‘Fallout’ Star Ella Purnell’s ‘Sweetpea’ Climbs Prime Video Charts

Ella Purnell’s breakout role came in Yellowjackets, but given that her character Jackie didn’t survive the frigid wilderness of Season 1 and was subsequently eaten, the actor had a lot more openings in her schedule than her costars. This meant that, for the highly anticipated adaptation of the video game series Fallout, Purnell could take on the role of Lucy, which catapulted her fame even higher. When Season 2 returned, it dominated the streaming charts, not only during its release, but for weeks after. Even though Fallout has slipped out of the top spot as new titles have premiered, another Purnell project has cracked into the top 10.

With Yellowjackets, Purnell played a teen who refused to compromise her morals for survival, and Fallout‘s Lucy is admirable in all of her quests, though her sheltered (literally) existence meant she can regularly be a bit naive. For her Starz series, on the other hand, Purnell played a character who was pushed too far and, after embracing her darker side, develops an infatuation with revenge. Making the whole show all the more ironic is that it’s named after the dismissive nickname her boss gives her, Sweetpea.

In the US, you’ll have to go to Starz to enjoy the show, but worldwide fans are diving into Sweetpea and helped it become #7 in the worldwide trending charts on Prime Video. You can see the rest of the worldwide top 10 TV titles on Prime Video as of March 9 below:

The question of how this popularity will impact the series’ future, however, is yet to be seen.

‘Sweetpea’ Will Return…at Some Point

For those who quickly consumed all six episodes of Season 1 of Sweetpea when it premiered on Starz back in 2024, it didn’t take long to hear the good news that it was renewed for a Season 2. The series is based on the novel of the same name from CJ Skuse, and to the benefit of those who already knew the story, the TV show wasn’t a direct adaptation, but served both as a reimagining and as a prequel, as the book starts with “Sweetpea,” aka Rhiannon, being familiar with killing. In this sense, we can assume Season 2 will tap more into the actual events of the novel.

One drawback to Purnell becoming a highly sought-after performer is that, after Sweetpea was released, Purnell was then tied up with Fallout Season 2. Luckily, production on Sweetpea wrapped late in 2025, so we know that it’s only a matter of time before we get an update, with the next batch of episodes likely coming in 2026.

A Bigger and Bloodier New Season

Due to the series blending together violence with drama and darkly comedic elements, a lot of viewers have likened it to Dexter, given that we manage to empathize with Rhiannon, regardless of her bloodthirst. Looking at the trailer above, it’s easy to see how the program could be compared to such an iconic serial killer series. From one scene to the next, we don’t know whether to be appalled or to laugh, and based on previous comments she’s made about the series, it sounds like the show is only getting warmed up.

Back in December, Purnell confirmed things will get even crazier in Season 2, revealing to Deadline, “It was a really crazy season. Season 1 was quite very small and tame in comparison to how bonkers this season is. There’s so much in it. It’s big.”

Making the series’ continuation even more exciting is that the original book series consists of five novels, leaving plenty of source material to bring to life in future installments.

Sweetpea

Release Date

October 10, 2024

Network

Starz