What 5 other lady killers could tell Sweetpea

After a childhood plagued by bullying so vile that it made her pull out her own hair to the point that she had to wear a wig, Rhiannon (played by Ella Purnell, Yellowjackets’ first cannibalism victim, Jackie) is struggling through her 20s. This downtrodden office serf longs to be a reporter, but is stuck as an admin assistant at The Carnsham Gazette where her boss, Norman (Jeremy Swift), dismissively calls her Sweetpea and throws his coat over her head every morning when he walks into the office. 

Rhiannon has all kinds of emotions on her plate after her dad dies, her school bully Julia (Nicôle Lecky) comes back to town, Rhiannon’s successful sister Seren (Alexandra Dowling) hires Julia to sell their dad’s house – even though Rhiannon still lives there – and she gets passed over for a promotion. So when she sees some guy called AJ (Calam Lynch) walk through the door, chat up Norman (who knows his parents), and immediately get the junior reporter job that she wanted, she’s ripe for slaughter!

Stream Sweetpea Season 1 now. New episodes Thursdays from 21:30.

Sweetpea, inspired by the novel of the same name by CJ Skuse (which features Rhiannon boasting that she scored 82% psychopath on a Buzzfeed quiz once), takes a somewhat different track to the book, filling in details about Sweetpea’s early days before she got stab happy. 

The series opens with a voiceover in which Rhiannon tells us about her running list of people she’d like to kill for making her feel invisible, including “manspreaders” on public transport, Donna in the mini-market, and her mom, who walked out on the family when she was a kid. So, lots to do, lots to do! But she might need a little push in the right direction. We’ve turned to the experts for help…

1. Yellowjackets: Misty Quigly

There’s something amiss with Misty (played by Sammi Hanratty as a teen and Christina Ricci as an adult), whether she’s cheerfully watching a rat drown in her parents’ pool, toying with her nursing home patients’ medication, or using a drugged cigarette to poison a journalist. 

Misty is so fascinated by death and misery that, despite having a lot to hide – including murder, cannibalism and whatever else she and her soccer team buddies got up to after a plane crash stranded them in the wilderness – she’s become a member of a community of online “citizen detectives” who investigate unsolved crimes. Or maybe that’s just the best place to pick up hints for the perfect crime and the perfect cover-up. 

Misty’s tips: Learn random skills, from field surgery to how to steal the important bits out of a car. Keep your friends close (even when they try to back away from you slowly), your enemies closer, and everyone under 24-hour surveillance. Just sneak mini-cameras into gifts – it’s like hiding your dog’s pill in some cheese. To dispose of any bodies, hack up the corpse in a bathtub, bag up the bits, and discretely slip them into the coffins at local funerals. And always bring snacks in case you feel faint. 

2. Sharp Objects: Amma Crellin

How does poor little rich girl Amma Crellin (Eliza Scanlen) spend her days? Bullying, lying, rollerskating while drunk and high, playing with her dollhouse, watching pigs getting slaughtered, and killing anyone who steals her loved ones’ attention from her. Just girly things! 

Amma’s tips: Look too frail and dainty, rich, blonde and pale to do anything wrong at all – at least in the eyes of people who investigate crimes. Dressing to kill can include dressing to get away with murder, so check for any local legends you can use to cover up your dark deeds. Sometimes wearing white to a killing is far more chic than wearing black. Work out and get so strong that everyone will think a man did it. And waste not, want not; trinkets from victims can be used for your hobbies. 

3. Big Little Lies: Bonnie Carlson

Abusive husband Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård) loses control and tries to drag his wife Celeste (Nicole Kidman) away from a trivia night party, and her friends Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Jane (Shailene Woodley) and Renata (Laura Dern) leap to her defence, but they’re unable to pull him off her … until yoga instructor Bonnie Carlson (Zoe Kravitz), who’s been watching the brawl, runs in and uses her momentum to push him down a steep staircase, where he falls to his death. Rest in pieces, Perry.

Bonnie’s tips: Any man can beat and kill. The hard part is getting away with it in public. Keep your mouth shut until your lawyer arrives. Then keep your friends close by sharing murder-secret picnics together and enjoying similar bonding activities with your mind focussed on the big issues. Lastly, tune out the white noise from Perry’s mom Mary Louise (Meryl Streep), get therapy, and stay snatched. 

4. True Blood: Pamela Swynford De Beaufort

Vampire Pam (Kristin Bauer) is one of the best parts of this Southern Gothic fantasy romance series based on the books by Charlaine Harris. Aged between 140 and 160 years, Pam doesn’t suffer fools gladly … or for long. So when baby vampire Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) needs help getting rid of her first body (hypothetically), she turns to Pam. But on the inside, this leather, spikes and lace vamp is a pretty princess. So in her leisure time she’s all about pink velour and Chanel suits. 

Pam’s tips: Strike fear first. As Pam drawls, “I don’t know what it is about me that makes people think I want to hear their problems. Maybe I smile too much. Maybe I wear too much pink. But please remember I can rip your throat out if I need to.” If someone still crosses the line after that and you need to hide a corpse, buy a chainsaw from the hardware shop. Then for gravedigging, Pam dresses in a cheap (but still pink) tracksuit that she’ll toss in the trash afterwards. But honestly, corpse disposal is a menial job for memory-wiped minions. 

5. Pretty Little Liars: Summer School and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin: Bloody Rose

Masked serial killer slasher Bloody Rose (Cary Van Driest) gets fans to help her to terrorise her targets by building a cult following on her website, SpookySpaghetti.com. She’s on a mission to punish everyone she blames for the imprisonment of Archie Walters (Travis Patton), and his death penalty sentencing. And her starting point in this campaign of terror is to become a small-town legend. Rumour has it her costume is based on Archie’s alleged crime of skinning his mother, Rose, and making a mask out of her flesh. 

Rose’s tips: Dress to thrill. Rose recommends a head completely wrapped in blood-soaked fabric, topped with a crown of thorns. Pair with a pretty dress that picks up the roses and thorns motif. Get yourself a nice, big stabbing knife and pay homage to the classics like owning a creepy cabin in the woods and having a vicious attack dog. Study horror movies to learn great tropes, traps and taunts for your “Final Girls”. And for a wicked twist, wear a victim’s cut-off face under your bloody bandages. Double-masking is the new winning.

Stream Sweetpea Season 1 now. New episodes Thursdays from 21:30.