotation across the platform's British-made slate.

For Winslet, the role marks a return to television after HBO's "The Regime" in 2024. The Oscar winner has built a substantial limited-series résumé on the format, with Emmy wins previously for "Mildred Pierce" and "Mare of Easttown." She is also currently attached to Andy Serkis's "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum," cast in a lead role opposite Serkis, Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood ahead of the film's planned December 2027 release. Peake, a BAFTA Award nominee, is best known in the U.K. for stage work and series including "Silk" and "Rebecca."

Part of a wider slate

"The Unheard" was one of several British commissions Mensah announced at the festival. Netflix also ordered two spinoffs of its crime drama "Top Boy": a five-episode prequel titled "Jonny Boy," starring Barry Keoghan as the character he played in the show's final season, written by "Top Boy" creator Ronan Bennett and produced through Bennett's Easter Partisan Films and Keoghan's own Wolfcub banner; and a companion series built around the character Jaq, starring Jasmine Jobson, according to Variety's reporting on the announcement. Both are slated to begin production in 2027.

Also unveiled was a six-episode anthology drawing on Roald Dahl's short stories written for adults, adapted by Danny Brocklehurst and starring Nicola Coughlan, Naomi Scott, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton, with a supporting cast that includes Toby Jones, Carmen Ejogo and Clarke Peters. Netflix describes the series as following a young couple stranded in a fading seaside town who navigate "conmen, adulterers, murderous mothers and snake charmers" while trying to escape before their own fate is sealed, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Netflix is listed as one of ten flagship "Spotlight On" sessions at this year's Edinburgh festival, alongside the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and other British broadcasters, according to the festival's own program announcement.

"In the amazingly competitive U.K. landscape, it's not good enough to be just ok. You need to swing for exceptional."

The line, delivered by Mensah during her festival remarks, was framed as a statement of intent for Netflix's British commissioning going into 2027, pairing the Winslet casting with the "Top Boy" spinoffs and the Dahl anthology as evidence of the streamer's continued investment in U.K.-originated drama, a push accelerated by the commercial and critical success of "Adolescence" earlier this year.

What happens next

No premiere date has been set for "The Unheard," and with filming not scheduled to start until next year, the series is unlikely to reach Netflix before 2028 at the earliest. "Jonny Boy" and the Jaq spinoff are similarly slated for 2027 production, and the Dahl anthology has not had a title, cast completion or filming timeline confirmed beyond its six-episode order. Netflix has a history of moving quickly once cameras roll on its U.K. limited series, but further casting, a full creative statement from Akl and a release window for "The Unheard" are expected to follow as production nears.