First Look: Tom Hollander & Niamh Algar Star In The Iris Affair

Missing The Day of the Jackal? Another sun-drenched thriller is coming to Sky later this year, this time pitting two brilliant minds against one another in a deadly game of hide and seek across Italy. Here’s everything we know so far about The Iris Affair – plus a first glimpse of the action.

The Iris Affair: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

First announced in May 2024, The Iris Affair was created and written by Neil Cross – the brains behind Luther – who says: ‘All I wanted to do was to make a show I wanted to watch. Iris is an unapologetically exciting, witty, chase-driven adventure show and features a lead character the like of which I don’t think we’ve ever met before on TV.’

Made up of eight episodes, the series was directed by Terry McDonough and is set to launch on Sky later this year.

Tom Hollander as Cameron in The Iris Affair. (© Sky)

What Will Happen?

The Iris Affair centres on Iris Nixon (Niamh Algar), an enigmatic genius with chameleonic charm. By day, Iris works a mundane job flagging harmful content for a social media platform. By night, she ploughs the internet for complex riddles to crack.

When she cracks a string of complex online puzzles, she is led to a piazza in Florence. Here she meets charismatic and philanthropic entrepreneur Cameron Beck (Tom Hollander), who invites her to come and work with him unlocking a powerful code attached to a top-secret piece of technology.

Curiosity piqued, Iris accepts. But when she discovers the device could harbour something dangerous, she steals the journal containing the activation sequence – and vanishes. What ensues is a relentless cat-and-mouse pursuit as Cameron races to find Iris, passing through the bustling streets of Rome and a remote cabin in Sardinia all the while.

The Cast

Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander lead the cast as Iris and Cameron respectively, with the former describing the latter as ‘one of the greatest British actors still working’.

‘I learned so much from him,’ Niamh told Country & Town House earlier this year, describing Hollander as an ‘actor whose work I really like’. ‘He makes such interesting choices,’ she continues. ‘He is a scene stealer, let’s just put it that way. He brings so much depth. The amount of work that he puts into each role – and I got to see it firsthand – was truly inspiring.’

Having most recently starred in ITV’s baby swap drama Playing Nice, Niamh is best known for roles in Deceit, Malpractice, Mary & George, and Netflix’s Great Famine drama, The Wonder (2022). Tom Hollander, meanwhile, has starred in everything from Gosford Park (2001) and Pride & Prejudice (2005) to About Time (2013) and Bird Box (2018). On the small screen, Hollander is best known for his turn as Corky in The Night Manager, though he most recently garnered acclaim for his roles in The White Lotus season 2 and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

The full list of actors set to star in The Iris Affair includes:

• Niamh Algar as Iris Nixon
• Tom Hollander as Cameron Beck
• Kristofer Hivju
• Harry Lloyd
• Meréana Tomlinson
• Sacha Dhawan
• Maya Sansa
• Peter Sullivan
• Debi Mazar
• Marco Leonardi
• Angela Bruce
• Lorenzo De Moor

Tom Hollander as Cameron and Niamh Algar as Iris in The Iris Affair. (© Sky)

Where Was It Filmed?

The Iris Affair was filmed on location in Italy for the second half of 2024. ‘I recently got back home [to London] after spending six months in Italy, split between Sardinia and Rome,’ lead star Niamh Algar told C&TH at the start of the year. ‘The majority of filming was in Rome and in Cinecitta, which is the main Italian studio there.

‘I absolutely adored doing that job,’ she reminisced. ‘It’s still so fresh. I ate my body weight in pasta and pizza, and I have no regrets.’

Based on our first images of the action, some filming also took place in Florence, where Iris and Cameron first meet. The piazza in the image of the duo’s first meeting above is Piazza di Santa Croce, with the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze in the background.

The Iris Affair Release Date

No news just yet on when The Iris Affair will land on screens, but we’re told it will air ‘later this year’. We’re expecting an autumn 2025 premiere. All eight episodes will air on Sky before being available to stream on Now.