Kate Winslet to Star in Netflix Limited Series 'The Unheard' from 'Adolescence' Writer Jack Thorne

Kate Winslet will lead The Unheard, a five-part Netflix limited series written by Jack Thorne — the writer behind the streamer's four-part drama Adolescence — with Maxine Peake starring alongside her. The series was announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival on 26 August 2026 and will go into production next year, according to Deadline.

The story follows two sisters who go on the run after an act of vengeance goes wrong. Five episodes, a closed storyline, no second season baked in — that is what "limited series" means in this context. Mounia Akl is set to direct.

Behind the camera, the production lineup reads as a reunion of the Adolescence team. Warp Films, Matriarch Productions and Plan B — the three companies that produced Adolescence — are back as producers on The Unheard. The executive producer credits span all three outfits: Mark Herbert and Emily Feller for Warp Films; Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham for Matriarch Productions; Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Nina Wolarsky for Plan B. Winslet and Thorne also serve as executive producers on the project.

For viewers, the appeal is straightforward. Winslet, an Oscar winner whose television work includes Mare of Easttown and The Regime, takes on a role in a tightly structured five-episode format — the kind of limited run that has become a signature of prestige streaming drama. Peake, known for Silk and Shameless, joins her as the second sister. Thorne's involvement ties the project to Adolescence, which was one of Netflix's most discussed UK dramas of 2025.

The Edinburgh TV Festival, where the announcement was made, is an annual industry gathering where broadcasters and streamers reveal upcoming commissions and projects to producers and press — a key slot in the UK television calendar.

No release date has been set. Production begins in 2026.