Lennie James to lead new ITV1 thriller Nightswimming
Playing a man accused of brutally murdering his family years ago.
ITV1 has announced Nightswimming, a gripping new thriller from Harry and Jack Williams, starring Lennie James.
Nightswimming promises to be a multi-layered narrative, twisting and turning with every revelation as Matthew, played by Lennie James, returns to his home in Portugal, where he was convicted of the brutal murder of his family years earlier.
Weaving between past and present, Nightswimming picks apart the events that led up to the devastating night when Matthew's wife, Beth, and two teenage sons, Alex and Simon, were brutally attacked in their beachfront home, while Matthew was performing his nightly ritual, swimming in the ocean.
In the present, Matthew mounts his own investigation into the crime that tore his life apart, confronting old friends, revisiting broken relationships and interrogating the people who built the case against him.
But as he slowly unravels what happened a decade before, he struggles to plead his own innocence when he discovers it was someone much closer to home who helped to put him away.
Speaking about starring in Nightswimming, Lennie James said "I am very excited about getting going on Nightswimming. It's a juicy, grownup thriller about family, love, loss, betrayal, redemption and the price of justice. Matthew is the kind of character I love to play, full of complexity, contradiction and conviction. This is top notch storytelling, and I'm chuffed to be a part of it."
To which Harry and Jack Williams added "We absolutely relished writing Nightswimming, it’s a small-town thriller with a morally murky edge, grounded in a knotty, complex character. We can’t wait to work with ITV again and to see what Lennie - who we are thrilled to have on board - does with ‘Matthew’ when we begin filming in Portugal next year."
And ITV's Director of Drama, Polly Hill said "I am delighted to be working with Harry and Jack again. Nightswimming is an incredible thriller with all the twists and surprises you would expect from them. It will keep the audience on the edge of their seat."
"At the heart of it though is Matthew, who is in a nightmare of his own, being wrongly accused of killing his family. I am so thrilled that Lennie James has agreed to play him. I think it’s going to be an unmissable drama."
Made by Two Brothers Pictures, part of Banijay UK, Nightswimming is written and created by Harry and Jack Williams, produced by Georgina Lowe and executive produced by Harry and Jack alongside Daisy Mount, Sarah Hammond and Lennie James and co-executive produced by Cleo Hetherington, with Kelly Valentine-Hendry as casting director.
Filming will begin in Portugal in spring 2027.
Nightswimming will air on ITV1
