FIRST LOOK AT PARAMOUNT+ UK ORIGINAL DRAMA SERIES "INSOMNIA" STARRING VICKY McCLURE

INSOMNIA Will Premiere On 23rd May Exclusively On Paramount+ In The UK

Leanne Best, Tom Cullen, Lyndsey Marshal, Dominic Tighe, Jade Harrison, Corinna Marlowe, Robert Gilbert, Michelle Bonnard, India Fowler and Smylie Bradwell Also Star

9th April, 2024 - Paramount+ has today released a selection of first look photos for UK original drama series INSOMNIA, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by bestselling author Sarah Pinborough.

Paramount+ has also confirmed that the six-part series, produced by Left Bank in association with All3Media's Build Your Own Films, will debut exclusively on Paramount+ in the UK on 23rd May. Global sales are handled by Sony Pictures Television.

Today's photos see series lead Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, Trigger Point, This Is England) for the first time as successful career woman Emma Averill. INSOMNIA follows Emma, who fears she might be losing her mind when her hard-won dream life starts to turn into a nightmare. A couple of weeks before her fortieth birthday, Emma stops sleeping - just as her mother had done right before she suffered a violent psychotic breakdown on the night of her own fortieth birthday. Emma's mother always told her she'd go the same way, that she had the same "bad blood" and now Emma's terrified it's true.

As events worsen, Emma's world starts to unravel and she realises that only by investigating the truth of her painful past, can she find the answers to her present and prevent tragedy from striking a second time.

Also seen in the first look photo collection are Tom Cullen (The Gold), who is Emma's loving husband Robert; Smylie Bradwell (Wisting) and India Fowler (The Nevers) who play Will and Chloe, Emma and Tom's children; Emma's estranged sister Phoebe (Leanne Best - Balan's Shoes); Corinna Marlowe (Hysteria) as Emma's mother Patricia and also Caroline, Emma's friend and confidante (Lyndsey Marshal - Inside Man).

Additional cast for INSOMNIA includes Dominic Tighe (Suspicion) and Jade Harrison (Wedding Season) who will play the Averill family's close friends Julian and Michelle Simpson, whilst Robert Gilbert (Killing Eve) is Faisal and Michelle Bonnard (Unforgotten) is D.I Hildreth.

Börkur Sigthorsson (The Midwich Cuckoos, Baptiste) directed INSOMNIA, and joins fellow Executive Producers Andy Harries, Jessica Burdett and Tim Bricknell. Charlotte Essex is Producer on the series. Sarah Pinborough is the writer, who has adapted her novel for screen, as well as serving as Executive Producer. The series was ordered by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK, Paramount.

INSOMNIA joins a rosta of UK scripted originations launching on Paramount+, including The Flatshare, Sexy Beast and A Gentleman In Moscow.

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About Paramount+

Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME(R), BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel(TM), in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Caribbean, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, South Korea, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com

About Left Bank Pictures

Left Bank Pictures is an independent production company within the Sony Pictures Television group. Multi award-winning independent production company Left Bank Pictures launched in 2007 and since its inception has built up a world class creative team with a wealth of experience in British filmmaking and broadcasting under the leadership of Chief Executive Andy Harries.

Productions include six seasons of The Crown for Netflix; seven seasons of Outlander for Starz; BAFTA Award-winning film Sitting in Limbo based around the Windrush scandal for the BBC; a three-part adaptation of James Graham's play Quiz for ITV; the hit Netflix thriller Behind Her Eyes; Canadian-set crime drama Three Pines for Prime Video and Nottingham-set crime drama Without Sin for ITVX.

Recent productions include Everything Now and Who is Erin Carter? for Netflix, and the Vicky McLure led thriller Insomnia which launches on Paramount+ in 2024.

Twice named Best Independent Production Company at the Broadcast Awards (in 2011 and 2018) Left Bank also won Production Company of the year at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in 2017.

Left Bank Pictures' films and scripted series have been recognised by all the major awards bodies around the world including Golden Globes, Emmys, Academy Awards, BAFTA and Royal Television Society amongst many others. Sony Pictures Television took a majority stake in Left Bank Pictures in 2012.

About Build Your Own Films

BYO Films, which is focused on both scripted and non-scripted productions, was launched by co-CEOs Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen, and backed by All3Media in 2022.

Its first scripted series, critically-acclaimed ITV drama 'Without Sin', was co-produced with Left Bank Pictures. BYO Films is in development with a six-part political thriller, a multi-part period drama, a female heist series and a football documentary from award-winning producer Owen, whose credits include 'I Believe in Miracles', the story of the history-making Nottingham Forest team that won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, which was picked up by Netflix, as well as a documentary marking the 40th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.

About Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) is one of the television industry's leading content providers, producing, distributing and carrying programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform. In addition to managing one of the industry's largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, SPT is home to a thriving global content business, operating a robust portfolio of wholly-owned and joint-venture production companies across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, as well as linear and digital channels around the world. SPT is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.