Dawn French Comedy 'Can You Keep a Secret?' to Premiere on Paramount+
Mandip Gill, Mark Heap, Dawn French, and Craig Roberts in "Can You Keep a Secret?"
(Photo: Allistair Heap/Paramount+)
Streaming service Paramount+ has been having its fair share of issues in recent months. Several of its high-profile U.K. originals have been unceremoniously cancelled or pulled from the service across the pond, most of which (The Doll Factory, One Night) never even made it to American audiences. New U.K. dramas like The Crow Girl and Curfew are still in limbo in terms of U.S. distribution, and the marketing efforts for the premiere of Guy Ritchie's buzzy crime drama, MobLand, were limited to a mere handful of weeks. So it's a bit surprising to learn that not only has Paramount+ acquired the BBC comedy Can You Keep a Secret?, but we're finding out this news with what feels like a standard amount of lead time to go with it.
The latest series from beloved comedian Dawn French (Absolutely Fabulous), Can You Keep a Secret is a comedy about life, death, and what comes after. But probably not in the way you're thinking. French stars as Debbie, a dictatorial grandmother who is determined to protect her family. But when her husband William (Mark Heap) unexpectedly dies, she makes a choice with far-reaching consequences. Because, you see, William's not actually dead at all. No, he was just mistakenly declared to be deceased, and the pair has decided to allow everyone to believe the lie long enough to collect the insurance money. Surely nothing can go wrong with this plan.
Alongside French and Heap, the comedy also stars Craig Roberts (Still Up) as Debbie and William's son, Harold, and Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) as his wife, Neha, who just so happens to work for the local police department.
Here's the series synopsis.
In Can You Keep a Secret?, Dawn French plays domineering granny Debbie Fendon, a woman who will stop at nothing to protect her family – it’s just the person they most need protecting from is her. And when her hermit-like husband, William, unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before. Because William isn’t actually dead – he just got mistakenly declared it and has been living in the loft while they wait for the life insurance to pay out. This comes as a bit of a shock to their easily frazzled son, Harold, whose wife, Neha, works for the local police. And just as they come to terms with the baffling behavior of these geriatric toddlers, Debbie reveals another secret she's been keeping up her sleeve. And this one could bring the whole family down.
The six-part series is written and created by Simon Mayhew-Archer (Such Brave Girls), with all episodes directed by Simon Hyand (Ghosts). Can You Keep a Secret? is a Big Talk Studios, Mayhay Studios, and CBS Studios co-production. Executive producers include French and Mayhew-Archer, alongside Kenton Allen and Toby Welch.
“Working with Dawn French has been a career-long ambition, and to have her inimitable comedic brilliance join forces with the extraordinary Mark Heap and the Simons - Simon Mayhew-Archer and Simon Hynd - is every producer’s dream,” Allen said in a statement. “We’re delighted to welcome such talented, creative minds into the Big Talk family and can’t wait for viewers to see this highly original family comedy in all its glory.”
The production recently wrapped filming, but a premiere date has not been set yet. Can You Keep a Secret? will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the U.K. and Paramount+ in the United States.
