Jessica Gunning is heading back to Netflix for her first major series since “Baby Reindeer” turned her into one of television’s most decorated new stars.
Gunning has landed one of four lead roles in “Feral,” a darkly comic thriller adapted from Shirley Conran’s 1987 novel, according to Deadline, which first reported the casting. She’ll play Annie, a quietly dutiful wife who gave up her own ambitions to raise four sons under a domineering husband named Duncan. The series follows four women with little in common who must learn to survive together on a deadly tropical island after their mining-executive husbands are kidnapped, testing whether they can set aside rivalries, insecurities and vanity to stay alive.
Jude Mack created the project. Mack, currently appearing on screen as the new goalkeeper on “Ted Lasso” Season 4, has also worked on “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” and the Netflix action comedy “Back in Action.” Emma Freeman, known for directing episodes of “Interview with the Vampire” and “Stateless,” will direct the series. Producing alongside her are Oscar nominee Liza Marshall, whose credits include “Hamnet” and “Mary & George,” and Laurie Borg, a producer on “Foundation” and “Industry.” Netflix declined to comment on the casting.
Gunning’s turn as Martha, the stalker at the center of “Baby Reindeer,” made her one of the most recognized names to emerge from television in 2024. Her performance swept the major awards circuit, earning her an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA TV Award, a Critics’ Choice Award and an Independent Spirit Award after the limited series premiered on Netflix that April.
Since then, Gunning has kept busy on the film side, appearing in Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” the London-premiered “Sunny Dancer” and “The Magic Faraway Tree.” She has two more films on the way, “Anxious People” and “Frank and Percy.” No premiere date has been set for “Feral,” and an episode count has not been disclosed.
