The series is based on the novel of the same name by Anatomy of a Scandal author Sarah Vaughan and is billed as an exploration of female friendships and motherhood.
Kruger (pictured left), Joyner (pictured right), Conn and Taaffe play four friends thrown together as expectant mothers with little in common aside from their due date. When Jess takes her daughter to the hospital with a head injury she can't explain, good friend and emergency room doctor Liz is forced to make the excruciating decision of whether to call social services for her friend.
The decision sets off a series of events that show how a moment can fracture and nearly destroy families and friendships.
JJ Feild, Ben Bailey Smith and Stephen Campbell Moore also join the cast. Production is underway.
The series comes from Roughcut Television, which produced Coma, a drama series that was Paramount Global's Channel 5's most-watched series of 2024 so far. The independent company, which is also behind series such as Big Boys, Stath Lets Flats and People Just Do Nothing, is making Little Disaster in collaboration with Fremantle, which has the international distribution rights outside the UK and Ireland, where Paramount+ has them.
Ruth Fowler and Amanda Duke adapted the series with Roughcut executive producers Ash Atalla, Alex Smith and Marianna Abbotts on board alongside Vaughan. Simon Judd produces for Fremantle, Eva Sigurdardottir is the director and Myf Hopkins is the producer.
German-born Kruger was named Best Actress at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for her role in In the Fade and has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, including Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, opposite Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz, and Wolfgang Petersen's Troy.
On television, she starred in Roku's miniseries Swimming with Sharks and FX's The Bridge (2013). Next year she will be seen as the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich in the miniseries Marlene.
“This series will offer a relatable story which examines the crippling judgement levied upon mothers by society,” she said. “The story so wonderfully explores the fragility of reputation, with the rapid unravelling of Jess’ seemingly perfect life. I can’t wait to begin developing Jess’s character and explore the challenges of motherhood through her eyes.”
Joyner recently starred in the Channel 5 thriller series The Wives and the second season of Peacock for BBC Three. Her roles also include Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators for the BBC and Harlan Coben's thriller Stay Close for Netflix. She has also starred in several other British dramas including No Angels, Doctor Who, EastEnders and Ordinary Lies.
“We meet Liz at a moment when she has to make an impossible choice between her duty as a doctor and loyalty to her friend,” said Joyner. “I’m really looking forward to working alongside this great cast and to start exploring the impact of Liz’s decision.”
Sebastian Cardwell and Paul Testar commissioned the show for Paramount+ UK & Ireland. On the new series order, Testar said: “We are big fans of Sarah Vaughan’s novel and thrilled to be working on this adaptation with Roughcut Television. Diane, Jo, Shelley and Emily embody our four mothers seamlessly and we can’t wait to see what each of them bring to the series.”
