‘Happy Valley’ Star Sarah Lancashire Leading Dark Netflix Series About A Modern-Day Witch Hunt

Netflix is teaming with Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire, Abi Morgan and Sister on a dark thriller about a modern-day witch hunt, while the streamer has secured Bob Mortimer and Ricahrd Ayoade for its latest comedy entertainment show.

In Witch Hunt, Lancashire plays August Howell, a descendent of the ‘Witch of Cambridge’. Released after 30 years in prison for drowning her three young daughters, she comes home to a community that does not want her back. But when concern grows that her return has triggered a modern day witch hunt in the university town, the police must turn to August’s last surviving daughter, Professor Wren Howell, to help find the killer.

Lancashire plays Reed in Netflix’s hit series Black Doves, also produced by Sister, and is the multi-BAFTA-winning star of Happy Valley. Morgan returns to Netflix for the first time since limited series Eric, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch and is yet another Sister production.

Lancashire called Witch Hunt “a brilliantly imagined and utterly compelling story, with a deeply complex character at its heart,” adding: “There’s so much to explore in August, and I can’t wait to begin.”

The show was revealed at a Netflix UK Upfronts event in London alongside a comedy entertainment series featuring beloved British comics Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade, produced by Banijay-backed Last One Laughing UK maker Zeppotron.

In Hot or Cold, teams work their way through a labyrinth of rooms, each containing a challenge that must be completed as quickly as possible. The only problem: they’re never told what the challenge is, or how to solve it.

Both Mortimer and Ayoade produced some seriously hilarious moments in Prime Video’s Last One Laughing UK, with Mortimer winning the first series.

Zeppotron EP Chris Cohen said: “I’ve spent my entire career in telly walking into rooms and having no idea what’s going on, so it’s a delight to work with Netflix and finally make a show with that exact premise. We are thrilled to have two of Britain’s best in Bob and Richard at the heart of it all.”