Sumith Prasad
Created by Kirstie Swain, Starz’s dark comedy series ‘Sweetpea’ chronicles the murderous rampage of Rhiannon Lewis, a receptionist at a newspaper called the Carnsham Gazette. When her family members, colleagues, and other acquaintances treat her as an invisible being, she takes matters into her own hands and starts dealing with them under the influence of her homicidal impulses. She finds the act of killing the best tool to retaliate against the people who bully her and make her feel inferior. Rhiannon’s emotions and struggles are highly relatable. Since bullying and emotional abuse are part of the history of several real-life serial killers, she may even seem rooted in reality!
Rhiannon Lewis is a Fictional Serial Killer Created by CJ Skuse
Rhiannon Lewis does not have a real-life counterpart. She is a fictional serial killer conceived by CJ Skuse as the protagonist of her ‘Sweetpea’ novel series, which comprises five books. The inspiration behind the character is as intriguing as the murderer. The author started writing ‘Sweetpea,’ the first installment in the book series, after coming across a meme featuring a serial killer version of Barbie on Tumblr. “Ken’s severed head on a platter” and his corpse in the refrigerator in the image left an impression on her. The realization that a “sweet” Barbie could also have a serial killer version motivated Skuse to create Rhiannon, who is named after the song of the legendary band Fleetwood Mac.
Skuse pitched ‘Sweetpea’ as ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ meets ‘Dexter.’ Like the protagonist of Jeff Lindsay’s ‘Dexter’ novel series and its famed Showtime TV adaptation, Rhiannon is also a killer who focuses on “bad” people. The author describes her character as a woman with “incredible lust for murder,” a highly prominent characteristic of Dexter Morgan. Throughout the source novels and the TV show, the forensic expert is driven by his obsession with the act of killing, which is the case with Skuse’s creation as well. The only difference is that Dexter hunts down criminals and fellow killers, while the receptionist targets people who are evil and uncompassionate toward her.
While Rhiannon is fictional, there are several real-life female serial killers who resemble her. Aileen Wuornos, a Florida-based murderer who was executed in 2002, had a troubled childhood similar to the series’ protagonist. Wuornos’s mother abandoned her when she was a young girl, which also happened in Rhiannon’s case. Christine Paolilla, who killed four individuals, including two of her friends, was reportedly bullied by her classmates because of her appearance. These alleged bullying episodes apparently affected her self-confidence. Similarly, Rhiannon becomes a killer mainly because of how her former schoolmate, Julia Blenkingsopp, mistreats her based on her looks.
Sweetpea Deviates Significantly From CJ Skuse’s Source Novel
Kirstie Swain, who created ‘Sweetpea’ based on CJ Skuse’s novel of the same title, developed the television adaptation by deviating from the source text. While Rhiannon Lewis is extremely homicidal when the book starts, that’s not the case with the dark comedy show, which delves into her childhood first before establishing her as a serial killer. Ella Purnell, the lead actress and one of the executive producers of the series, described the adaptation as the “prequel to the book” and a chronicle of the “making of Sweetpea.”
Purnell described her series as ‘Dexter’ meets ‘Fleabag.’ Like Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s beloved character, the dark comedy series presents its protagonist as a social outcast who can make any occasion awkward. Fleabag’s intricate relationship with her sister, Claire, resembles how the serial killer’s sibling, Seren, treats her. Both of these characters feel that they are invisible within a group and that their voices are not heard by the people surrounding them. The major difference is that while Waller-Bridge’s protagonist deals with her challenges by forming a heartwarming companionship with a “hot priest,” Rhiannon does the same by becoming a murderer.
The dark comedy show’s deviations from its source novel helped Swain to present Rhiannon as a relatable character. The creator told Deadline that the series is for “everyone, regardless of class, gender or age, who has felt overlooked or undermined in their life.” While the protagonist’s killings are extremely fictional, the reasons that drive her to murder are dealt with by countless women all across the world. “In a climate where we’re just getting increasingly silenced, [women] have a lot to say, and the more you try to silence someone, the louder, in my experience, you want to scream,” Purnell told IndieWire, clarifying how her character ultimately resembles the oppressed around us.
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