Written by BAFTA winners Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong and creatively led by Danny Boyle, this series reinvents the classic cop show for a new era. This exciting take on the police genre features crackling dialogue, razor-sharp wit and nuanced performances as we are taken on a journey behind the scenes at the highest (and the lowest) levels of a force confronting the knock-on effects of social media, cut-throat PR and marketing.
Our introduction into this world is Liz Garvey – an American visionary from the world of New Media brought in to revolutionise the force’s PR department. In an age of rolling news, smart phones and an information-savvy public, Liz preaches transparency – which is often at odds with the status quo. As events start to build up, the internal back-stabbing begins and Liz’s ideas for the future of the world’s oldest police service faces its greatest challenges. Full of action, Babylon takes a wry look at the people and politics in the command rooms and on the frontline of a modern police force.
DRG to distribute Danny Boyle’s Babylon
Leading independent distributor DRG has acquired the international, DVD and merchandising rights to the brand new and highly anticipated Channel 4 series, Babylon.
Written by BAFTA winners Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, (Peep Show, Four Lions and Fresh Meat), produced by Robert Jones (The Usual Suspects, Dirty Pretty Things) and Derrin Schlesinger (Southcliffe, The IT Crowd), Babylon takes a wry look at the people and politics in the command rooms and on the frontline of a modern police force, as it attempts to uphold the peace under constant scrutiny.
The pilot episode, directed by Boyle, is due to premiere in February on Channel 4 in the UK and is followed by a further six episodes which have already been ordered for production. Boyle will executive produce the series along with Armstrong, Bain and Jones. The series was green-lit for Channel 4 by head of Drama Piers Wenger and commissioning editor Roberto Troni.
Razor-sharp and visually audacious, Babylon features a sparkling cast, including James Nesbitt (The Hobbit) who plays Chief Constable Richard Miller and Brit Marling (Another Earth) who plays Liz Garvey, the media-savvy American who has been parachuted in to revolutionise the PR department of London’s police force. The cast also includes Paterson Joseph (Peep Show), Jill Halfpenny (EastEnders) and Adam Deacon (Kidulthood).
Robert Jones said, “We’re very proud of the pilot episode and of the vision of the series overall. It’s a tremendous feeling to be jumping straight into production on the series and reassembling such an outstanding cast of actors and behind the camera talent. From first sight of the project DRG has shown great enthusiasm and we’re delighted to be working with them on it.”
Jeremy Fox, CEO of DRG adds, “We are delighted to be introducing the series to buyers at NATPE. At heart it’s a crime series, but with this creative team, you’ll have never seen a police force at work like this. Once again it shows what we can do as part of the MTG family.”
The Babylon pilot first aired on 9th February 2014 at 9pm and attracted just short of 2 million viewers with a share of 7.16%, beating the slot average.It rated well with audiences 25+ and also with the AB socio-economic group, who accounted for 804,000 of the total audience.