Surveillance thriller greenlit for ITV
ITV has commissioned Viewpoint, a five-part thriller from writer Ed Whitmore and Tiger Aspect Productions.
Based on an idea by Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer, who has co-created the series with Whitmore, Viewpoint follows a police surveillance investigation into a tight-knit Manchester community and explores whether it is ever possible to observe the lives of others with true objectivity and zero effect.
When primary school teacher Gemma King vanishes into thin air, DC Martin Young decides to set up his observation post in the home of single mum Zoe Sturges. His reasoning is simple – Zoe’s flat commands a panoramic view of all the comings and goings in Westbury Square.
Tiger Aspect’s Lucy Bedford will executive produce with Ashley Way directing each of the five episodes. Juliet Charlesworth will produce the drama which begins filming in Manchester in the spring.
Viewpoint's production base is housed at Space Studios Manchester where the production also occupies Stage 5. The series will film at numerous locations across the city, many of which will be facilitated by Screen Manchester, Manchester's film office.
ITV head of drama Polly Hill said: “It’s hard to find a crime series that feels new and fresh, which is why I am delighted to commission Viewpoint.
“Martin, the police surveillance officer watching a community to discover why a local teacher has gone missing, is in Zoe’s flat who secretly watches her neighbours because she’s lonely. The lines between the two and who can and can’t spy on us, is beautifully blurred. It creates a crime series that has a touch of Rear Window.”
Whitmore remarked: “I've always been eager to find a story that explored voyeurism in a fresh and innovative way, not least because it makes such compulsive and cinematic subject matter. As soon as I read Harry Bradbeer's pitch which put a young surveillance officer in the flat of a single mother, I could see all the tensions and conflicts arising from this clash of the personal and the professional, the juxtaposition of a crime story and the intimate environment of a domestic residence.”
Also on The Knowledge
Production gets underway on Everyone Else Burns S2
Production is due to get underway in the next week in Manchester on the second series of Everyone Else Burns.
C5 greenlights mystery thriller The Wives
Production is underway on a new C5 thriller, The Wives, starring Jo Joyner, Angela Griffin and Tamzin Outhwaite.
Filming underway on Sky’s Lockerbie drama starring Colin Firth
Production has begun on a major new drama about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, starring Colin Firth as Dr Jim Swire.
Studios Spotlight – Behind the scenes at Pride Media Centre
The last Studios Spotlight of 2023 shines on Pride Media Centre in Gateshead, a “safe, welcoming space for businesses and organisations from the LGBT+ community and allies, to grow, develop and be creative”.
Paramount+ drama The Road Trip films in Bristol
The Road Trip, a shiny new drama for Paramount+, is currently filming in Bristol starring Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson and David Jonsson.
Studio operator Stage Fifty announces new partnership and plans Spanish expansion
As part of its growth plan, Stage Fifty has announced a new partnership with Universal Production Services which sees the latter become the exclusive lighting and equipment supplier for all Stage Fifty UK and European studios.