Bella Ramsey, star of HBO’s The Last of Us, will set their sights on a new drama series as Channel 4 confirms the young actor has been cast in Daisy Haggard’s Maya.
Ramsey will co-lead the cast of the six-part show, created by BAFTA-nominated Haggard (Back to Life, Breeders). Haggard will also star as Ramsey’s mother and at the same time, make her directorial debut. Jamie Donoughue co-directs.
The Game of Thrones breakout will play the titular Maya, teenage daughter of Anna (Haggard). Forced into a witness protection programme to escape a life-threatening danger, Anna and Maya leave their London lives behind, taking on new identities and relocating to a small rural town in Scotland. “As they try to adjust to their new reality, the trauma of their past continues to haunt them in the form of two hitmen intent on tracking them down,” a plot synopsis reads. “As the walls close in, it becomes clear that a dangerous figure from their past is still a looming threat.”
The project will be filmed entirely on location in Scotland later this year, with further casting announcements coming in due course.
Ramsey said: “This story and these characters Daisy has created are so alive, nuanced, wickedly funny and scarily dark. Every character jumps off the page, the dialogue is incredibly witty and I’m so excited to get to play Maya opposite Daisy’s Anna.”
Haggard, writer, creator and co-director, said: “Ever since I first dreamt up this show, there has only ever been one Maya… I wrote the part with Bella so clearly in my head and I honestly still can’t believe they want to be part of it. Bella is pure magic, just insanely talented, and I can’t wait for us to work together. I’m also thrilled to be taking the leap into directing, and excited to have the opportunity to co-direct the series alongside the brilliant Jamie Donoughue.”
Maya was commissioned for Channel 4 by Ollie Madden, director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama and Gemma Boswell, commissioning editor, drama.
It is a Two Brothers Pictures (an All3Media company) production, in association with All3Media International.