Kate Winslet’s new Netflix show is a ‘Thelma & Louise’-style revenge thriller from ‘Adolescence’ writer
Kate Winslet teams with Maxine Peake as fugitive sisters — and it’s what triggers the getaway that’ll raise your eyebrows.
Netflix is doubling down on the British crime miniseries game. Off the back of Adolescence’s wild success in 2025 (four episodes, one grisly murder, and the sort of binge-watch numbers that frankly surprise me for a show that bleak), writer Jack Thorne is back. This time, he’s teamed up again with Stephen Graham—but starring duties go to an entirely different pair: Kate Winslet and Maxine Peake.
Sisters, on the Run
The upcoming miniseries is called The Unheard. Not to be confused with that 2023 horror flick with the same name (thanks for nothing, generically miserable titles), it’s five episodes of what’s being described as a ‘Thelma & Louise-style vengeance drama’. Meaning: two women, something terrible happens, then chaos, car chases, emotional breakdowns—presumably minus the American deserts and convertibles, given it’s British telly.
The plot, per Netflix’s official line: two sisters, played by Winslet and Peake, are forced on the run after 'an act of vengeance goes wrong.' There’s a hooky question built in: what made these women so desperate, and did they ever actually expect to get away with it? All very tense. The ‘Thelma & Louise’ shout-out isn’t just there to jog memories of Ridley Scott’s 1991 classic (Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, and that notorious ending), but it does set high expectations. If you're going to cite all-time greats, you need to deliver on them.
- Kate Winslet: lead sister, returning to miniseries after the likes of Mare of Easttown, Mildred Pierce, and The Regime; also booked for Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum next year.
- Maxine Peake: a workhorse of British film and TV for decades (Shameless, Silk, Black Mirror, pretty much every tough woman role that needs doing), gets top billing alongside Winslet here.
Anne Mensah, Netflix’s UK content boss, introduced The Unheard at the Edinburgh TV Festival and underscored the streaming wars reality: "In the amazingly competitive U.K. landscape, it’s not good enough to be just okay," she said. "You need to swing for exceptional. Across drama, comedy, entertainment, live and factual programming, our slate underscores the risks we are happy to take and the extraordinary UK creativity we are proud to champion."
Production and Launch
Shooting for The Unheard kicks off in 2027. No sign yet of a release date, which is Netflix for 'you’ll get it when you get it'. Meanwhile, Kate Winslet’s got Tolkein duties in 2027’s The Hunt for Gollum, and Ridley Scott—whose film gets namedropped every time someone says 'Thelma & Louise'—has his own new sci-fi thing, The Dog Stars, out this weekend. Early word is it’s not exactly his masterpiece.