Netflix helped make Anya Taylor-Joy a star with The Queen’s Gambit, and now she’s returning to the service for her next leading role. This time however she’s trading in pawns and knights for murder plots and knives. She’ll play a self-satisfied serial killer in Netflix’s upcoming satirical series, How to Kill Your Family. An adaptation of Bella Mackie’s 2021 novel of the same name, the show will star Taylor-Joy as Grace Bernard, a 28-year-old woman seeking revenge on her absentee dad by way of murder.
The actress is known for taking on roles with a bit of an edge; she broke into the mainstream in Robert Egger’s low-budget but highly popular 2016 horror film The Witch, and has since starred in films like 2022’s restaurant horror comedy The Menu, Egger’s ultraviolent Viking film The Northman, and the latest installment of the postapocalyptic Mad Max (in the case, Furiosa) series.
Here’s everything we know about Taylor-Joy’s next role in How to Kill Your Family, below:
What’s the plot of How to Kill Your Family?
An official synopsis of the series reads: Grace is the forgotten child of Simon Artemis, a merciless billionaire. After a heartbreaking rejection, Grace decides to exact revenge. But will this deadly scheme take even more from Grace than she’s already lost?
In the book, Grace’s father has refused the dying wish of her cancer-ridden mother, an event that serves as the impetus for killing six members of her family. Written in the style of a confession, How to Kill Your Family is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on class and gender.
The series is being produced by Sid Gentle, the creator of Killing Eve, another series about an anti-heroine with a penchant for violence.
“As soon as I turned the last page, I knew I had to be a part of bringing this story to life,” Taylor-Joy said in a statement. “After some (light) stalking of the inimitable Bella Mackie, I could not be more thrilled to be collaborating with the team that is executive producers Sally Woodward Gentle, Lizzie Rusbridger, and Emma [Moran]. I am looking forward to getting our hands even dirtier.”
Mackie added: “It’s been thrilling to watch the characters I wrote take on new life under this magnificent creative team. Anya is the most perfect fit to play Grace: I often think she understands her better than I do.”
Who else is in the cast?
So far, Taylor-Joy is the only cast member to have been announced.
When will How to Kill Your Family be released?
There’s no release date yet; stay tuned for updates.