‘Reunion’: Warp Films’ Deaf-Led Revenge Thriller Breaks New Ground At Series Mania

deadline.com:

Reunion is a revenge drama about a deaf man determined to right his wrongs and it breaks new ground for a mainstream drama with its cast and crew and bilingual mix of spoken English and British Sign Language.

Writer William Mager tells Deadline the show “starts as a typical thriller, but by the end it’s morphed into something much more emotional, much more personal.” The Sheffield-born deaf writer adds that the elements relating to the deaf character and community were “easy to write, because you’re writing your own truth.” Playing in the International Panorama section at Series Mania, the drama follows Daniel Brennan (Matthew Gurney), a deaf man released from prison, and trying to find out about the events that led to his incarceration.

Speaking the morning after the world premiere, Mager and director Luke Snellin explained the inspiration for the series included classic revenge thrillers from the 1970s as well as westerns, resulting in a distinctive tone for the series, which is set in Sheffield, England. “It’s funny to write something which is like all those classic films you grew up watching, and then just changing the main character to become a deaf person.

That gives you so many new situations, so many new thoughts and stories to tell,” Mager explains. Brennan is ostracized by both the deaf and hearing communities and his only meaningful relationship is with his estranged daughter, Carly, played by Lara Peake.