The Assassin creators reveal brutal advice Dawn French gave them early in their careers
Harry and Jack Williams, known for their acclaimed thrillers, originally started out writing comedies.
Harry and Jack Williams, who have created new Prime Video series The Assassin, have been known for their acclaimed thrillers ever since their first venture into the genre, The Missing, aired in 2014.
However, they originally started out writing comedies, with their first that made it to screen being the ill-fated Roman's Empire, that the brothers have said "did very poorly".
Speaking with us for The Radio Times Writers' Room, our video interview series in which we get to know what makes writers tick, the brothers have now revealed that, before that, they had written a comedy for Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley, French and Saunders) - and she gave them some brutal feedback.
Jack said: "I wrote a sitcom for the BBC and Dawn French was attached. And she said, 'It needs to be funnier,' and I went, 'Oh, great, I know who’s funny - this guy,'" Jack said, pointing at Harry.
"So I got him involved, we wrote the script, they brought it back to us, sat down, she said, 'I've got one word advice for you: Never work with your brother again.'"
He continued: "We weren't deterred by Dawn French or the poor performance of our first sitcom, and we persisted despite massive indifference, in the face of everyone going, 'Why do you do this?' So, yeah, you may wonder why - I don't know why. But here we are."
Of course, the brothers did work together many a time, and continue to do so today, with their previous projects including The Tourist, Liar and Boat Story.
Their new show, The Assassin, stars Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore as estranged mother and son Julie and Edward.
When Julie's past as an assassin comes back to haunt her, she and Edward must go on the run together.
While speaking in The Radio Times Writers' Room, Jack said of the series: "We wrote the script not long after [The] Tourist, and it just took a long time to get made. We'd wanted to write a mother-son dynamic for a while, it seemed funny and interesting that they’re estranged.
"It's not something you see a lot of in drama, or if you do, it's all very tortured and very strait-laced. As a sort of central pairing, it didn't seem like we'd seen many shows with this kind of tone that had that at the heart of it."
Harry and Jack Williams's interview for The Radio Times Writers' Room is available to watch in full on RadioTimes.com here and on YouTube here.
The Assassin is available to stream on Prime Video now – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
