The BBC has released the first look at Shy & Lola, a new darkly comic thriller starring Hayley Squires and Bel Powley, while also revealing more of the cast joining them when the series arrives next year.
The six-part drama comes from writer Amanda Coe and Clerkenwell Films, the production company behind Baby Reindeer, The Death of Bunny Munro and The End of the F*ing World. Squires stars as Shy, a cleaner dreaming of leaving her life behind for Portugal, while Powley plays Lola, an ex-model turned grifter who arrives in town with trouble following close behind.
What Is Shy & Lola About?
The story brings together two women who initially have very little in common. Shy is scraping by in a small coastal town in the North of England, while Lola arrives carrying problems of her own. Their lives collide when a murder leaves them caught up in the criminal underworld operating around Shy’s hometown.
Forced to work together, the pair begin as inexperienced outsiders but soon discover they might actually be rather good at crime. Before long, they are building an operation capable of challenging the local criminals already running things, leaving them with a choice between using the money to escape and start again or taking over themselves.
Who Is in the Shy & Lola Cast?
Alongside Hayley Squires and Bel Powley, the newly announced cast includes Amber Grappy, Matthew McNulty, Elizabeth Berrington, Edward Bluemel, Jordan Bolger, Thomas Turgoose and Joseph Ayre. Melanie-Joyce Bermudez will also make her on-screen debut in the series.
Squires has recently appeared in The Night Manager and is also known for I, Daniel Blake, while Powley’s previous work includes A Small Light and The Diary of a Teenage Girl.
Who Created Shy & Lola?
Shy & Lola is written by Amanda Coe, whose previous credits include Apple Tree Yard and The Trial of Christine Keeler. Additional episodes are written by Emilie Robson and Alys Metcalf, both alumni of BBC Writers. Sam Donovan, whose credits include Severance, Widow’s Bay and Down Cemetery Road, serves as lead director, with Emily Atef directing the second block. Nadia Jaynes produces the series, while Coe, Rachelle Constant, Petra Fried and Wim De Greef are among the executive producers.
The drama is based on the French television series Cheyenne and Lola, created by Virginie Brac.
For CultureCues, this already looks like it could be a lot of fun, especially with two very different women thrown together and slowly discovering they might actually be quite good at crime. That mix of darker thriller elements and comedy could make for a really entertaining watch, and the wider cast looks excellent too. With Clerkenwell Films behind the series, we are definitely looking forward to seeing how Shy & Lola comes together when it arrives next year.
Shy & Lola will come to BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2027, with a release date still to be announced.
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Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.