''Dead Ringers'' is an American
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and co ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
television
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
developed by
Alice Birch
Alice Birch is a British playwright and screenwriter. Birch has written several plays, including ''Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.'' for which she was awarded the George Devine Award for Most Promising New Playwright, and ''Anatomy of a Suicide' ...
. It is based on the
1988 film of the same name by
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
, itself adapted from the 1977 novel ''Twins'' by
Bari Wood and Jack Geasland. The series premiered on
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
on April 21, 2023.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award.
We ...
as Beverly and Elliot Mantle, twin
gynecologists
Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...
. These versions are
gender-flipped versions of the characters previously portrayed by
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
.
*
Britne Oldford
Britne Oldford (born July 23, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying Cadie Campbell on '' Skins'', Alma Walker on '' American Horror Story: Asylum'', Remy Beaumont on '' Ravenswood'', Regan on ''Hunters'', and as Fei Hargr ...
as Genevieve Cotard
*
Poppy Liu as Greta
*
Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Anne Ehle (; born December 29, 1969) is an American actress, the daughter of English actress Rosemary Harris and American author John Ehle. She gained fame for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC miniseries ''Pride and Prejudice ...
as Rebecca Parker
*
Michael Chernus
Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013 ...
as Tom
Recurring
*
Jeremy Shamos
Jeremy Shamos (born February 22, 1970) is an American actor.
Early life
Shamos was born in New York City but raised in Denver, Colorado. He has a M.F.A. from New York University.
Career
Shamos is a character actor, his most notable roles are ...
as Joseph
*
Emily Meade
Emily Meade (born January 10, 1989) is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Twelve'' (2010), ''My Soul to Take'' (2010), ''Gimme Shelter'' (2013), ''That Awkward Moment'' (2014), ''Money Monster'' (2016), a ...
as Susan Parker
* Natalie Woolams-Torres as Heather
Guest
*
Susan Blommaert
Susan J. Blommaert (born October 13, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mr. Kaplan (The Blacklist), Mr. Kaplan on the NBC drama series The Blacklist (TV series), ''The Blacklist'', and for her recurring role as Judge ...
as Agnes
* Liza Fernandez as Lenka
* Andrew Garman as the grief support group leader
*
Suzanne Bertish
Suzanne Bertish (born 7 August 1951, Hammersmith, London) is an English actress.
Educated at Woldingham School, Bertish joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in many of its productions, including its marathon eight-and-a-half-hour ...
as Linda
* Maryann Urbano as Sasha
* Aaron Dean Eisenberg as Jeremy
*
Kevin R. McNally as Alan
* Tony Crane as Nick
*
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...
as Marion
*
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (born 1967) is an American stage and film actor, playwright, photographer and documentarian. He was credited by the short form Ntare Mwine through to his 2008 appearances in '' The Riches'', and has been credited with his f ...
as Silas Jordan
*
Erica Sweany
Erica Sweany has performed on Broadway, in film and on television as an actress, a dancer, a singer and multi-instrumentalist.
Biography
Born and raised in Colorado, she is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).
Career
In 2013 ...
as Florence
Episodes
Production
Development
In August 2020, it was announced
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
had given a straight-to-series order to a television series based upon
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
's 1988 film ''
Dead Ringers'', with
Annapurna Television
Annapurna Pictures is an independent American media company founded by Megan Ellison in 2011, that specializes in film production, live theatre production, television through its Annapurna Television division, and video game publishing through i ...
set to produce, and
Alice Birch
Alice Birch is a British playwright and screenwriter. Birch has written several plays, including ''Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.'' for which she was awarded the George Devine Award for Most Promising New Playwright, and ''Anatomy of a Suicide' ...
set to serve as head writer and executive producer.
Sean Durkin
Timothy Sean Durkin (born December 9, 1981) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He won the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for ''Martha Marcy May Marlene''. His short film, ''Mary Last Seen'', on ...
,
Lauren Wolkstein
Lauren Wolkstein is an American film director, writer, producer and editor. She is known for directing, writing, and editing the 2017 film ''The Strange Ones'' with Christopher Radcliff and serving on the directorial team for the third season of ...
and
Karyn Kusama
Karyn Kiyoko Kusama (born March 21, 1968) is an American filmmaker. She made her directorial and writing feature film debut with the sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000) for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for B ...
will direct episodes of the series.
Casting
Upon the initial announcement, it was revealed
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award.
We ...
would star in the series.
In July 2021, it was announced
Michael Chernus
Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013 ...
had joined the cast as a series regular. In August 2021, it was announced
Poppy Liu and
Britne Oldford
Britne Oldford (born July 23, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying Cadie Campbell on '' Skins'', Alma Walker on '' American Horror Story: Asylum'', Remy Beaumont on '' Ravenswood'', Regan on ''Hunters'', and as Fei Hargr ...
had joined the cast as series regulars, with
Jeremy Shamos
Jeremy Shamos (born February 22, 1970) is an American actor.
Early life
Shamos was born in New York City but raised in Denver, Colorado. He has a M.F.A. from New York University.
Career
Shamos is a character actor, his most notable roles are ...
,
Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Anne Ehle (; born December 29, 1969) is an American actress, the daughter of English actress Rosemary Harris and American author John Ehle. She gained fame for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC miniseries ''Pride and Prejudice ...
and
Emily Meade
Emily Meade (born January 10, 1989) is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Twelve'' (2010), ''My Soul to Take'' (2010), ''Gimme Shelter'' (2013), ''That Awkward Moment'' (2014), ''Money Monster'' (2016), a ...
set to recur.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began by August 2021, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Release
The series had its world premiere at the
2023 Canneseries
The 6th Cannes International Series Festival is a television festival that took place from 14 to 19 April 2023 in Cannes, France. This year marks the debut of the Documentary section.
The Best Series award went to the Norwegian political comed ...
on April 15, competing for Long Form competition. All six episodes of the series were released on April 21, 2023.
Reception
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
References
External links
*
{{Amazon Video original series
2020s American drama television miniseries
2020s American LGBT-related drama television series
2020s American medical television series
2023 American television series debuts
2023 American television series endings
Amazon Prime Video original programming
American thriller television series
English-language television shows
Live action television shows based on films
Pregnancy-themed television shows
Psychological thriller television series
Television series about sisters
Television series about twins
Television series by Amazon Studios
Television series by Morgan Creek Productions
Television shows filmed in New York City
Television shows set in Manhattan