The Burning Girls

The Burning Girls is a British psychological horror drama television miniseries based on the 2021 novel of the same name by C.J. Tudor, adapted by Hans Rosenfeldt and Camilla Ahlgren. Developed by Buccaneer Media for Paramount+, it stars Samantha Morton and Ruby Stokes, and follows Reverend Jack Brooks and her daughter, Flo, as they move to Chapel Croft, a place that soon reveals the dark history of its community, where ancient superstitions and distrust of strangers are quite common.
The Burning Girls had premiered on 19 October 2023 on Paramount+. The series mixed reviews from critics.

Synopsis

A Reverend and her daughter arrive in the village of Chapel Croft looking for a new start following a sudden loss. However, the sleepy village may have secrets of its own.

Cast

Main

Samantha Morton as Reverend Jack Brooks
Ruby Stokes as Florence "Flo" Brooks, Jack's teenage daughter
Conrad Khan as Lucas Wrigley
David Dawson as Aaron Marsh, church warden
* Theron Mahoney as young Aaron
Paul Bradley as Reverend Brian Rushton
Janie Dee as Clara Rushton
* Bethany Monk-Lane as younger Clara
Jane Lapotaire as Joan Hartman
John Macmillan as Mike Sudduth, a local journalist
Élodie Grace Orkin as Rosie Harper, Simon's daughter
Rupert Graves as Simon Harper, Rosie's father

Production

In March 2021 it was revealed that Hans Rosenfeldt would adapt the C.J. Tudor novel The Burning Girls for Buccaneer Media. Rosenfeldt had previously worked with the company developing the television series Marcella. Rosenfeldt later revealed he was working on the adaptation with Camilla Ahlgren, with whom he had previously collaborated with on popular noir series The Bridge. The series was one of the first Paramount+ UK commissions, authorised by Sebastian Cardwell, deputy chief content officer for the UK at Paramount, in April 2022 ahead of the launch of its streaming service in the United Kingdom in the summer of 2022.

Casting

In September 2022 Samantha Morton and Ruby Stokes were announced in the cast. Announced to be joining them that month were Conrad Khan, Rupert Graves, Élodie Grace Orkin, Janie Dee, David Dawson, Paul Bradley, Jane Lapotaire, Jack Roth, Mollie Holder, Safia Oakley-Green, Beth Cordingly, Bethany Monk-Lane, and John Macmillian. The book's author C.J. Tudor posted on social media that they “could not be more thrilled that these fantastic actors are bringing my book to life”.

Filming

Principal photography on the series was reported to have started in September 2022. In November 2022 location filming was reported by local media in the Buckinghamshire village of Stokenchurch, with filming at the Stokenchurch Community Centre and on The Common. Keys scenes for the series were filmed in the Sussex countryside near Chichester, with the majority filmed in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Release

The series was released on 19 October 2023 on Paramount+ in select countries. In November of 2024 it was re-released on Netflix