Sun-soaked getaways are meant to offer escape. A pause from routine, responsibility and the quiet disappointments of everyday life. But in this new eight-part thriller, Two Weeks In August, the promise of blue skies and crystal waters gives way to something far darker. What begins as a restorative break among a group of friends becomes a pressure cooker of desire, resentment and long-buried truths.
At the centre of the story is Zoe (Jessica Raine), a woman teetering between who she is and who she wants to be, whose impulsive choices send ripples through an already fragile group dynamic. As tensions rise and the boundaries between fantasy and consequence begin to dissolve, the Greek island setting shifts from idyllic backdrop to claustrophobic trap.
With hints of mythic fate woven through its contemporary drama, Two Weeks In August asks whether its characters are masters of their own chaos, or merely players in a story much bigger than themselves…
Who stars in Two Weeks In August?
Jessica Raine as Zoe
At the start of the holiday, Zoe is running on empty. Married to Dan (Damien Molony), she is the family linchpin who has spent so long holding everything together that she’s close to coming apart. Desperate to rediscover the carefree version of herself she once was, she sees the holiday as a chance to reclaim something that feels lost. But as old desires resurface and strange forces seem to circle her, Zoe is at the heart of the group’s unravelling…
Jessica Raine is probably still best known for playing Jennifer Lee in the first three series of Call The Midwife (2012-2014). However, Doctor Who fans will remember her for not only playing Emma Grayling in a 2013 episode, but also producer Verity Lambert in BBC3’s one-off drama An Adventure In Space And Time (2013), which dramatised the creation of the famous sci-fi series.
Her other credits include Line Of Duty (2014), Wolf Hall (2015), Fortitude (2015), Partners In Crime (2015), Jericho (2016), The Last Post (2017), Patrick Melrose (2018), Informer (2018), Baptiste (2019) and Becoming Elizabeth (2022).
She also currently stars as Lucy Chambers in the sci-fi mystery series The Devil’s Hour (2022-present).
Damien Molony as Dan
Dan arrives in Greece quietly hoping that the break might steady a marriage that has drifted under the weight of real life. Less interested in nostalgia than in survival, he’s painfully aware that the friendships they’re clinging to may not be what they once were. Stripped of distractions on the isolated island, he’s forced to confront truths he no longer has the energy to ignore.
Damien Molony is best known for playing detective Jim Bergerac in the revamped version of the Jersey-set murder mystery series Bergerac (2025-present), and previously played Hal Yorke in BBC3’s Being Human (2012-2013). He has form as a police officer, as he also portrayed Detective Constable Albert Flight in Ripper Street (2013) and DS Jack Weston in Suspects (2014-2016).
You may also have seen him as Jon in GameFace (2017-2019), Dylan Golding in Brassic (2019-2023) and Tyler in The Split (2020-2022).
Antonia Thomas as Jess
Polished, glamorous and meticulously put together, Jess wears her confidence like an armour against anything that might crack the surface. She and her husband Solomon (Nicholas Pinnock) present a picture-perfect partnership, but beneath the sheen lie fractures that are beginning to show. Blunt, self-assured and unused to female intimacy, Jess finds her carefully curated world tested in ways she can’t simply style her way out of.
Antonia Thomas is best known for her roles as Alisha Daniels in the comedy-drama Misfits (2009-2011), Evie Douglas in the comedy Lovesick (2014-2018) and Claire Browne in the drama The Good Doctor (2017-2024). Antonia has also made appearances in Homefront (2012), The Musketeers (2015) and Still Up (2023). She also did voiceover work for the children’s series Teletubbies between 2015 and 2018!
Nicholas Pinnock as Solomon
Charismatic and performative, Solomon is a man accustomed to choosing work – and the spotlight – over relaxation at home. With his old friends he slips between bravado and vulnerability, revealing different versions of himself depending on who’s watching. What begins as a chance to reconnect soon exposes the gap between the image he projects, and the man he really is.
Nicholas Pinnock is best known for his role of Aaron Wallace in the legal drama For Life (2020-2021) and as Trueman Dawes in the crime drama Long Bright River (2025). His other TV appearances include roles in EastEnders (1992), Grange Hill (1995), Casualty (1998), Dalziel And Pascoe (2006), Footballers’ Wives (2006), The Ice Cream Girls (2013), Fortitude (2015), Marcella (2016-2018), Counterpart (2018-2019), Django (2022-2023) and This Town (2024).
Leila Farzad as Nat
A high-achiever defined by her fast-paced career, Nat hopes the trip will offer a rare opportunity to switch off – although, without her work, she’s not entirely sure who she is. Warm, nostalgic and eager to keep the peace, she clings to the idea that their friendship group is as solid as it once was. But as loyalties fracture, her instinct to please others may prove both her strength and her undoing.
Leila Farzad is known for her role as Naomi Jones in the comedy drama I Hate Suzie (2020-2022), which earned her a BAFTA nomination. Her other TV appearances include Law & Order: UK (2009), Married Single Other (2010), Twenty Twelve (2011), Count Arthur Strong (2017), Innocent (2018), This Time With Alan Partridge (2021), Avenue 5 (2022), Black Mirror (2023), The Decameron (2024) and How To Get To Heaven From Belfast (2026).
Hugh Skinner as Jacob
Jacob comes to Greece craving reunion – especially with Nat (Leila Farzad), his closest and most complicated friend. Charming and affable, he sees himself as the good guy of the group, even as his dependency hints at less comfortable truths. The arrival of unexpected company and the pressure of confinement force him to question the story he tells about himself, and about the friendships he thought he understood.
Hugh Skinner is most recognisable as Will Humphries in the BBC comedy W1A (2014-2017) and its sequel Twenty Twenty Six (2026), and Prince William in The Windsors (2016-2023). His other TV roles include Tess Of The D’Urbervilles (2008), Law & Order: UK (2011), Our Zoo (2014), Fleabag (2016-2019), Poldark (2016), Harlots (2017-2018), Little Birds (2020), The Witcher (2023) and Partygate (2023).
Where was Two Weeks In August filmed?
Although the story is set on a fictional Greek island, the series was actually filmed in Malta and on the neighbouring island of Gozo. Their honey‑coloured stone architecture, rugged cliffs and crystalline waters convincingly double for the sun‑drenched Mediterranean escape which the characters believe they’re arriving in.
Who wrote Two Weeks In August?
The drama comes from the mind of writer Catherine Shepherd, who previously wrote for the TV adaptation of The Shrink Next Door (2021), and also for The Buccaneers (2023), both of which were for Apple TV.
‘I think the series is very character driven,’ says Catherine. ‘I spent a week with an amazing clinical psychologist, and we looked at all the characters, created their family trees and talked about who they were and why they were like that. It was incredibly interesting and really helped ensure the psychology of who the characters were was truthful. By the time I came to write the scripts, I knew them so well. I almost knew exactly what they would do in any given situation. It was really exciting!’
When is Two Weeks In August set to air?
The new series begins with a double-bill of the first two episodes at 9pm on Saturday 23 May on BBC1, with the remaining episodes expected to air weekly in the same slot. However, if you’re especially keen, you can binge-watch the whole show in one go, as it will all drop on BBC iPlayer on the day of the launch. No spoilers!
Tom Spilsbury has been a writer for TV Choice and its sister publication Total TV Guide since 2021. He was previously the longest-serving editor of the official Doctor Who Magazine (from 2007 to 2017), where he won an Eagle Award in 2012, and the ACE award for Circulation Excellence by a monthly magazine (2014).