Outlander star Jessica Reynolds has joined the all-star cast of a must-watch upcoming British drama.

Channel 4 has recently announced the stellar cast of Close to Home, an adaptation of Michael Magee’s debut novel of the same name.

The winner of the 2023 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature as well as the Nero Prize for Debut Fiction 2024, the novel is set in Belfast and follows a young man returning home from university.

A synopsis continues: “Back from university and back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through.

“Back with his brother, his ma and all the things they never talk about. Back where the promised prosperity of peacetime has yet to arrive and every street has a story to tell.

Outlander and Kneecap’s Jessica Reynolds will star in Channel 4’s Close to Home(Image: GETTY)

“One night, Sean assaults a stranger at a party and everything is tipped into chaos.”

House of Guinness star Anthony Boyle will be leading the cast as Sean, along with his co-star in the Steven Knight-created historical series, Seamus O’Hara, as Anthony.

Reynolds, who also starred in House of Guinness as Christine O’Madden, as well as A Woman of Substance and Kneecap, will portray Mairéad, while Trespasses’ Oisín Thompson will play Ryan.

Fans may primarily recognise Reynolds from her role as Malva Christie in the sixth season of Outlander, who causes turmoil amongst the Fraser clan when she accuses Jamie (Sam Heughan) of fathering her baby, angering his wife Claire (Caitriona Balfe).

Author Magee said of Channel 4’s highly anticipated adaptation: “Developing Close to Home for television has been an intensely fulfilling creative experience, a dream come true, really, and I’m incredibly grateful to Michael Dawson and Clare Dwyer Hogg for all the work they’ve done with me on the scripts, and to Diarmuid Goggins and Gemma Boswell and the whole team at Element and Channel 4 for the passion and creative energy they’ve put into bringing this story to life.”

Gemma Boswell, Commissioner Editor for Channel 4, added: “It is a privilege to bring Mick’s award-winning novel to Channel 4. Close To Home explores the emotionally rich landscape of West Belfast through the eyes of Sean, played by the fantastic Anthony Boyle. We’re delighted to showcase Mick’s beautiful writing with this timely and evocative story of a young generation finding their place in the world.”

And, finally, Executive Producer Michael Dawson said: “In his debut novel, Mick has captured a compelling vision of Belfast life, brimming with anarchic energy, humanity and mischief.

Jessica Reynolds portrayed Christine O’Madden in the Irish historical drama(Image: NETFLIX)

“Diarmuid Goggins is the perfect filmmaker to bring this to the screen; his ability to fuse bold, kinetic visuals with a raw, grounded realism is exactly what this story demands.

“Together with the indomitable Anthony Boyle and our incredible partners at Channel 4, Fremantle, NI Screen, and Screen Ireland, we are set to deliver a piece of television that is as dynamic, loud, and uncompromising as the city itself.”

Close to Home will be directed by Diarmuid Goggins (Code of Silence) and produced by the BAFTA-winning studio Element Pictures, a Fremantle company known for Normal People and Bugonia.

The series currently does not have a release date but filming is set to begin in Belfast from this month.