Layton Williams has joined the cast of Netflix’s Geek Girl as cameras roll on Season 2.
The Olivier Award-winning actor, who is best known on the screen for roles in Bad Education and Everybody’s Talking about Jamie, will play Onassis in the hit YA series. Returning cast members include Em Carey, Emmanuel Imani, Liam Woodrum, Rochelle Harrington and Zac Looker, alongside Sarah Parish, Tim Downie, Jemima Rooper, and Hebe Beardshall.
Williams is best known for stage performances in shows including Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Celine Dion musical Titanique, the latter of which won him an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical earlier this year. He is starring in Chris Cottam’s upcoming movie The Light Fantastic about a thirty-something gay firefighter who dreams of becoming a professional ballroom dancer.
It took a fair while for Netflix to greenlight Geek Girl Season 2, mainly due to the financial struggles of its former Canadian producer Corus, but cameras have now rolled on the popular British-Canadian series in the UK.
Based on the internationally bestselling novels by Holly Smale, Geek Girl follows socially awkward but endearing teenager Harriet Manners (Carey) as she’s unexpectedly thrust into the fashion world — navigating runway chaos, mean girls and personal growth along the way.
The half-hour series had made a strong case for renewal by spending four weeks in Netflix’s Global Top 10 for English-language series, peaking at #2, reaching the Top 10 in 89 countries and amassing 28.1 million views in its first seven months of release. The solid performance, coupled with a pretty modest budget and positive reviews from critics, should’ve translated into a quick renewal were it not for Corus’ struggles. Production has now switched to Canada’s Boat Rocker alongside previous co-producer RubyRock Pictures.
Smale is creator of the series with Jessica Ruston. Declan O’Dwyer (Miss Scarlet & The Duke) is director. EPs are showrunner Zoë Rocha and Robbie von Werz for RubyRock, along with Smale, Ruston, Jeff Norton, Declan O’Dwyer, and David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg, Nick Nantell, and Jon Rutherford for Boat Rocker.
