A luxurious setting, a family full of secrets and a charming yet mysterious “manny” makes up the plot of Prime Video’s new series, ‘Malice.’
Created by James Wood, the story centers on Jack Whitehall’s character, Adam Healey, who starts off as a saving grace for a wealthy family (with David Duchovny as the patriarch), but as the show plays on, the layers behind the central character seem to come to the surface—and in a deliciously twisted way.
“I think when you're trying to create a character as complex as Adam, you need to know as much as you can. And not only in terms of the arc for the character and where it's going in terms of the plot, but also the backstory and who he is and what his core wounds are,” explains Whitehall. “And I think James was great at allowing me the space as an actor to paint in some of that myself. But [he] also bring me fantastic ideas and really helped me build who this person was so that when I went into it, I felt really prepared.”
‘Malice’ operates with all of the mystery and lure of a typical thriller, especially one with money, power and mental games peppered throughout every episode. But what sets this story apart is the fact that it focuses more on the why than the who.
“It's not so much a who done it. But hopefully if it works, the audience will really want to know why this guy hates this family so much. Plotting the mystery elements was huge fun. And it just sort of takes time,” adds Wood.
“There was me, and my producing friends, Tim (Hincks) and Imogen (Cooper) in a room. We put sheets up on the wall and we plotted through the secrets that this family might have. So although it's a thriller, hopefully, it's also a really good depiction of a modern, wealthy family. We wanted to make sure that the family had all these points of tension and hidden secrets that Jack's character can exploit. We did a lot of character work: Working out who these people are, what their pasts were, what they perhaps had hidden...and then how Jack's character would discover this and reveal it as he tries to pull them all apart.”
This revenge thriller has been described by Wood as a play on class, privilege, manipulation and the authenticity of motive. It all happens with the lavish backdrop of shooting on location in London and Greece (on the island of Paros), but the characters and their dynamics help bring out the meat and potatoes of the series.
“James and the creative team had done such a good job of making sure that everyone had their own arcs. There were all of these complex dynamics with every member of the family,” Whitehall explains when asked about the on-screen relationships between his character and the rest of the cast.
“For Adam, it's great because they're all so different. With Jamie (Duchovny), it's just that he's driven by pure vengeance. But then there are other characters, like with little Dexter (Phoenix Laroche), he's kind of got sympathy for him. You see this different side of Adam in how he interacts around Dexter. Then even with other members of the family, his motive, and how much he wants them to suffer—it’s much more complex. So with each of the different characters in the scenes that I got to play, there was always a really different, but really juicy dynamic to lean into. That’s one of the things that the show really pulls off.”
‘Malice’ is set to drop all six episodes on the streaming service this week, and with it, audiences will be able to jump in on the journey of exploring the cast of curious characters, each of whom has much to reveal. It’s not the first time a tale like this has been told on the screen, but it is looking to stand out in terms of what it delivers.
“There's been quite a few successful cuckoo in the nest thrillers. A favorite one of mine is a not particularly well known film, but a good film, called ‘Unlawful Entry.’ And there's ‘Single White Female’ and ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.’ Those films feel a little dated now, because the “baddie” in them can feel a little two-dimensional”, finishes Wood.
“With [’Malice’], we have six hours. We also have a really complicated lead character who is a nasty sociopathic perpetrator, but is also himself, a victim. The same with the family. Hopefully David’s character is a bit of a bully and arrogant, but he's also very charming and dynamic and funny. I think that's what hopefully makes it distinctive as a thriller. And a great depiction of a modern, unusually wealthy family. And hopefully, there's real wits to it as well as drama and thrills.”
‘Malice’ drops on Prime Video Nov. 14.
