New BBC Drama Life After Life Is Set To Grip Viewers

Based on the Kate Atkinson novel of the same name, BBC’s Life After Life traverses the idea of life after death through its main character, Ursula, who continuously dies and is reborn. Here’s everything you need to know about Life After Life, which premieres on BBC Two on April 19 at 9pm.

Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she is given infinite chances at her turn around the sun. Viewers will travel through lifetimes with Ursula, one reincarnation even involves an encounter with Hitler. But as she goes along, the question remains: What is the purpose of continuously dying and being reborn?

While it’s yet to be seen how close the adaptation is to the book, the series has been penned by the acclaimed Bathsheba ‘Bash’ Doran, who has also written episodes for Boardwalk Empire, Masters of Sex, and The Looming Tower — all of which are based on books.

Last Night In Soho’s Thomasin McKenzie leads the cast as Ursula Todd. She told the BBC she was drawn to the role as the story made her “laugh, cry, clench [her] fists in anger, and whoop with empowerment.” McKenzie also added: “Bash has done a stunning job at adapting Kate Atkinson’s masterpiece.”

McKenzie is joined by Fleabag’s Sian Clifford and Man in an Orange Shirt’s James McArdle, who play her parents Sylvie and Hugh. Downton Abbey’s Jessica Brown Findlay and Years and Years’ Jessica Hynes also star, alongside Black Narcissus’s Patsy Ferran, Yesterday’s Harry Michell, The Trouble with Maggie Cole’s Laurie Kynaston, Small Axe’s Joshua Hill, and Derry Girls’ Maria Laird.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Kate Atkinson book has been adapted for the small screen. It’s worth catching up on Case Histories starring Jason Isaacs, which is based on Atkinson’s fan-favourite Jackson Brodie novels.