Matt Smith continues to shatter expectations long after leaving his Doctor Who bowtie behind. Following his turn as stiff royalty in The Crown and the simmering ruthlessness of House of the Dragon, Smith now dives into one of his most unhinged roles yet: the titular antihero of The Death of Bunny Munro.
Sky has released the official trailer for the six-part limited series, produced by Clerkenwell Films (Baby Reindeer) and debuting on Sky and NOW on 20 November. Adapted from Nick Cave’s acclaimed novel, the series sees Smith not only star but also serve as executive producer.
Smith plays Bunny Munro, a swaggering, womanising door-to-door beauty salesman who fancies himself a modern lothario. When his wife, Libby, dies by suicide, Bunny is abruptly left to care for his young son, Bunny Junior, and quickly proves that seduction tricks do not translate into parenting skills. Reeling from grief and clinging to outdated notions of masculinity, Bunny drags his son on a chaotic sales tour around Brighton and the southern coast, chasing women, money, and denial in equal measure.
While Bunny ricochets between pitches and misguided flirtations, Junior (played by newcomer Rafael Mathé) spends quiet moments speaking to the ghost of his mother and slowly realising his father isn’t just flawed, he’s flailing. As Bunny spirals further, the series asks whether he can salvage his son’s future and break the cycle that threatens to repeat itself.
Tonally elastic and cut with a sharp streak of black comedy, the trailer suggests a sleazy yet compelling performance from Smith, with equal parts pitiful, magnetic, and tragic. Beneath the raunch and reckless bravado lies a surprisingly tender father-son story, promising emotional heft alongside absurdist humour and a cautionary tale about masculinity in freefall.
The series comes from BAFTA-winner Pete Jackson (Somewhere Boy) and BAFTA-nominated director Isabella Eklöf (Industry, Holiday). Nick Cave, who wrote the original novel, executive produces and composes the score with longtime collaborator Warren Ellis.
The supporting cast includes Sarah Greene, Johann Myers, Robert Glenister, Alice Feetham, David Threlfall, Lindsay Duncan, and Elizabeth Berrington.
A wild, sorrow-stained odyssey with Smith in full chameleon mode, The Death of Bunny Munro looks set to be one of Sky’s most daring dramas of the year.
Watch The Death of Bunny Munro on Sky Atlantic later this month.
Words by Joseph Jenkinson
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