From Merman, the producers of hit TV series Bad Sisters, Amandaland and the award-winning BBC podcast series People Who Knew Me, Intimacy is a new eight-part comedy drama launching first on the Arc podcast feed on BBC Sounds, with a Radio 4 broadcast to follow from 27 July.
Written by, directed and starring Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), the cast includes Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey, Pride and Prejudice), Thaddea Graham (Bad Sisters), Matthew Broome (The Buccaneers) and Tom Goodman-Hill (Baby Reindeer).
The series follows intimacy coordinator Liza Simmons (Lena Headey), who, in her professional life, is a safe space, a warrior for consent, the person actors rely on when scenes get complicated. Her personal life, however, is anything but reliable, not helped by her alcoholic mother (Alison Steadman). A former actor and divorced mum, Liza is drowning in debt to her ex-husband and barely holding things together. So when her agent (Hannah Waddingham) offers her a job on a glossy big budget movie, shooting on a Greek island, she is thrilled to say yes.
But what should be a dream job working with the lead actors (Maisie Williams and Matthew Broome) quickly sours after Liza’s discovery that the director (Tom Goodman-Hill) is a man from her past who she blames for ruining her life.
The production turns volatile as boundaries are crossed, power shifts, and Liza finds herself increasingly isolated, save for the only other female crew member, Kate (Thaddea Graham). As everything unravels, Liza is forced to decide between speaking out and losing her job or staying silent and losing herself.
The series will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 11pm on Monday nights, beginning 27 July. It will be available on the Arc podcast feed on BBC Sounds as a boxset from 22 July, with weekly double episode drops on RSS. Alongside Limelight on BBC Sounds, Arc is home to premium cinematic audio drama series - sharp, funny, and emotionally honest stories about the moments that change us. It also includes People Who Knew Me, starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie.
Alison Steadman and a behind the scenes shot (Image: Pete Jones/ Merman)
Lena Headey says: "It's been a joy to create Intimacy alongside this incredibly talented cast and production team. Telling Liza’s story through audio was a challenging and fun process. I’m excited for listeners to meet her and the crew."
Sharon Horgan, Merman says: "Lena has created something really special and it’s been brought to life by an amazing cast - I can’t wait for listeners to discover Intimacy. Audio drama has a unique way of immersing listeners in characters’ inner worlds – so it's the perfect medium for telling this story, which explores the emotional and moral complexities of our most intimate moments."
Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Executive, BBC Sounds, says: "The foundation for Arc was laid with People Who Knew Me, which was a huge hit with listeners in the UK and around the world - proof of the global appetite for unflinching contemporary audio drama. We're thrilled to be working with Sharon Horgan's Merman again on Intimacy: a bold, darkly funny new series written by and starring Lena Headey, with a truly knockout cast."
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