Anya Taylor-Joy to star in Netflix series ‘How To Kill Your Family’
Returning to the scene of one of her greatest successes, Anya Taylor-Joy is getting back into the mini-series business after signing on to star in an adaptation of Bella Mackie’s novel, How to Kill Your Family.
If history is any indication, the combination of Taylor-Joy and the streaming service for a limited-run episodic event is guaranteed to be a global smash hit after the previous collaboration between the two parties on The Queen’s Gambit became a critical, viewership, and awards season sensation.
Playing troubled chess prodigy Beth Harmon, Scott Frank’s literary adaptation broke records as Netflix’s most-watched original scripted limited series ever, with Taylor-Joy winning a Golden Globe for ‘Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film’ into the bargain.
Needless to say, the combination of the popular and talented star, a miniseries based on a book, and the backing of Netflix has worked wonders already, so there’s no reason why How to Kill Your Family won’t make lightning strike twice.
Taylor-Joy will play Grace Bernard, a child born from an affair her billionaire father, Simon Artemis, claims he doesn’t even remember. After being left to fend for herself following her mother’s death, Grace’s blood family rejects her advances to be welcomed into the fold, so she decides to channel her anger by murdering them one by one to exact revenge and ensure she’s the only one who can claim her old man’s lucrative inheritance.
Extraordinary‘s Emma Moran will serve as the show’s lead writer and executive producer, with Taylor-Joy also taking on a behind-the-scenes role as executive producer through her LadyKiller Productions banner, and the actor shared a statement signalling her excitement for the upcoming project.
“As soon as I turned the last page, I knew I had to be a part of bringing this story to life,” she said. “After some (light) stalking of the inimitable Bella Mackie, I could not be more thrilled to be collaborating with the team that is Sally, Lizzie, and Emmy. I am looking forward to getting our hands even dirtier.”
Taylor-Joy might be a major movie star after appearing in movies like M Night Shyamalan’s Split and Glass, Robert Eggers’ The Northman, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, The Super Mario Bros Movie, and George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, but she’s show herself willing to take a trip to the small screen.
Following her 13-episode stint as Gina Gray in Peaky Blinders, her voice role in the fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Queen’s Gambit, and now How to Kill Your Family, though, Netflix appears to be her preferred television destination.