New drama from producers of The Bodyguard
World Productions, makers of Line of Duty and The Bodyguard, is working on The Diplomat, a new drama set in the British Consul in Barcelona.
The 6 x 60 is written by Ben Richards and is for UKTV’s Alibi and BBC Studios Distribution. It centres on Laura Simmonds and her Barcelona Consul colleague and friend Alba Ortiz as they fight to protect British nationals who find themselves in trouble in the Catalan city.
UKTV drama commissioner Philippa Collie Cousins said: “Laura and Alba are contrasting professional working women dealing with murder, abductions and organised crime alongside managing their careers and love lives while avoiding diplomatic hierarchies and maintaining a tight friendship.
“It is "The Good Wife meets Spooks" for 2021, a feisty workplace drama set in Barcelona with cracking dialogue, abundant crime and a surprising series arc. Television to stay in for by the very talented Ben Richards. I am very excited to work with such an expert lead writer as Ben, but equally excited to add talented up and coming writers to the writing team.”
The executive producers are Simon Heath for World, Cousins for UKTV and Martin Rakusen for BBC Studios.
World Productions is also preparing to re-start shooting on Line of Duty – the sixth run was among the first high-profile projects to be suspended in March. The company was also in production on Vigil at the time, a thriller with Suranne Jones about the disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on board a Trident nuclear submarine.
Production Intelligence subscribers can log in for more details on all these projects. Non-subscribers can click here to request a free online demo.
Also on The Knowledge
Freedom Scripted options Sebastian Faulks’ Engleby
Sebastian Faulks’ novel Engleby is set to be adapted for television by C4-backed indie Freedom Scripted, starring Noah Jupe.
Shetland wins double recommission
The BBC has ordered two more series of detective drama Shetland with the first (Series 9) filming this month.
Bank of Dave the Sequel begins northern shoot
Filming gets underway today (26 February) on the Netflix sequel to 2023 feature Bank of Dave with shooting taking place largely in Burnley and Leeds.
Filming underway on new series of Strike
Strike, The Ink Black Heart – the sixth instalment of the detective drama - has begun filming.
Feature film Lola and Freddie to shoot in London this summer
A new feature film, Lola and Freddie, will shoot in London locations this summer with Naomie Harris, Joel Fry, Jameela Jamil and Olivia Lee leading the cast.
Construction commences on BBC's West Midlands production hub as new series is greenlit
Ground has been broken on The Tea Factory, a new BBC production hub in the West Midlands that promises to be the BBC’s greenest building, with a new series featuring Billy Billingham to be produced in the region.
