It’s not all Marvel and Star Wars spinoff shows over at Disney+, and the streaming network’s latest casting announcement makes one of its upcoming original shows sound quite appealing. The Ballad of Renegade Nell comes from Sally Wainwright, who created HBO’s Gentleman Jack. Variety describes Nell as an “eight-part adventure and fantasy series about an 18th century young woman who finds herself unwittingly becoming the most famous highwaywoman in the country.”
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Louisa Harland (Derry Girls) stars as Nell, whose adventure begins when she is framed for murder. Variety’s casting announcement is a little vague about where the fantasy part of “adventure and fantasy series” comes in, except when it comes to the role of Billy Blind (played by Ted Lasso‘s Nick Mohammed), who is a “plucky but prickly spirit.”
Joely Richardson (The Sandman‘s Ethel Cripps, pictured above) plays the impressively named Lady Eularia Moggerhanger, an “eccentric newspaper magnate” (is there any other kind?). Adrian Lester (London Spy) is the Earl of Poynton, Nell’s nemesis.
The cast also includes Alice Kremelberg (Monsterland), Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead), Craig Parkinson (Doctor Who), Pip Torrens (The Nevers), Jake Dunn (Get Even), Enyi Okoronkwo (The Lazarus Project), and newcomers Bo Bragason and Florence Keen. The series’ directors are Ben Taylor (Sex Education), Amanda Brotchie (Gentleman Jack), and MJ Delaney (Ted Lasso).
No premiere date has been announced yet.
