AMC has announced two brand-new casting for their upcoming psychological thriller series Invitation to a Bonfire. Jamie Neumann (Lovecraft Country) and Amy Darton (Sleeping Beauty) are set to feature in what are described as “heavily recurring roles.” The series is set to premiere on AMC sometime next year.
The original report of the casting news comes from Deadline, who also confirmed that Emmy-nominated Cherien Dabis (Only Murders In The Building) will be directing the first two episodes of the six-episode series. Based on the 2018 psychological thriller novel of the same name written by Adrienne Celt and inspired by the co-dependent marriage of author Vladimir Nabokov and Vera Nabokov, the upcoming series adaptation will follow Zoya, played by Freya Mavor, a young Russian immigrant in the 1930s who is groundskeeper at the Donne School in New Jersey, pulled into a love triangle between a Nabokov-inspired novelist and faculty member of the school Leo, played by Pilou Asbæk, and his wife and editor, played by Tatiana Maslany. Ngozi Anyanwu is also set to star in the series.
As for the new characters, Neumann will be portraying Nadine, a rural-raised woman who works at the Donne School. Raised in Appalachia, Nadine was previously a student at the boarding school thanks to a generous scholarship, unknown to the current girls attending the school. Darton plays Daphne, who is described as the “unquestioned queen” of the school thanks to her privileged upbringing. While Daphne is able to reign over the girls of the school, she actually holds little power of her own.
In addition to being in a starring role, Maslany will also be an executive producer alongside Robin Schwartz and Kyle Laursen. Carolyn Daucher will serve as a producer on the project. Previous credits from Neumann include appearances in series such as Lovecraft Country, The Deuce, and Atlanta. Darton has credits in both Sleeping Beauty and Invisible. Dabis was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for “The Boy From 6B” episode on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building and has also worked on series such as fellow Hulu comedy Ramy as well as Ozark on Netflix.
Invitation to a Bonfire will arrive to AMC next year, though a concrete release date has yet to be revealed. In the meantime, series star Maslany can be seen next in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, which premieres August 17 on Disney+.
