If you’ve ever struggled with insomnia, you’ll know how debilitating it can be. Now, imagine that you fear that the insomnia you’re experiencing will be the cause of something far darker in your life. Scary, right?

Based on Sarah Pinborough’s novel of the same name, Insomnia is a new six-part thriller coming to Paramount+ starring Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure in the lead role of Emma Averill. 

With its release only a few weeks away, a first trailer has been released to reveal more details about this twisted, tense new show. Here’s everything we know about the series so far. 

What is the plot of Insomnia?

Emma Averill has a dream life: a successful career and a loving husband, but she’s worried that she’s starting to lose her mind. A few weeks before Emma turned 40, she stopped sleeping – just like her mother did before experiencing a violent psychotic breakdown on the night of her own 40th birthday.

Her mother warned Emma that she would face the same reality, that she had the same “bad blood”. Will Emma turn out like her mother did?

As things start to take a turn, Emma begins to investigate the truth of her dark past. Will she be able to find the answers she needs to stop experiencing the struggles of her mother?

Is there a trailer for Insomnia? 

A chilling first trailer has now been released, which sees Emma contemplate certain questions about her new found sleep disturbance.

We see Emma start to have blackouts from her sleep deprivation and wake up in random locations such as outside in the woods, as well as by an almost over-flowing bath tub, with no recollection of how she got there. 

“I’m the one she said would end up like her, who had the bad blood,” Emma says, revealing her anxiety about whether she has inherited her mother’s sleep struggles. Before, Emma’s sister, Phoebe (played by her Line of Duty co-star Leanne Best) tries to stage an intervention: “You’re not sleeping Em, you don’t know what you’re doing half the time!”

She also hints at some trauma in Emma’s past that could have triggered this breakdown and insomnia, as she says: “Your husband doesn’t know what happened to us when we were kids. That isn’t healthy.’

But the creepiest part of the trailer is that it opens and and closes with one terrifying statement, which Emma initially makes to her son: “There is only one monster in this house, and do you know who it is? It’s me.”

Who stars in Insomnia?

Vicky McClure (Line Of Duty, Trigger Point, This Is England) stars as the lead alongside Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey, The Gold), who plays Emma’s husband, Robert.

The cast is rounded out by Smylie Bradwell (Wisting) and India Fowler (The Nevers) play Will and Chloe, Emma and Robert’s children. 

Leanne Best (Bolan’s Shoes) joins the cast as Emma’s estranged sister Phoebe, who mysteriously shows up in town. Corinna Marlowe (Hysteria) is Emma’s mother, Patricia.

Dominic Tighe (Suspicion) and Jade Harrison (Wedding Season) play the Averill family’s close friends Julian and Michelle Simpson. Lyndsey Marshal (Inside Man) is Caroline, Emma’s friend and confidante. Robert Gilbert (Killing Eve) is Faisal and Michelle Bonnard (Unforgotten) is DI Hildreth.

When will Insomnia be released?

The series will premiere on Thursday 23 May, exclusively on Paramount+ in the UK.

Images: Paramount+