One Night is a new Paramount Plus thriller set in the glamorous location of Sydney, Australia and the Illawarra region in New South Wales. It follows the story of a traumatic incident that tore apart the lives of three women.
Starring Jodie Whittaker, Nicole da Silva and Yael Stone as former friends Tess, Simone and Hat, it shows how a book written by wannabe novelist Simone 20 years later rakes up their painful past and puts them directly in the path of those who want to make it go away.
Jodie Whittaker was thrilled to get the chance to film the drama in Australia, but she admits she found the Aussie accent tricky: "It was really hard! It won’t have been perfect, but I’m giving myself an “A” for effort!"
Here’s everything we know about One Night on Pramount Plus…
One Night release date
One Night is a six-part drama that launched in the UK on Paramount Plus on Friday Novmber 24 2023, having already streamed in Australia from Friday September 1 2023. The series will also air on Paramount Plus in the US, although as yet there’s no release date but we believe it to be later in 2023 or 2024. Keep checking this page and we’ll update you as soon as we hear anything.
* Paramount Plus price: cost, deals and content for the streaming service.
* Sign up for Paramount Plus here.
Is there a trailer for One Night?
Yes a trailer for One Night has been released by Paramount Plus and yes Jodie Whittaker has an Australian accent which is very convincing. Do take a look at the tweet below.
One Night plot
One Night follows Simone (Nicole da Silva) who dreams of being a novelist but can’t seem to make it happen. Then, at 40 she writes about the one story she could never get out of her head and it becomes an overnight success. However, the secret real-life tragedy that inspired the book also belongs to her childhood best friends Tess (Jodie Whittaker) and Hat (Yael Stone) and twenty years earlier it destroyed the bond they shared. Worse still, now that it’s out in the open it could ruin all of their lives.
As the lines between truth and fiction become blurred, the book threatens to derail their friendships, expose their trauma to the small coastal community where they grew up and anger those who are determined to bury the past.
Jodie Whittaker is playing banker Tess, who was subjected to a terrifying sexual assault two decades ago, of which she has little memory. After years living in the UK, she returns to her native Australia with wife Vicki (Kat Stewart) and their children, but the past rears its head when she comes back into contact with her estranged old pals, budding novelist Simone and lawyer Hat who were with her on the fateful night.
One Night cast — Nicole da Silva as Simone
Nicole da Silva plays Simone, who has finally written a successful novel but must deal with the consequences. The Australian actress has starred in Doctor Doctor, Wentworth Prison, Rush and Love Me.
Jodie Whittaker give us an exclusive interview on playing Tess
Jodie Whittaker is playing Simone’s childhood best friend Tess. She's a banker who returns to Australia with her family in tow. Here, Jodie gives us the lowdown about One Night and her character...
"Tess has fought against the memory of this place, and it feels like a weakness to have these fractious friendships seep into her consciousness again,’ Jodie told TV TImes and Whattowatch.com in an exclusive one to one interview. "She sees the history that she has spent 20 years running away from.
‘Simone’s book is like dropping a grenade. "‘Tess feels as if it's a betrayal because there's a commodification of her trauma. But it’s also about exploring the 'ownership' of this event that has been challenging for all three friends and you don’t know whose memories are accurate. The journey Tess goes on is brilliant."
"We filmed in an extraordinary town [near Sydney]. On screen, Tess sees darkness and misery there, but all anyone else can see is extraordinary beauty. There’s all that sea and space, but for her, it feels claustrophobic.
"For me though, it was amazing, because it was January and I was hearing about the horrific weather back in the UK, but we were in Sydney! It was a dream job and we could all go as a family [Jodie has two children with actor husband Christian Contreras], which was the biggest adventure."
* British star Jodie Whittaker is best known for Broadchurch and her role as the Doctor in BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. She’s also starred in dramas Trust Me, Get Santa, The Smoke, Marchlands and Black Mirror and will be starring in Time season 2 during Autumn 2023.
Yael Stone is playing Hat
Australian actor Yael Stone plays Hat, Nicole’s other best friend. She’s previously sttarredin Orange is the New Black, Spirited, Preppers, Firebite and Wellmania.
Who else is starring in One Night?
One Night also stars Kat Stewart as Tess' partner Vicky, Jude Hyland as Tess' son Arthur and Harper Simon as Tess' daughter Lily.
Mikaela Binns-Rorke plays young Tess, Bridgette Armstrong plays young Simone and Bella Ridgeway plays young Hat.
Other stars include George Mason (The Power of the Dog) plays Joey Calley, Erroll Shand (Underbelly: Land of the Long Green Cloud) is Trevor Calley, Noni Hazlehurst (A Place To Call Home, Fires) plays Mary, Tina Bursill (Doctor Doctor) is Helen, Damien Strouthos (The Twelve) is Mark, William Zappa plays DOn and Jillian Nguyen (Barons) plays Eden.
One Night episode guide (with spoilers)
Here's a One Night episode guide. Please look away if you don't want spoilers...
Episode 1
Simone has harboured secret hopes of becoming a novelist but most of her haphazard attempts have been shoved into her bottom drawer. Now, at the age of forty, her debut novel One Night is about to be published. But when she learns from her friend Hat that their estranged childhood best friend Tess is returning from London after nearly two decades away, Simone has a crisis of conscience and hides the news of her book from both of her friends.
It soon becomes apparent that the devastating story the book tells doesn’t exclusively belong to Simone. At the heart of her novel is a fictionized account of a crime that impacted all of them on that night twenty years ago, a tragedy which happened to Tess.
When Tess and Simone are reunited after a 17-year hiatus, Hat, the third friend, is determined to play the peacemaker. But Tess is very different to the young girl who left home at 19. She is successful, sober, and happily married to her wife, Vicki, with two teenage children, Lily and Arthur in tow. Tess and her family begin a new life in the small coastal town, putting the ghosts of her past behind her.
As the three women come to terms with their new dynamics, Simone grapples with the life Tess has created without her and Hat struggles to keep the harmony between them all.
But how long can One Night remain a secret? Its publication will implode their friendships, bringing all the old traumas to the surface of the small coastal community where they grew up, and stirring its perpetrators, who want to make it all to go away.
Episode 2
Furious at Simone for lying to her about her book’s existence, Hat is further incensed when she reads it and realises it isn’t purely a work of fiction. Instead, the book tells the story of a crime involving Tess, and herself, and the Calley brothers, whose pub was the scene of the crime. Hat wrestles with feelings of guilt and culpability and is forced to re-examine her own memories and past choices. But whose memory is to be trusted? And whose story is it to tell?
Much to Simone’s surprise, her debut novel is a success. A young journalist, Eden, makes it her mission to find and unmask the ‘Anonymous’ author.
As Tess tries to adjust to her new life in her old home, the memories of her past continue to haunt her. Completely unaware of the book’s existence, Tess tries to re-establish connection with her estranged best friend, but Simone finds it difficult to re-establish intimacy while having to lie about her book, much to Hat’s chagrin.
Meanwhile, Lily is attracted to local surfer Jason Calley, Joey’s nephew and Trevor’s son. Could this be her first Australian romance?
When news spreads that Trevor Calley, Joey’s older brother, is being released from prison early and will be returning to their coastal community, Hat is unsettled. Anxious about the repercussions to her own life should the book fall into Joey or Trevor Calley’s hands, Hat begins investigating how to get Simone’s book pulled from the shelves. Hat’s nervousness doesn’t go unnoticed by her husband, Mark. Just how dangerous is this novel?
Episode 3
Believing Tess to be the author of One Night, Eden tracks her down to her mother’s home on the south coast and asks her about the historic crime at the heart of the novel. Confused by Eden’s claims, Tess Googles One Night and is horrified to learn that her childhood friend Simone has written an Anonymous novel about her rape for anyone to read. And Hat has known about it for some time.
Outraged, Tess confronts Simone. This is not Simone’s story to tell. But given Tess has no memory of the crime and Simone was the only partial witness, whose story is it? Simone insists the book came from a place of love: she wrote it for the both of them.
Tess tries buying all copies of the books in town to stop others from reading it. But as the novel’s success and notoriety grows, and Eden takes to Twitter to ‘out’ her, Tess realises the book has taken on a life of its own. The stress of the situation and her inability to remember what happened begins to take its toll on Tess’ mental health and her relationship with Vicki. Desperate to understand and help her wife, Vicki reads the book herself and comes to realise something else: that Tess and Simone were once in love.
Despite still being furious with Hat for not telling her about the book, Tess goes to her and asks for legal advice. How can they make the book go away? But Hat only warns her: if she goes down the defamation route, she might find that others have more right to charges of defamation than Tess does.
Meanwhile, someone anonymously leaves a copy of the novel for Joey Calley on his car windscreen. Joey learns the book is accusing him of a rape he says he did not commit.
Tess pushes forward with her legal options and learns that to push for a charge of defamation, she must say that what happened to her never happened.
Meanwhile, a defiant and impassioned Lily sneaks out to meet Jason Calley at the memorial for a drowned local teen boy. Tess and Vicki are furious and frightened to find her drunk at the bonfire party and drag her away. Desperate to protect Lily from her own past, Tess forbids her from seeing Jason again.
Episode 4
As the novel One Night continues to be successful, Simone watches as Eden become the voice and face of Anonymous online and in the media. Fed up with her choice to be ‘anonymous’ and therefore easily spoken for, she hatches a plan to unmask herself as the author. But when her publisher receives a Concerns Notice for One Night, they are compelled to halt the printing of the next edition. Simone is forced to admit that the book isn’t purely a work of fiction, despite having signed an indemnity clause. Furious, Simone confronts Hat and Tess about the Concerns Notice in an attempt to have the Notice revoked. Tess is shocked to learn Hat pursued the complaint even after Tess had withdrawn it. Hat says she did it to protect them from the Calleys. Spiralling further into the events of her past, Tess becomes consumed by her anger and covertly hatches a plan of revenge against the Calleys. But when she starts making mysterious midnight phone calls and transferring large amounts of cash, her suspicious behaviour doesn’t go unnoticed by a concerned Vicki. How far is she willing to go in the name of revenge? Meanwhile, Simone comes head to head with Joey over his suspected trespassing on her father’s farm, and unwittingly reveals herself as book’s author. Joey declares he will end the book. And her. Trevor, watching Joey’s rage from afar, grows curious: what is this book? Despite the stern warnings from Tess and Simone, Lily continues to explore her romance with Jason Calley. Will history repeat itself? Desperate to protect Lily, Simone returns to the pub for the first time in twenty years in search of her, but first must confront a hostile Mary Calley, who is sick and tired of Simone’s accusations against her sons.
Episode 5
Anxious about the repercussions of the book on the town and her life, Hat refuses to withdraw her legal action against Simone and the publishers of One Night, while Simone remains determined to reveal herself as the author. But neither woman gets what they ask for in their mediation. They come out of it having lost more than their cases; they appear to have lost their friendship.
Tess too is more isolated than ever. Feeling betrayed by both Hat and Simone, and fuelled by a new wave of anger, she continues to pursue her revenge against the Calley’s, further driving a wedge between her and Vicki. Trevor’s presence back in the pub threatens to derail all Joey has worked for in his absence. And when Trevor finds the book, Joey struggles to keep a cool head. Panicked that Trevor will read the book and suspect her role in his arrest, Hat digs into the events of the past, and soon discovers the police seem to be hiding something too. But before she can get to the bottom of it, she receives an unexpected visit from Trevor. Her worst fears are confirmed as he starts sniffing around, making it clear he is looking for the person who sent him to prison. Who does she think it could be?
Episode 6
After learning the police did not use her witness statement in their case against Trevor Calley, Hat uncovers there was more going on at the pub on the night of the assault than any of them had realised. Hat suspects Joey knows more than he has previously let on. Armed with this new information, Hat informs Simone, who eventually agrees they must confront Joey. After finally confessing his involvement to Hat, Joey wrestles with the choice to either stay silent and protect his own life, or to give Tess what she has waited twenty years for: the whole true story.
Meanwhile, after finally discovering Tess’ plans, Vicki threatens to leave and take the kids with her back to London. Is Tess going to allow her need for revenge to destroy her marriage and family?
The heartbreaking truth brings Hat and Simone together again. They grapple with how to tell Tess that there were people who knew what happened to her and yet did nothing about it. Should they tell her? Will she even want to know?
With her friends’ encouragement, Tess finally decides to confront Joey and learn the whole story of what happened to her.
Distraught at having to leave Australia and her new romance; Lily seeks out Jason to say her final goodbyes. But when Trevor intercepts their farewell down at the beach, Lily unwittingly reveals something that all clicks into place for Trevor. Still determined to get his own revenge on the person who dobbed on him, he forms a misplaced and dangerous notion about Lily. But Joey comes to Lily’s rescue as pent-up anger, pain and betrayal finally surface. Mary learns the devastating secret her sons kept from her as Joey and Trevor go head-to-head. The family is truly broken. Both brothers cannot remain.
After finally learning the truth of what happened on that one night twenty years ago, Simone, Tess and Hat reunite. At last, they have some of the closure they need to move on.
Behind the scenes and more on One Night
One Night was filmed in Australis in early 2023. It's been directed by Catherine Millar and Lisa Matthews, with Easy Tiger’s Ian Collie, Rob Gibson and Ally Henville producing. It's written by Emily Ballou, who also serves as executive producer, while Motive Pictures’ Simon Maxwell and Sophia Mogford from Paramount+ are also executive producing alongside co-executive producer Harriet Creelman.
