The Tattooist of Auschwitz Sets Cast

The cast of Sky and Peacock’s upcoming adaptation of Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz has been unveiled, with Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid) and Anna Próchniak (Baptiste) in the lead roles.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the true story of how Lale Sokolov (Hauer-King), a Jewish prisoner at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, fell in love with a woman (Próchniak) whose identification number he tattooed. Melanie Lynskey (The Last of Us, Yellowjackets) and Jonas Nay (Deutschland 83, 86, 89) have also joined the cast.

The adaptation is being produced by Synchronicity Films in association with Sky Studios, with Tali Shalom-Ezer (My Days of Mercy, Princess) attached as director for all six episodes.

NBCUniversal Global Distribution and All3Media International are jointly handling international sales. Australia’s Stan has already taken the original rights in its territory, while Viaplay has picked up the series rights for the Nordics, the Baltics, the Netherlands and Poland.

“It is a huge privilege to be telling Lale’s incredible story—one that he was so courageous to share,” Hauer-King said. “I have the utmost respect and admiration for his ability to find humanity and kindness in the most inhumane of places. These scripts heartbreakingly and vividly depict this appalling time in our history, and I feel proud to be honoring Lale and Gita’s remarkable journey.”

“Reimagining Gita Sokolov and her story for screen has been one of the greatest honors of my career so far, as well as a heartrending experience,” Próchniak commented. “I know this won’t be an easy story to tell, but I will treat their story with the utmost respect.”

Lynskey added, “After the horrors experienced at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the continuation of Lale and Gita Sokolov’s story is finding their new home, and it was years later in Australia Lale felt comfortable to share his story with New Zealand author Heather Morris. As a New Zealand storyteller in my own way, it is a privilege to be a part of the furthering of Lale’s and Gita’s heartbreaking, yet heartwarming story.”

“In Auschwitz, a factory of death and dehumanization, Lale and Gita’s love story is an act of defiance,” Shalom-Ezer noted. “It is the choice to remain human. I’m inspired and honored to bring this story to life, alongside the talented team of people assembled.”

Claire Mundell, executive producer for Synchronicity Films, said, “Bringing Lale and Gita’s beautiful love story to the screen is a privilege, and to have Jonah, Anna, Melanie, and Jonas joining us on this journey is a dream come true. We’re excited to be working with Tali and her vision for the show, and we’re grateful to Heather for trusting us with her beautiful book. I hope every one of Heather’s 12 million-plus readers will come to the show and fall in love with Lale and Gita as we have.”

“The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a powerful, affecting and timely story,” remarked Serena Thompson, executive producer for Sky Studios. “This landmark event series will resonate with viewers the world over, and we are pleased to have brought together an incredible team in Synchronicity and our talented cast—Jonah, Anna, Jonas and Melanie—under the superb direction of Tali.”

David Swetman, senior VP of content and commercial strategy at All3Media International ,added, “We are very proud to be working with Sky, our international partners at Peacock, Stan and Viaplay and the team at Synchronicity to bring this important story to audiences next year.”