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‘The Sister’: Release date, cast, plot, trailer and all you need to know about Hulu's new psychological thriller

From the creator of 'Luther,' 'The Sister' stars Russell Tovey, Bertie Carvel, Amrita Acharia and Nina Toussaint-White in the lead roles

BY VIRAJ MAHAJAN

UPDATED JAN 19, 2021

Russell Tovey as Nathan and Bertie Carvel as Bob in ‘The Sister’ (Hulu)

Acclaimed writer Neil Cross has adapted his own wayward psychological thriller novel for a TV show, titled ‘The Sister.’ The latest show revolves around a man Nathan who lives an everyday life with his wife. But when Nathan’s former friend, Bob, comes back to meet him, his entire life changes as they both embark on a life-threatening journey.

'The Sister' is a four-part TV show featuring Russell Tovey, Bertie Carvel, Amrita Acharia, and Nina Toussaint-White in the lead roles. The British thriller drama is based on Neil Cross’s novel 'Burial' and has a tinge of a supernatural feel to it.

While talking about the story’s crux, Cross stated in an earlier interview that he wished to tell a story of Hitchcockian everyman, with whom something bad happened one night that torments him forever. “I wanted to write that kind of psychological thriller than Highsmith would tell, where two – always men, in Highsmith’s world – two men who reflect and contrast one another take a step into a different moral universe,” Cross said during his interview with SciFiNow.

Release Date

Neil Cross’s 'The Sister' TV first broadcast on ITV on October 26, 2020, and was later acquired by Hulu. The show premieres Friday, January 22, 2021.

Plot

'The Sister' TV show is based on the book 'Burial' penned by Neil Cross. The story’s plot starts in the present day when two men meet up and discuss a situation that had occurred ten years ago, which entailed them burying a young girl’s body. It then jumps back to that time in the past, and the mysterious story starts to unfold where we see Nathan, the story’s protagonist, who is in a mediocre job, currently living with a girl he is not happy with.

One fine day, they go to his boss’s house party, and he deserts her and finds John (who is called Bob in the TV show) with whom he indulges in playing with a homemade Ouija board. Since Nathan is a non-believer, it upsets John, who appears to be an expert in all such activities.

A bit later, Nathan goes out with his friend, Elise, driving away from the party to have sex and drugs. When they are in the car, something strange happens, and Elise is killed. John and Nathan panic but decides to bury her in the woods and never contact each other ever again.

'The Sister' starts from the point when Bob comes back to Nathan’s house ten years later to tell him that property developers are going to dig up the woods and they must reunite to move the body. However, we learn that John has his secrets in his new life. His personal life starts to fall as he goes on this mysterious journey with Bob.

Cast

Russell Tovey:

'The Sister' stars Russell Tovey in the lead role where he plays Nathan. Russell is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC’s supernatural drama 'Being Human.' He got worldwide recognition after he starred as Steve in the BBC Three sitcom 'Him & Her.'

Russell Tovey is also famous for playing Alonzo Frame’s role in the 'Doctor Who' episode "Voyage of the Damned." He also starred alongside Priyanka Chopra in ABC’s 'Quantico.'

Bertie Carvel:

The 43-year-old Bertie Carvel plays the role of Bob in 'The Sister.' For his performance as Miss Trunchbull in ‘Matilda the Musical,’ he won Laurence Olivier Award. He repeated the same honor for playing Rupert Murdock in ‘Ink.’ For this role, he was also awarded the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Bertie Carvel’s most notable role was in Tom Hooper’s ‘Les Miserables’ movie, where he had a cameo as Bamatabois -- a dandy who sexually harasses Fantine (Anne Hathaway).

Amrita Acharia:

Amrita Acharia is a celebrated British actress who played the role of Irri - a Dothraki servant of Queen Daenerys Targaryen in the first two seasons of HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ Amrita then featured in several movies like ‘I Am Yours,’ ‘The Devil’s Double,’ and others.

In 'The Sister,' Amrita will be seen playing Holly Fox’s role.

Nina Toussaint-White:

The 'Doctor Who' actress, Nina Toussaint-White, will play the role of Jacki in ‘The Sister.’ The 35-year-old actress made her acting debut in a 2007 episode of Casualty, followed by a small part in ‘The Bill’ in 2008.

Toussaint-White has also appeared in the BBC One Show ‘Bodyguard,’ starring opposite ‘Game of Thrones’ alum Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes.

Creators

Neil Cross

The 51-year-old Neil Cross is a famous novelist and scriptwriter. Neil is best known for creating ‘Luther’ and ‘Hard Sun.’ For Idris Elba’s ‘Luther,’ Neil Cross was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special in 2014.

After creating ‘Luther,’ Neil Cross was labeled a crime thriller writer. He later denied this and stated that he loves writing outside the supernatural or serial killer genre.

“The truth is that I’m most comfortable in dark and scary stories. It’s just what I enjoy reading and watching and writing. I don’t know if it’s typecasting or if it’s psychological limitations, or if it’s a limitation of my skillset, but ultimately it’s something that I always come back to, and when I’m back in it, I feel most at home," he said in the interview.

Trailer

‘The Sister’ will surely keep you on the hook as it has all the right elements that make it a perfect binge-watch for all the psychological thriller fans.

Catch the video here.