HBO bring drama to both BBC and Sky in 2020

HBO and the BBC have united in commissioning Industry while the stateside company partners with Sky for Landscapers.

Academy Award and BAFTA winning actress Olivia Colman is to star in the new Sky original drama, Landscapers, the latest project from Sister for Sky and HBO after their multi-Emmy award-winning hit Chernobyl. The latest HBO-Sky series is written by Ed Sinclair in his first television screenplay.

“I love Ed’s scripts, which is just as well as he cooks many of my meals. No, the truth is it’s quite rare to be desperate to play a part on the first reading of a script, but that was the case here. The writing is brave, but subtle and tender too – a joy for any actor.” – Olivia Coleman

Inspired by real events, the four-episode drama explores the lives of convicted killers Susan (Colman) and Christopher Edwards and asks how this devoted and mild-mannered couple came to kill Susan’s parents and bury them in the back garden of their Mansfield home, in a crime that remained undiscovered for over a decade. This blackly comic, narratively playful true crime drama is based on extensive research, hours of interviews and direct access to the accused, who have always protested their innocence of murder.

Pivoting through various perspectives from Susan and Chris, to the police officers and lawyers involved in the investigation, the drama also draws the audience into the surreal fantasy world that Susan and Christopher created by casting themselves as their Hollywood heroes in stories of their own invention.

“Ed’s scripts are a riveting and sensitive exploration of what could drive such an ordinary couple to commit murder and I’m delighted that Olivia Colman will bring Susan to life in what promises to be a compelling series.  And after the success of the multi award-winning Chernobyl, we’re pleased to be working with Sister on another original drama inspired by true events.” – Cameron Roach, Director of Drama, Sky Studios

Meanwhile, BBC Two is to air a Bad Wolf production for the Beeb and HBO, Industry. The eight-part drama is the debut television series from writers Konrad Kay and Mickey Down and is an exhilarating dive into the world of international finance, as seen through the eyes of ambitious twenty-somethings struggling to secure their futures.

The series follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London – but the boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs, and ego as it is by deals and dividends. As members of the group rise and fall, they must decide whether life is about more than the bottom line.

Cast include Myha’la Herrold, Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey, David Jonsson, Nabhaan Rizwan, Freya Mavor, Will Tudor, Conor Macneill and Ken Leung.