Insomnia, aka Paramount’s chilling new psychological thriller series, will cause many a sleepless night

Behind Her Eyes on Netflix - still

Credit: Netflix

Under Her Eye


Insomnia, aka Paramount’s chilling new psychological thriller series, will cause many a sleepless night

By Kayleigh Dray

2 years ago

2 min read

In the mood for a tense TV thriller? Here’s what you need to know about Insomnia, the new series from the team that brought us Behind Her Eyes

Call us sadistic if you will, but there’s nothing we love more than the shiver of fear that runs through our bodies when we sit down to watch a psychological thriller. Especially when the events of that aforementioned psychological thriller play on one of our deepest fears.

Enter the fray, then, Insomnia – an upcoming TV adaptation of Sarah Pinborough’s novel of the same name.

Here’s what you need to know.

What’s Insomnia all about?

This six-part series follows Emma Averill, a woman who seems – from the outside, at least – to have a pretty dreamy life: think high-powered legal career, two beautiful children and a wonderful stay-at-home husband.

A couple of weeks before her 40th birthday, Emma stops sleeping… just as her mother had done at the same age. Just as her mother had done, in fact, before she suffered a violent psychotic break on the night of her own 40th birthday.

So, is sleep deprivation making Emma paranoid? Has she inherited her mother’s ‘bad blood’? Is someone maliciously trying to destroy her? Or is there another explanation for the strange things that keep happening around her?

There’s only one way to solve the mystery: Emma must delve deep into the events of her painful past in a bid to prevent tragedy from striking a second time.

Who is working behind the scenes on Insomnia?

It’s excellent news for fans of the book, as Pinborough is adapting her own work for the small screen.

The series was commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell at Paramount+, while Andy Harries, Jessica Burdett and Tim Bricknell are serving as executive producers. Charlotte Essex, meanwhile, serves as producer, and Left Bank Pictures (the same people who brought us Netflix’s Behind Her Eyes) will be helping bring this story to life.

What are people saying about Insomnia?

“This has been keeping me busy,” says Pinsborough of the project, adding that she is “having a blast adapting Insomnia” for TV.

“I can’t wait for you all to see it,” she adds via a post on her Instagram

“Eek!

Cardwell, meanwhile, says: “Insomnia is a great addition to our growing UK scripted slate and is another example of the quality local content Paramount+ is commissioning from award-winning storytellers. We very much look forward to working with Left Bank Pictures on the series and seeing this heart-pounding thriller come to life.”

And Burdett promises: “Paramount+ is the perfect home for Sarah Pinborough’s brilliantly bold and unsettling story.”

Who stars in Insomnia?

The cast has yet to be announced for Insomnia.

When and where can we watch Insomnia?

The six-part series is still in the very early stages of production, so is unlikely to hit our screens (via Paramount+, of course) until next year.

We will bring you more details when we can!

Images: Netflix

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