It'd be easy to read the premise of Harry Wild, Acorn TV's Jane Seymour-starring murder mystery thriller series, which Collider can exclusively reveal is coming on April 4, and call it Knives Out meets Shakespeare. But something tells us that might not be the case.
The soon to premiere series starring the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress centers on a university professor who, at a crossroads in her life following a frightening incident with a mugger, briefly retires to her son's house. He's a senior police detective — Charlie, played by Kevin Ryan from Guilt and Copper — and Harry, ever intrigued, gets involved with one of the most baffling murder cases. However, she notices a pattern that only a literature head would catch: the murder shares striking similarities with an obscure Elizabethan play. How convenient, then, that the eponymous bookworm is around to help out the force.
It's from here that she discovers an entirely new passion, and begins life almost a-new: like a University Challenge Poirot, solving mysteries varying from fledging serial killers on the loose to illegal gambling. (Hey — even Batman saves cats from trees. I think.) But, of course, even though she provides some helpful insight into some of Charlie's cases, who likes working with their mom? A little friction is probably to be expected.
Harry Wild is created and written by David Logan, who also executive produces alongside Seymour, Dan March, Klaus Zimmermann, James Gibb, James Flynn, Morgan O’Sullivan, David McLoughlin, Jo Spain, Bea Tammer, Catherine Mackin, Claus Wunn, and Frank Seyberth. Acorn Media Enterprises and ZDF co-produce.
Harry Wild premieres on April 4 on Acorn TV. Two new episodes will drop on a rolling weekly release every Monday, through to April 25, 2022. Rounding off the cast are supporting talents Stuart Graham and Amy Huberman. Check out more images from the upcoming series below:
Here's the official synopsis for Harry Wild:
Jane Seymour stars as Harriet “Harry” Wild, a retiring university literature professor who is finding herself at one of life’s crossroads. Jolted from a mugging, she reluctantly agrees to recover in the home of her son, Charlie (Kevin Ryan, Guilt, Copper), a senior police detective. Harry starts to interfere in a particularly baffling murder case Charlie is investigating when she notices the murder shares striking similarities to an obscure Elizabethan play. When her path crosses that of her mugger, Fergus Reid (Rohan Nedd, Whitstable Pearl), Harry sees great potential in the troubled teen and, instead of turning him in, enlists him as her sidekick. Following her successful, albeit ill-advised, involvement in the case, Harry discovers a new lust for life. She and Fergus quickly find new mysteries, including ones that involve a fledgling serial killer with a Dostoevsky fixation, gamblers running snuff games, and a wealthy Dublin matriarch strangled during a video call. Harry’s new passion brings her into direct conflict with Charlie, who could really do without his mother causing trouble at work.