Picture via Netflix UK
Netflix UK first announced a slew of new projects at the Edinburgh TV Festival back in August 2024, and among the new titles was a new 8-part thriller series based on the Bella Mackie novel, in which Anya Taylor-Joy will play the lead role of Grace Bernard. It’s now been a year since that project was first unveiled, so what’s happening? We’ve finally got a small production update.
Emma Moran is behind the project, having previously worked on Extraordinary for Hulu. Sid Gentle Films (Killing Eve) and Taylor-Joy’s LadyKiller Productions are producing the series for Netflix.
The plot of the best-selling novel revolves around Grace Bernard, a 28-year-old woman, who finds herself in jail for a murder she didn’t commit, despite having successfully carried out the complex and calculated murders of six family members as part of a revenge plot against her absentee millionaire father, who had rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help. Although she feels some sadness that no one will ever know the full extent of her elaborate operation, she is content with getting away with it and harbors no regret for her actions.
As mentioned, this marks Taylor-Joy’s fourth major project with Netflix, following her debut in the 2016 biopic Barrie, her voice role in 2019 with the beloved puppet series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and, of course, her role as Beth Harmon in the 2020 limited series The Queen’s Gambit.
What has the cast said about How To Kill Your Family?
Speaking with Netflix, Taylor-Joy said, “As soon as I turned the last page, I knew I had to be a part of bringing this story to life,” continuing, “After some (light) stalking of the inimitable Bella Mackie, I could not be more thrilled to be collaborating with the team that is executive producers Sally Woodward Gentle, Lizzie Rusbridger, and Emma. I am looking forward to getting our hands even dirtier.”
Emma Moran said in an initial statement, “I felt an immediate kinship with Grace. She’s the kind of complicated, dark, but utterly hilarious anti-hero you dream of writing. Striking that balance between camp fun and brutal violence that Bella hits so perfectly in the book is a challenge I’m so looking forward to. I’ve never had more fun on a project with such a high body count.”
Mona Qureshi, Director of Scripted Series at Netflix, added: “We are delighted to be embarking on such a fun and wild adventure, with our fabulous partners at Sid Gentle, and the extraordinary and rare talents that are Anya Taylor-Joy and Emma Moran lighting up the path. Bella Mackie has given us a brilliantly modern anti-hero in Grace, whose darkly humorous quest for revenge will take a scythe through British society as she sets about picking off the family that has wronged her. It is hard to imagine a more dazzling Grace than Anya – and we cannot wait to bring this to our Netflix members.”
Finally, Bella Mackie said, “It’s been thrilling to watch the characters I wrote take on new life under this magnificent creative team. Anya is the most perfect fit to play Grace: I often think she understands her better than I do. Pairing up with Sid Gentle has been joyful, and introducing me to Emma has made me supremely confident the book is in safe hands.”
Per Sid Gentle’s website, “Further auspices and cast will be announced in due course.”
Picture: Bella
This is one of a slew of announcements from Netflix’s UK account today as it announces a bunch of news at the Edinburgh TV Festival. On the documentary side, Netflix has announced new series covering Take That, Gordon Ramsey, Barry Hearn, and Victoria Beckham. On the scripted side, Netflix UK announced it has already given a season 2 renewal to Black Doves, the new Kiera Knightley series that debuted in late 2024. On the reality side, they confirmed our earlier reporting that Love is Blind UK has been greenlit for a second season.
Sally Woodward Gentle, Lizzie Rusbridger, and Emma Moran serve as executive producers on the project, with the author of the book serving as co-executive producer.
When will production begin on How to Kill Your Family?
Development
Filming Scheduled
Filming Ongoing
Post-Production
In August 2025, we got word that Netflix was planning to begin production on the new eight-part series in “early 2026.” That news came courtesy of a production listing from a UK company suggesting that it would be filmed in the UK, although that’s unconfirmed.
Are you looking forward to Netflix’s adaptation of How to Kill Your Family? Let us know down below.
