General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

The Ex-Wife

The Ex-Wife is a British psychological thriller television series adapted from Jess Ryder's 2018 novel of the same name, produced for Paramount+ and first broadcast on October 12, 2022. It follows Tasha, a new mother whose seemingly perfect marriage to media executive Jack is disrupted by Jen, Jack's ex-wife, who refuses to leave the family alone; the series then reveals that the real threat comes from Jack himself.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Source	Adaptation of Jess Ryder's psychological thriller novel The Ex Wife (published 2018, Bookouture)³^•⁴
Screenwriter	Catherine Steadman, actress and novelist, in her screenwriting debut⁵
Run	Season 1 premiered October 12, 2022; Season 2 aired April 10, 2025; two seasons of four episodes each; status ended⁶
Main cast	Celine Buckens as Tasha, Tom Mison as Jack, Janet Montgomery as Jen (season 1), Katie McGrath as Jen (season 2), Jordan Stephens as Sam, Clare Foster as Hayley⁶
Production	Co-produced by BlackBox Multimedia, Night Train Media, and Clapperboard Studios; directed by Brian O'Malley⁷^•²
Reception	Season 1 Tomatometer 80% from 5 critics; IMDb rating 6.4/10 from about 3,000 users⁸^•⁹
Distribution	Sold to broadcasters and streamers in more than 80 territories by All3Media International⁷

Spoilers

Plot

Season 1 (2022). Tasha (Celine Buckens) lives with her husband Jack (Tom Mison), a successful media executive, their baby daughter Emily, and a grand Hampstead home. Jack's ex-wife Jen (Janet Montgomery) repeatedly intrudes on the couple's life, beginning with their anniversary dinner, and Tasha comes to believe Jen is after her daughter.¹¹ When Emily vanishes, the series reverses its premise: Jen is not the villain but another victim of Jack's gaslighting, a man who lied to each woman about the other and, unable to have children with Jen, was obsessed with creating his "perfect family" by any means.¹

When Tasha tries to leave with Emily, Jack becomes violent and imprisons her in their basement. After her escape and a fight in which she leaves Jack for dead in their empty pool, Jen switches sides and reveals where Jack has been hiding Emily. The season ends with a car crash and explosion involving all four main characters on the motorway as Jack tries to run Tasha off the road; Tasha fakes Emily's death, and Jack is jailed for the accident.¹

Season 2 (2025). The second season picks up three years later, with Tasha and Emily living in hiding in Cyprus under false identities while Jen prepares to remarry. Jack's release from prison throws their lives into chaos again; he claims to be a changed man.¹² The two sources describing Jack's imprisonment disagree on its length: Telly Visions writes that he is released "after just a year behind bars",¹² while TVGuide UK writes that he had spent three years in jail.¹³ The season ends with Jack, described by TVGuide UK as "disposed of. Forever", leaving Tasha, Jen, and Emily at peace; neither Paramount+ nor Channel 5 has confirmed a third series.¹³

Development and production

BlackBox Multimedia and Night Train Media announced their international co-production of the series in September 2020. The adaptation marked the screenwriting debut of Catherine Steadman, known as an actress for Downton Abbey, The Rook, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and as the author of the novels Something in the Water and Mr Nobody. Ryder, the source novelist, is the author of six psychological thrillers including The Ex Wife, Lie to Me, and The Girl You Gave Away.⁵ Clapperboard Studios later joined as a co-producer, and the production is credited as 4 x 60 minutes for each series.¹⁰

Brian O'Malley directed, with executive producers including Mike Benson, Herbert Kloiber, Chiara Cardoso, Jan Page, Olivia Pahl, and Giuliano Papadia.²

Cast

Katie McGrath took over the role of Jen for season 2, replacing Janet Montgomery, one of several changes as the story moved beyond its source novel.⁶^•¹² Jordan Stephens plays Sam, Tasha's friend, and Clare Foster plays Jack's sister Hayley.⁶

Reception and distribution

Season 1 holds an 80% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from five critics.⁸ Critics were divided in tone: Carol Midgley of The Times scored it 3/5, calling it "unashamedly pot-boilerish" but enjoyable, while Jasper Rees of The Daily Telegraph gave 2/5 to what he called "premium shlock TV".⁸^•³ On IMDb the series rates 6.4/10 from about 3,000 users, with individual episodes scoring between 7.0 and 7.4.⁹

The series has been widely sold. All3Media International holds distribution rights outside the UK and Ireland and has secured broadcast partners in more than 80 territories. Buyers of both seasons include BBC Studios for BBC First in Asia and BBC Player in Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan; NBCUniversal for Latin America; Norway's NRK; Denmark's DR; and other European broadcasters. Season 2 launched on BritBox in the United States, Paramount+ in Australia, TV4 in Sweden, OSN in the Middle East, and Pickbox across several Balkan markets.⁷ In the UK the series airs on both Paramount+ and Channel 5.¹³

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026