Ella Purnell Is Terrific In ‘Sweetpea’ The Best New TV Show Streaming Right Now

Sweetpea

The only thing I find unbelievable about the new Starz murder drama Sweetpea is that Ella Purnell could ever be a wallflower, invisible to her co-workers and family, friendless and alone, neglected and abused by all and sundry other than her sickly father. But if you can get over this, you’ll find much to love in the enticingly twisted new series. Only mild spoilers that you might find in the series description or trailer follow.

Purnell plays Rhiannon Lewis, a young woman working as an administrative assistant at a UK newspaper where her boss—played by Ted Lasso’s Jeremy Swift—treats her as one might a coat hanger, and where the other employees constantly bump into her, as though she’s truly invisible. She was bullied horribly in her youth by a girl named Julia (Nicole Lecky) who returns in her adult life at the worst possible moment. Her relationship with her sister is strained. There is no solace in work, and no hobbies to distract her. Meaninglessness and lonesomeness rule Rhiannon’s world. She drifts aimlessly in a sea of self-loathing and resentment.

Rhiannon has no friends, but she does have a kill list. “People I’d like to kill,” she narrates as the series premiere opens. And the list goes on and on. It’s a list many of us have likely made in moments of anger or distress, without any real intention of following through with it, but for Rhiannon, well, sometimes these things happen.

Purnell is a terrific actress. I’ve loved her in everything she’s done, though I admit these have been mostly American shows. She was incredible in Yellowjackets as Jackie, a natural leader whose soccer captaining skills and high school popularity never quite translated to surviving in the wilderness. As the star of Amazon’s excellent Fallout series, she won us all over with her pluck and verve. “Okey dokey!” she said, screwing up her courage and venturing forth. And as the voice of Jinx in the truly outstanding Netflix animated series Arcane, Purnell took on a darker role, though one with a lot of heart.

It’s no wonder, then, that I find Rhiannon so deeply sympathetic, even as her actions lead her down a path of no return, one that will undoubtedly end strewn in blood and sorrow. Purnell plays the lonely outcast so well, enchanting us with her big sad eyes as we watch the indignities of her life beat her to the dirt—until they mount too suffocatingly high. When she snaps, can we really blame her? I’m reminded a bit of the first season of Fargo and poor Lester Nygaard, whose own endless suffering and invisibility led him down a similar path, though I find Rhiannon a far more sympathetic character. Perhaps that is my inner chauvinist rearing its ugly head. Lester was pathetic; I just want to give Rhiannon a hug.

Well, maybe not by the end of the episode. That might not end well for me! But a hug—or a small kindness of any kind—might have gone a long way in changing the course of events. Sometimes we need to remember this. We never truly know what someone is going through, do we? And kindness is generally easier than cruelty, in my experience. Cruelty, bullying, treating people like they don’t matter or like they don’t even exist, these things always lead to some kind of tragedy.

I’ve only watched the first episode of this series so far, so I cannot speak to how it ends, but from just that episode I definitely recommend you check it out. Critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes seem to agree. The series is airing weekly on Starz / Paramount+.

I’ve also started the new horror series Teacup and you can read my review of the 2-part series premiere right here. You can check out more of my recent picks and other new streaming content in my weekend streaming guide.

Have you watched Sweetpea yet? Any other tips or recommendations? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

So, how can you be a power user?

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.