The new four-part series Best Interests premiered on BBC One last night, starring two of the greatest personalities in British television.
Best Interests, which premiered Monday night at 9 p.m., follows two parents as they struggle to prevent physicians from shutting off their daughter’s life support equipment.
Leading the cast are Irish actress Sharon Horgan and Welsh actor Michael Sheen, who must make difficult decisions about their daughter’s medical treatment.
According to the BBC, Andrew (Sheen) and Nicci’s (Sharon Horgan) daughter, Marnie (Niamh Moriarty), has a life-threatening illness.
‘The doctors feel that allowing her to die is in her best interests, but her loving family disagrees,’ the narrative summary continues.
‘So starts a fight that will take them through every level of a legal process, as they struggle to consider this big decision,’ it teases.
But who is among the new series’ cast?
Sharon Horgan (Nicci Lloyd)
Sharon Horgan, 52, leads the cast as Nicci Lloyd, Marnie’s mother whose sickness is important to the series’ events.
She is best known for her roles in the Channel 4 comedy drama Catastrophe and co-creating the 2000s sitcom Pulling with Dennis Kelly.
In recent months, Sharon’s latest work, Dreamland, starring Lily Allen, premiered on before becoming available through .
Michael Sheen (Andrew Lloyd)
Michael Sheen, 54, will portray Marnie’s father, Andrew Lloyd. Michael has played a variety of roles on stage and TV, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair and football manager Brian Clough.
Marnie Lloyd (Niamh Moriarty)
Niamh Moriarty, who will portray Marnie, is a novice to television, and this will be her debut appearance on the small screen.
Niamh, a cerebral palsy adolescent, told The Irish Independent that she felt she owed it to her character to include her own life experience into her portrayal.
‘I was able to bring a lot of my own life experience into understanding how to play her properly. I wanted to portray that as accurately as possible for the people who would be in that circumstance.’
Derek (Lucian Msamati)
Lucian Msamati, well known to TV fans for his role in Game of Thrones, plays Queen’s Counsel and qualified lawyer Derek.
Lucian played Salladhor Saan, a pirate hired by Stephen Dillane’s Stannis Baratheon, in the second, third, and fourth seasons of the US fantasy series.
He has also acted in Gangs of London, His Dark Materials, and See How They Run, in which he co-starred with Saoirse Ronan and Adrien Brody.
Katie Lloyd (Alison Oliver)
Alison Oliver, who rose to prominence as Frances in the BBC drama Conversations With Friends, plays the Lloyds’ second daughter Katie, Marnie’s sister.
The series, based on Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name, is available to watch on BBC iPlayer following the popularity of Normal People.
Chizzy Akudolu portrays Mercy Babayaro, Lisa McGrillis plays Marnie’s nurse Brenda Haskins, Des McAleer plays Nicci’s father (Marnie’s grandfather), and actor Shane Zaza plays Nicci’s solicitor Fred Hoozer.
