The Iris Affair - AD Introduction
The Iris Affair is a six-part thriller where puzzles, power and morality collide. The story unfolds across bustling Italian cities, quiet coastal towns in Sardinia and the barren mountain landscape surrounding an isolated research bunker in Slovenia.
The story follows a gifted mathematician, a white Irish woman named Iris Nixon, played by Niamh Algar, a brilliant, elusive, guarded individual with a gift for solving puzzles. Iris is no ordinary codebreaker; she could crack an activation sequence of complex codes that can unlock a powerful topological quantum device known as Charlie Big Potatoes. Through encrypted messages, shifting identities and a trail of clues Iris must stay one step ahead while unlocking Charlie’s true purpose.
As Iris gets closer to solving the puzzle she vanishes with a diary. Her disappearance sparks a hunt led by the charming, articulate Cameron Beck, played by Tom Hollander, a wealthy white tech entrepreneur with a dangerous past. He’ll stop at nothing to find Iris and awaken Charlie, who he funded, in his bid to change the world. He genuinely believes in Charlie’s ability to reshape humanity, but he also fears losing everything -including his life - as he faces the wrath of shadowy lenders referred to as ‘The Money.’
Iris takes on a new persona as Miss Brook hiding out in Sardinia as the tutor of a young, restless black girl named Joy Baxter, played by Mereana Tomlinson, who lives with her white guardians in a grand villa. Searching for purpose, Joy is a curious teenager drawn to Iris’s intelligence and confidence. They form a complex bond as Joy enters Iris’s world of secrets. Joy’s high-stakes decisions transform her from a directionless teen to active participant in Iris’s fight. Her courage, curiosity and sense of morality are shaped and emboldened by Iris’s mentorship.
Iris also finds help from former journalist Alfie Bird, played by Sacha Dhawan, a young Asian conspiracy obsessed YouTuber who chases online clues across Europe to find her. He is inquisitive and driven, with a deep simmering need to expose secrets and pursue puzzles. He carries a chip on his shoulder stemming from a history of trying to break into mainstream journalism. His YouTube channel, Two Seconds to Midnight, gives him purpose and validation. Alfie’s nervous disposition injects an element of chaos and unpredictability into the hunt.
Inspector Nico Casterman, played by Maya Sansa, is a seasoned Sardinian police officer whose calm authority masks a deep emotional drive to get justice for the loss of her murdered fellow officer, Teo, with whom Iris was having a loveless affair of convenience. Nico suspects Iris knows more than she’s saying and maybe the key to something far bigger. Her character is defined by quiet strength, emotional depth, and a growing internal conflict between duty and empathy.
At the heart of it all is Jensen Lind, played by Kristopher Hivju, the original creator of Charlie. Now comatose, his encrypted diary – stolen by Iris - holds the final piece of the puzzle and a warning about the device’s true powers.
Among the supporting cast are Marco Leonardi as Chief Commissioner Enrico Bruni, the leader of the police in Rome and implicated in the investigation. Angela Bruce as Meski, Cameron Beck’s loyal head of security and Harry Lloyd as Hugo Pym, head of the Intragroup committee who helped finance Charlie.
Caliburn is a clandestine compound located in a remote mountain region of Slovenia, where Charlie is housed. It is a reinforced concrete bunker with high security chambers and a maze of underground corridors. The facility’s fortified perimeter is monitored through cameras, sensors and drones all erected to thwart unwanted intrusion.
Charlie, the supercomputer, sits dormant dominating an atrium filled with rows of server racks, sleek metal cabinets interlaced with fibre optic conduits and cooling ducts. Beneath its exterior lies the topological quantum hardware. A dim pulse of LED light travels slowly along a central spine, signifying its latent sentient awareness.
Can Iris outsmart her pursuers and stop Charlie from awaking?
All episodes of The Iris Affair are now available on Sky Atlantic and On Demand with audio description.
Article and Audio Description by Penelope Parisi