Playing Nice on ITV: Thriller adapted from JP Delaney novel stars James Norton and Niamh Algar
By Helen Fear | Wed Nov 27 2024Playing Nice is one of the stand-out dramas airing on ITV in 2025 - with a phenomenal cast, gripping storyline, and award-winning team behind it.
The new psychological thriller has all the elements to practically guarantee a brilliant watch.
For starters, it is adapted by Malpractice writer Grace Ofori-Attah. It's based on the bestselling novel of the same name by British thriller author JP Delaney, AND it's directed by One Day's Kate Hewitt.
Best of all, the cast is epic, with James Norton and Niamh Algar in leading roles. We're sick with excitement about this one, if we're honest!
Here's everything you need to know about Playing Nice on ITV1 and ITVX, including plot, cast, and start date...
What is Playing Nice on ITV1 and ITVX about?
Playing Nice is a psychological thriller which follows two couples who discover the unthinkable about their children...
They find out that their now toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up... And they subsequently face the horrifying dilemma of what to do. Do they keep the sons they have raised and loved? Or reclaim their biological child?
The synopsis from ITV tell us: "Living a waking nightmare, Pete and Maddie are jettisoned into the world of the other couple Miles and Lucy.
"At first it seems all four are agreed on a solution, but it soon becomes clear that hidden motives are at play - how far can each couple trust the real parents of their child or even each other?"
As Pete and Maddie are stretched to breaking point, they realise that they
will stop at nothing to keep their family together...
Who's in the cast of JP Delaney adaptation on ITV?
BAFTA-nominated James Norton stars as Pete Riley in the cast of Playing Nice on ITV and ITV1. James is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, Hugo Swan in The Nevers, and Sidney Chambers in Grantchester.
Fellow BAFTA-nominee Niamh Algar portrays Pete's wife Maddie. Niamh is perhaps most famous for her devastating role of Dinah in the Shane Meadows drama The Virtues. She's also played Sandie in Mary & George, Dr. Lucinda Edwards in medical thriller Malpractice, and Sue in Raised by Wolves.
James McArdle stars as Miles Lamber. His most notable roles include Gal Dove in Sexy Beast, Timm Karlo in Andor, Hugh in Life After Life, and Deacon Mark Burton in Mare of Easttown.
Jessica Brown Findlay, famed for playing Lady Sybil Crawley in Downton Abbey, and Charlotte Wells in Harlots, portrays Lucy Lambert.
Where was Playing Nice filmed?
Playing Nice is a limited series, set against a sweeping Cornish landscape.
The show is set in Cornwall, and the filming took place on the Cornish coast in early 2024.
When's the start date?
Playing Nice is expected to land on ITV1 and ITVX in the winter schedules.
That's sometime between January and March 2025.
How many episodes will be it? How can I watch it?
Playing Nice will be four episodes long. Each episode will be one hour long, and we already know that won't be enough.
The series will air on ITV1, and stream as a boxset on ITVX.
Is it Playing Nice based on a book?
The limited psychological series is based on the thriller of the same name by JP Delaney. The novel was first published in 2020.
Delaney is perhaps best known for her bestseller The Girl Before, which was also adapted for TV.
The book has been described as "an addictive psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door".
