Is Wolf based on a book?
The new BBC thriller stars Ukweli Roach as DI Jack Caffery - but is it based on a book?
New series Wolf may, on its surface, be a detective drama, introducing us to DI Jack Caffery who is trying to come to terms with his traumatic past - however, it is also so much more.
The series, based in both London and Wales, blends genres including thriller, horror, crime and even some comedy, while telling two parallel stories.
While one follows Sacha Dhawan and Iwan Rheon's mysterious characters and the Anchor-Ferrers family played by Juliet Stevenson, Owen Teale and Annes Elwy, the other stars Ukweli Roach as Jack.
But is the series a wholly original story or is it based on a book? Read on for everything you need to know about the basis for the BBC series Wolf.
Is Wolf based on a book?
It is. Wolf is based on the book of the same name by Mo Hayder, which was released in 2014.
Wolf was the last novel of Mo Hayder's released before her death in 2021. One more novel of Hayder's has since been released in 2022, published under the pseudonym Theo Clare. Another Theo Clare novel is expected this year, but neither of these are related to or in the same series as Wolf.
Are there more novels in the Jack Caffery series?
There are, but because Wolf is the last novel in the Jack Caffery series, all of them precede the story told in the BBC series.
There are six other novels in the Jack Caffery series, with the first having been released in 2000.
You can find the full list of Jack Caffery novels by Mo Hayder here:
- Birdman (2000)
- The Treatment (2001)
- Ritual (2008)
- Skin (2009)
- Gone (2010)
- Poppet (2013)
- Wolf (2014)
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Will another of the Jack Caffery novels be adapted for Wolf season 2?
At this point no announcement has been made regarding the future of Wolf beyond this first season.
If a second season were to be confirmed, it is unclear at this time whether it would tell a brand-new story from writer and creator Megan Gallagher or whether it would adapt one of Mo Hayder's previous novels and edit the chronology so it fits in after Wolf.
Gallagher previously said that it's "not often you’re handed a world like the one Mo Hayder built" and that "getting to play around in what she created has genuinely been the highlight of my career". Does that means she'd be interested in coming back for a second season?
For now we will just have to wait and see whether there is more from Ukweli Roach's Jack Caffery on the cards.
Wolf is available to stream in full now on BBC iPlayer. Looking for something else to watch? Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage.
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