The Revenge Club, adapted from J.D. Pennington’s novel The Othello Club, premieres December 12th on Paramount+ UK with a stellar British cast in a gripping divorce revenge thriller
Martin Compston and Douglas Henshall in the crime thriller(Image: PARAMOUNT PLUS)
A riveting drama series, starring a top-notch British cast including Martin Compston and Shetland’s Douglas Henshall, is set to debut this week.
This comes after its announcement by streaming behemoth Paramount+, as viewers continue to binge-watch a suspenseful political thriller and another crime series, according to the Mirror. The six-part adaptation is based on a bestselling novel that has recently hit the bookshelves and quickly ensnared readers with its chilling plotline.
One reader gave it a five-star rating, headlining their Amazon review: “A real page turner.” They raved: “Great characters, excellent plot and so many twists and turns. Read it! !”. In contrast, another reviewer lauded the book as “phenomenal” and proclaimed: “If you read one book before the year ends I 100% recommend this one!”
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‘Intriguing hook’
A third highly-rated critic wrote: “A BRILLIANT dark and twisty psychological thriller and hands down one of my top reads of the year. Such an intriguing hook, masterful plotting, and an eclectic array of characters who get under your skin and will have you constantly changing your mind. Also loved the creeping sense of unease that builds to a tense and shocking finale,” reports the Express.
The show has been adapted from The Othello Club(Image: PARAMOUNT PLUS)
Meanwhile, a fourth reviewer awarded the book 5/5 stars, headlining their review: “Hooked, gripping page turner!” They continued: “The final twist has me very much looking forwards to what’s more to come from this wordy, on trend author!” Another labeled it an “excellent read” and noted: “The only problem with this book is that it’s impossible to put down! ! Totally hooked from the first page. Great plot. Loved it.”
J.D. Pennington’s The Othello Club arrived in bookstores in October 2025 and follows a group of bitter divorcees plotting revenge for their broken hearts. The six strangers, brought together by a divorce support group, come from completely different backgrounds, each bearing their own emotional wounds with only their pain linking them together.
What starts as innocent pranks, including rodent invasions and fake psychic sessions, rapidly escalates into a deadly accident, leaving the crew with blood on their hands. The participants become increasingly bold in their plots as the line between revenge and madness begins to blur – and someone might just reach the breaking point.
Paramount+ has adapted the novel into The Revenge Club, featuring a star-studded cast that includes Shetland’s Douglas Henshall, Line of Duty’s Martin Compston, Peaky Blinders’ Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Goodness Gracious Me’s Meera Syal, Black Mirror’s Sharon Rooney, Sex Education’s Chaneil Kular, Happy Valley’s Amit Shah, and Jamestown’s Niamh Walsh.
The drama boasts a stellar British cast(Image: PARAMOUNT PLUS)
Speaking about the journey from book to screen, author and executive producer Pennington shared: “Obviously there was a divergence from the book and the TV series which is inevitable in the adaptation process. But the way I see it is the readers of my book will get one experience out of it, and then they’ll get a new experience out of watching the series, which is still true to the book, but there’ll be some new, unexpected twists and plot points that they can enjoy through that as well.”
Pennington added: “Then of course anyone who hasn’t read the book it doesn’t make any difference, they can just enjoy the series.”
Screenwriter Gabbie Asher shared her experience of adapting the book for the small screen, saying: “I kept the brilliant central concept from the book, the six divorcees meeting and making a revenge pact. But beyond that, everything was created specifically for TV: the characters, the relationships and the way the story evolves because it does become something else and if anyone reads the book it’s fantastic, it would have been very difficult to take it as it is, for various reasons – I don’t want to do spoilers – but that would have been quite challenging.”
Capturing the book’s essence
She continued: “So we tried to take as much of the essence as possible, and so rather than faithfully adapting every element it just used the concept as a launching pad to explore the themes of pain, betrayal and what people are capable of when they’re pushed to their limits.”
Asher also revealed how she effortlessly penned the script after reading the novel, completing the screenplay for the first episode in just three weeks.
The Revenge Club is set to premiere on December 12th on Paramount+ UK & Ireland.
