Is The Cuckoo based on a true story? Inspiration behind Channel 5 drama
The new Channel 5 drama is certainly eerie, but is it based on reality?
After airing on Channel 5 earlier this year, The Cuckoo has landed on Netflix, introducing a brand new audience to the eerie thriller.
Starring Jill Halfpenny and Lee Ingleby, the series follows an enigmatic lodger called Sian (Halfpenny) who moves in with a married couple and their daughter as a lodger – and soon threatens to tear the family apart.
As per the synopsis, Sian "acts too familiar with Nick, borrows Jessica’s clothes and builds an increasingly inappropriate rapport with Alice".
Naturally, viewers may be wondering whether the tense thriller is based on a true story. Read on to find out more about the inspirations behind the new Channel 5 drama.
Is The Cuckoo based on a true story?
The Cuckoo isn't based on a true story but is inspired by older thrillers with a similar theme and format.
Speaking about the new series, Halfpenny spoke about what made her want to join the cast as Sian, and said: "Initially, the series was just an idea that was floating around, and I talked to Mike Benson at Clapperboard about it, along with the creator, Barunka O'Shaughnessy.
"They said they wanted to make something with a bit of a nod to those old 1990s movies like Single White Female, which I thought was cool, and then we had this idea of a story about a woman who infiltrates a family.
"It was funny because in the initial chats, they were thinking that I would be playing Jessica, the person on the receiving end of this drama, but it was me who said, 'Actually, can I play Sian? Can I be the person doing all this stuff, because that seems like more fun!'
"I was attracted to playing somebody who was doing these things, rather than having them happening to her.
"It was really interesting being involved in conversations so early on in the project. The hard work was being done by other people, but it was great to knock around ideas and think about how the story would play out.
"I was very flattered that the production company wanted me to be involved in that way."
Anyone who's watched Single White Female and then The Cuckoo will be able to draw some thematic similarities between the two, especially the downright eerie feel of both that keeps you watching.
The 1992 film was based on John Lutz's 1990 novel SWF Seeks Same and starred Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Speaking about those influences, David Turpin (who served as a writer for episode 1 of The Cuckoo) said: "I was interested in taking more obvious influences like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle or Single White Female, and infusing them with a slightly more European flavour.
"The French filmmaker Claude Chabrol is an influence, for the way he can turn a comfortable domestic setting into something unsettling. I think some of those European influences give The Cuckoo a flavour we haven't seen in this kind of show before."
Rebecca Wojciechowski, who was the writer on episodes 2 to 4, also said: "Yes, Single White Female was an influence - the way in which a stranger can appear in someone's life as a friend and very slowly an ulterior motive is unveiled.
"Fatal Attraction was also an influence, in terms of how obsession can ratchet up to increasingly dangerous levels."
The Cuckoo director Brian O'Malley admits that he initially thought the premise of the show was "very interesting", saying: "There are a lot of dramas being made right now that are inspired by those 1990s thrillers with bunny boiler villains, and I always struggled with that concept, because I felt like we were turning these women into monsters.
"But with The Cuckoo I really liked the idea that you could take one of those concepts but understand the woman in question so much more, humanising her to the point where you can feel some sympathy, even though she's the villain.
"That's what I really wanted to do with this show – I knew that whatever else happened, by the end of this series I wanted the audience to feel real sympathy for Sian and to understand that while what she did was wrong, she was really suffering as a human being. I didn't want her to just be the crazy woman in this story, and I think we did achieve that."
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Obviously, as time goes on in the drama, we soon see how Sian's arrival prompts some tension and problems within this small family, who are also dealing with their own issues aside from having a new lodger.
Claire Goose stars as Jessica in The Cuckoo, and speaking about creating an atmosphere similar to Single White Female in the series, she admitted that she "loved it".
"When I first spoke to our director, Brian O’ Malley, he was saying he wanted to create that feeling of uneasiness, which I thought would be great," she went on.
"Of course, I grew up with these kinds of films, like Sleeping with the Enemy, and it made me want to go back and watch them all.
"So when I was in Ireland for the shoot, I started watching things like Shattered, and you remember these were actually very simple stories, but they're just weaved so well.
"I definitely think there’s something to be said for that – sometimes when my husband and I watch dramas, they will be so complex that we just end up being really confused!"
The Cuckoo is available to watch now on Netflix – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
