Amazon Prime Video has announced the first cast members for The Boys of Tommen, the upcoming film adaptation of the best-selling book series of the same name written by Irish author Chloe Walsh.
Nancy Surridge will lead the cast as Shannon Lynch, described as “a shy and mysterious new student at Tommen University,” while Connor Sanchez will play Johnny Kavanagh, described as “the golden boy who is Tommen and Shannon’s love interest.”
James O’Donoghue plays Shannon’s “troubled but loyal” older brother Joey, while Sophie McGibbon plays Joey’s lover, the “fiercely confident” Aoife Molloy.
According to the official description, ‘The Tommen Boys’ tells the ‘forbidden love story of Johnny Kavanagh, a star rugby player on the brink of a professional career, and Shannon Lynch, a talented but painfully shy new student at the prestigious private Tommen College in Ballyraggin, Ireland. Johnny suffers a potentially career-ending injury, and Shannon has a troubled and violent home life. Through their secret and tense connection, the story depicts two teenagers from opposite worlds fighting against the odds and finding a way to save each other. ”
Brendan Canty (Christie) will direct the series, and Ingrid Goodwin will serve as series producer.
“The Boys of Tommen” marks Surridge’s first role, while Sanchez has recently appeared in period biopic “Power and Glory” and vampire thriller “One Night.” O’Donoghue, an Irish-American, plays Luca Ortiz in AMC’s supernatural thriller Sanctuary, while McGibbon will appear in Working Title Films’ adaptation of Sense & Sensibility.
Canty said: “As someone who grew up in Cork, where these stories are set, this project feels deeply personal to me. Poppy has done a fantastic job adapting Chloe’s beloved books, and the way both writers capture the lives of young people with such empathy, tenderness and honesty feels truly extraordinary to me. It’s a great way to do justice to the world they have created. We knew it was all about finding the right cast. We received over 3000 casting proposals from across the UK and searched far and wide, but from the moment Nancy, Conor, James and Sophie walked into the room it was clear that each of them brought the depth of spirit and emotion that this story needed. We couldn’t be more excited to work with this extraordinary young cast to bring Chloe’s world to the big screen. ”
The series, adapted by Poppy Kogan (The Good Girls’ Guide to Murder), is based on the first two novels in Walsh’s bestselling series, Binding 13 and Keeping 13. Cogan will also executive produce alongside Walsh, Wiip’s Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and Sean Flanagan, Temple Hill’s Wyke Godfrey, Marty Bowen, James Seidman, Annika Patten, and Drama Republic’s Greg Brennman and Deena Butt. Kara Strong will serve as casting director.
“Boys of Tommen” was greenlit earlier this year and is being produced by global independent studio Wiip in partnership with Amazon MGM Studios, with Metropolitan providing local production services.
