The Burning Girls

Lore & Background

The Burning Girls was adapted from C.J. Tudor's 2021 novel by Hans Rosenfeldt and Camilla Ahlgren, who had previously collaborated on the noir series The Bridge. Rosenfeldt had earlier worked with Buccaneer Media on the television series Marcella. The series was one of the first Paramount+ UK commissions, authorized by Sebastian Cardwell in April 2022 ahead of the streaming service's launch in the United Kingdom in summer 2022.

Principal photography began in September 2022, with location filming reported in November 2022 in the Buckinghamshire village of Stokenchurch, including at the Stokenchurch Community Centre and on The Common. Key scenes were filmed in the Sussex countryside near Chichester, with the majority shot in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The cast includes Samantha Morton as Reverend Jack Brooks, Ruby Stokes as her daughter Flo, Conrad Khan, Rupert Graves, Élodie Grace Orkin, Janie Dee, David Dawson, Paul Bradley, Jane Lapotaire, and others.

Reader's Guide

The Burning Girls represents an early original commission for Paramount+ in the UK, signaling the platform's investment in local psychological horror content. The series adapts a popular novel by C.J. Tudor, who expressed enthusiasm for the casting. Its release on Paramount+ in October 2023 and subsequent re-release on Netflix in November 2024 extended its reach. The production's use of locations in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Sussex grounds the story in a distinctly English rural setting. Critical reception was mixed, but the series contributes to the tradition of British psychological horror dramas exploring small-town secrets and superstition. Its significance lies in its adaptation of a contemporary novel for a streaming audience, and in its role as part of Paramount+'s early UK content strategy.

Did You Know?

• The series is based on C.J. Tudor's 2021 novel of the same name.
• It was adapted by Hans Rosenfeldt and Camilla Ahlgren, who previously worked together on The Bridge.
• Principal photography began in September 2022, with location filming in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire.
• The series was re-released on Netflix in November 2024.

Adaptation & Creative Vision

The Burning Girls television miniseries traces its origins to C.J. Tudor's 2021 psychological horror novel of the same name. The adaptation was spearheaded by Hans Rosenfeldt, who had previously developed the television series Marcella for Buccaneer Media. Rosenfeldt brought on board Camilla Ahlgren, his longtime collaborator from the popular noir series The Bridge, to co-write the screen version. The project was developed by Buccaneer Media as one of the earliest commissions for Paramount+'s UK streaming service. In April 2022, Sebastian Cardwell, deputy chief content officer for the UK at Paramount, greenlit the series ahead of the platform's summer 2022 launch in Britain. The story follows Reverend Jack Brooks and her teenage daughter Flo as they relocate to the village of Chapel Croft after a sudden loss, only to uncover the community's deep-rooted superstitions and hostility toward outsiders. The series was first announced in March 2021, giving the creative team roughly eighteen months to shape the material before principal photography began.

Cast & Character Ensemble

At the heart of the series is the mother-daughter pairing of Reverend Jack Brooks, played by Samantha Morton, and her teenage daughter Florence "Flo" Brooks, portrayed by Ruby Stokes. Both actresses were announced in September 2022 alongside a substantial supporting ensemble. Conrad Khan appears as Lucas Wrigley, while David Dawson plays Aaron Marsh, the church warden, with Theron Mahoney depicting a younger version of the character. The Rushton family is represented by Paul Bradley as Reverend Brian Rushton and Janie Dee as Clara Rushton, with Bethany Monk-Lane playing a younger Clara. The Harper family includes Jane Lapotaire as Joan Hartman, Rupert Graves as Simon Harper, and Élodie Grace Orkin as his daughter Rosie. John Macmillan rounds out the main cast as local journalist Mike Sudduth. Book author C.J. Tudor publicly expressed delight on social media upon learning of the casting, writing that she could not be more thrilled that such talented actors were bringing her story to the screen.

Production & Filming Locations

Principal photography on The Burning Girls commenced in September 2022, just weeks after the full cast was confirmed. The production was primarily based in the English countryside, with the majority of filming taking place across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. In November 2022, local media reported that the crew was shooting in the Buckinghamshire village of Stokenchurch, utilizing both the Stokenchurch Community Centre and the village's The Common as key locations. Additional scenes were captured in the Sussex countryside near Chichester, adding a distinct visual texture to the series. The choice of rural English settings reinforced the show's central atmosphere of a small, insular community where ancient superstitions persist and newcomers are met with suspicion. The production timeline was relatively compressed, moving from the April 2022 greenlight through to a September 2022 start of filming, reflecting the urgency of delivering content for Paramount+'s imminent UK launch that summer. The finished series was ultimately released on 19 October 2023.

Release, Reception & Afterlife

The Burning Girls premiered on Paramount+ on 19 October 2023, available in select countries as part of the streaming platform's expanding international catalogue. The miniseries arrived as one of the flagship titles for Paramount+'s UK offering, having been commissioned specifically to bolster the service's library ahead of its 2022 launch in Britain. Critical reception was mixed, with reviewers offering divided opinions on the adaptation's handling of Tudor's source material and the series' atmospheric tension. Despite the polarized critical response, the series found a second life on a different platform: in November 2024, it was re-released on Netflix, broadening its accessibility to a wider global audience. This move from one major streaming service to another suggests the title retained commercial value well beyond its initial release window. The series remains listed on IMDb as a reference point for fans tracking the adaptation's journey from Tudor's page to the small screen.

Gallery