Film & TV
In Neil Cross's newest television series, Hard Sun, the world has just five years left to exist. The trailer shows us everything we expect from a crime drama, but with a twist: The world is ending … fast. What do you do when the planet is on its deathbed? As it turns out, there’s actually a lot, and it seems the answer is locked inside a flash drive that everyone wants to get their hands on.
The two main characters of Hard Sun couldn’t be further opposites. DCI Charlie Hicks (Jim Sturgess) and DI Elaine Renko (Agyness Deyn) are an unlikely pair viewers can’t help but root for. Sure, you’ve seen this plot point before. Yet it’s their backstories, and the impending doom of the world's end that makes their relationship so compelling. The investigative duo stumbles upon a doomsday conspiracy involving shady operatives and ruthless government agents. As word of the apocalypse spreads, the public in thrown into a tailspin. Hicks and Renko must get to the bottom of the conspiracy and the darkness it spawns before it's too late.
Neil Cross—the mind behind Luther, and author of thrilling books like Captured, Holloway Falls, and Mr. In-Between —is the executive producer and creator of this genre mashup of a series. His inspiration stems from the 1980s hit series Moonlighting, wherein two detectives from opposites sides of the moral and social ladder must work together. However, Cross took a decidedly new approach to his new series. As he puts it in this Variety article: "I wanted to do an anti-Moonlighting, where you’ve got the two leads and you know they aren’t ever, ever going to get together. The idea was to put two people together who distrusted, feared and disliked each other, with good reason, and force them to work with one another."
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Neil Cross’s genre-bending new series promises to keep viewers perched on the edges of their seats. The gritty and fearless Renko is everything we want from a lead. Her co-star’s troubled persona makes for a character dynamic we can’t wait to see play out on screen. Our popcorn is prepped and our Hulu queue is good to go. How about yours?
Feature still via Euston Films
