Netflix & E4 Partner for Drama Kiss Me First

LONDON: Kiss Me First is a new six-part drama series written by Skins co-creator Bryan Elsley that is coming to E4 and Netflix.

The emotional thriller will be produced by Balloon and Kindle Entertainment. The show will premiere on E4 in the U.K., with Netflix streaming the series globally outside the U.K. Kiss Me First is an adaptation of Lottie Moggach’s best-selling young adult novel of the same name.

Kiss Me First tells the story of Leila, a lonely 17-year-old girl who is addicted to a fictional online gaming site called Agora. While in Agora, Leila meets Tess, a cool and confident party girl who harbors a dark secret. In the real world, the two girls become friends, but after Tess disappears Leila decides to assume her friend’s identity and in doing so is quickly drawn into unraveling the mystery behind her disappearance. The series will combine live action with computer-generated virtual world sequences to create the parallel worlds.

Piers Wenger, the head of drama at Channel 4, said: “This is a thrilling and truly groundbreaking series which takes an emotional look at the lives of a group of young gamers and the truth which exists behind their online life. We are thrilled to be welcoming Bryan Elsley back to E4 to lead a group of new writers and to helm this exciting new show.”

Larry Tanz, the VP of global television at Netflix, added: “Netflix is committed to bringing the work of bold and innovative voices like Bryan’s to our subscribers around the world. Kiss Me First is a show with global themes and resonance, and we are proud to launch the show simultaneously across the entire world, exclusively on Netflix immediately after its broadcast in the U.K.”

Elsley, the series’  writer and executive producer, added: “I’m very excited to be working with E4 again alongside Balloon, award-winning Kindle Entertainment, Netflix and our brilliant animators Axis. We hope to thrill and mystify our audience on a headlong ride through emotions, intrigue and virtual reality.”

Melanie Stokes, joint managing director of Kindle Entertainment and executive producer, commented: “The opportunity to be working alongside Bryan Elsley and E4 on Lottie Moggach’s superb debut novel is, to be honest, a dream come true.”