MURDER MYSTERY
George Kay takes us inside the perilous world of his new crime series…
At its heart, it’s a police story,” explains Lupin screenwriter George Kay, unpacking his new David Tennant-fronted ITVX drama Litvinenko. “The British police are presented with a unique challenge: a living murder victim tells them ‘I’ve been murdered, let me tell you who did it and what I think happened before I die,’” he reveals. “I was excited by the opportunity, but also struck by the responsibility of it taking it on.”
Sound like something ripped from the headlines? That’s because it is. Litvinenko chronicles the murder of exKGB officer-turned-Russian-defector, Alexander Litvinenko (David Tennant), who was poisoned with Polonium-210
in London in 2006. Days later, he’d died – but not before he’d shared his story with British police officers (Neil Maskell and Mark Bonnar) who, together with his widow Marina (Margarita Levieva), began a decade-long struggle to reveal
The latest happenings in movieland… BURN NOTICE
A(nother) remake of
is in the works, this time for TV. Howard Overman penned the script update, with Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s outfit The Imaginarium shopping it around broadcasters.
GANG MAN
Two decades after
Martin Scorsese has signed on to exec produce and potentially direct a new TV adap from writer Brett Leonard. It would be a fresh take on the material, with a different set of characters. those behind the attack, leading them right back to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
“We often criticise our country but I was delighted to tell a story where the police did a good job,” reasons Kay. “Through their hard work, they were able to investigate what was essentially a chemical attack on the UK.”
The story’s weight wasn’t lost on Tennant. “He spoke to Marina and took the responsibility very seriously,” reveals Kay. Speaking of which, it’s Marina’s journey that underpins this four-parter: “We wanted to tell her amazing story of bravery and perseverance,” says the screenwriter. “She’s incredible.”
‘I was delighted to tell a story where the police did a good job’ GEORGE KAY
HERCULE-AN EFFORT
Kenneth Branagh will reprise his Hercule Poirot for starring Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and Michelle Yeoh. The film will be based on Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel