Disney+ Greenlights Psychological Thriller Playdate

Disney+ has commissioned Playdate, a five-part psychological thriller based on Alex Dahl’s best-selling novel of the same name.

Playdate sees Elisa send her 9-year-old daughter Lucia on an overnight playdate with her best friend Josie. When she goes to pick her up in the morning, she discovers the house was a holiday rental, and Lucia and Josie’s family are gone. As police investigate, long-buried secrets in Elisa’s family come to light and one must wonder if the kidnapping was justified.

The series is being produced by Quay Street Productions and Brightstar, with Catherine Moulton (Baptiste, Hijack) adapting the book for the screen. Eva Husson (Mothering Sunday, Girls of the Sun, Hanna) is on board as director. Executive producers include Nicola Schindler for Quay Street, Tanya Seghatchian and John Woodward for Brightstar, Johanna Devereaux for Disney+ EMEA, Dahl, Husson and Moulton.

Devereaux, VP of scripted content for Disney+ EMEA, said: “Playdate is a brilliantly twisty thriller with a terrifying, instantly relatable hook. We are very proud to be working with celebrated producers Nicola Shindler, Tanya Seghatchian and John Woodward, visionary director Eva Husson and rising star writer Catherine Moulton on this must-see thriller.”

Shindler, founder of Quay Street Productions, commented: “Playdate tells the story of fascinating, relatable and complex women in a situation that is any parent’s worst nightmare. Catherine Moulton has adapted Alex’s best-selling thriller with a real dramatic sense of story that we hope will hook audiences in from the start.”

Seghatchian and Woodward of Brightstar added: “Partnering with Quay Street and Disney+, we couldn’t be more delighted to move into production with director and executive producer Eva Husson at the helm. Eva is a multiple Cannes Film Festival contender who is bringing her unique vision to the show, and she is directing all episodes. Playdate is a very rare beast—a thriller that combines beautifully crafted edge-of-the-seat suspense with unexpected plot twists and truly powerful drama focused on these strong women who are intent on hiding their darkest secrets from the world.”