The Assassin writers tease ‘funny mother-son dynamic with a bunch of dead bodies thrown in’
Harry and Jack Williams's new Prime Video thriller stars Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore.
Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore star in The Assassin, the new Prime Video thriller from The Tourist writers Harry & Jack Williams.
Hawes plays a retired assassin, Julie, while Highmore plays her estranged son, Edward, who is unaware of his mother's former career. When Julie's past catches up with her as the pair are reconnecting, they have to go on the run together.
Radio Times spoke exclusively with the Williams brothers for our video interview series The Radio Times Writers' Room, where they shared the origins of the thriller series and their inspiration for it.
Jack said: "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 interested 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 straight 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 added: "Yeah, normally the emotionally cut off parent would be a dad, wouldn't it? It’s rarely a mom and the son.
"So that felt instantly like an interesting thing, and then having that kind of Private Lives-y, back and forward dialogue, being horrible to someone, but also those two people really love each other was hugely appealing to us.
"Because it just has huge potential for comedy, and people who are mean to each other is always funny.
"And then throw that in the middle of a bunch of dead bodies, I think that was the sort of the gumbo that we put together."
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Elsewhere in their chat for The Radio Times Writers' Room, the duo spoke about their work on series such as The Missing and Boat Story, as well as their producing work on shows including Fleabag.
They are the second guests to appear in the interview series, following on from Mark Gatiss, who joined us to speak about his new show Bookish.
Harry and Jack Williams's interview for The Radio Times Writers' Room is available to watch in full here.
The Assassin will premiere on Prime Video on Friday 25th July – 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.
