The Herald - The Herald Magazine
SCOTLAND ON TV
IT has won a legion of fans in the US and now aficionados on this side of the Atlantic hopefully won’t be cooling their heels much longer as the feverishly awaited Outlander, based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon, is billed to be shown on TV later this year.
The £50 million show was filmed on location around Scotland including Fife, Glasgow, Perthshire, Edinburgh and West Lothian, and made its debut on America’s Starz channel last August. Based on Gabaldon’s eight-book series, the first of which was published 20 years ago, the opening episode drew five million viewers.
The series follows the adventures of newly married nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall who, in 1945, finds herself transported back to Scotland in 1743 where she encounters the Jacobite rebellion and the knee-bucklingly dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser.
It may sound like a twee, time travelling bodice ripper, but the show – dubbed “Scotland’s Game of Thrones” – does boast gravitas with John Dahl, whose credits include Breaking Bad, Dexter and Justified, directing two episodes.
Broadcasters in more than 80 countries including New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, Brazil, Uruguay, Denmark and Ireland have bought the rights to the series but much to the frustration of fans, the UK wasn’t initially one of them.
Last month, however, came the news fans had been waiting for as a source at the show’s co-producers, Sony Pictures Television, confirmed it had secured a UK broadcaster for first series. At time of going to press, full details were yet to be made public.
The show, which stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe in the lead roles, is set to return to Scotland for an extended period of shooting this year.
Another book tipped to hit our screens in 2015 is the novel Stonemouth by the late Iain Banks, which is being dramatised by BBC Scotland. It is the first TV adaptation of his work since his death in 2013.
The two-part drama focuses on the story of Stewart Gilmour, who returns for his best friend’s funeral. Run out of town a year earlier by his girlfriend’s family, Gilmour is forced to face up to his own past while uncovering the sinister truth behind his friend’s apparent suicide.
The cast includes Peter Mullan, Gary Lewis and Sharon Small with Christian Cooke in the lead role as Gilmour. Other names to look out for are the brilliant Brian Gleeson (son of Brendan) and Joy McAvoy (sister of James).
BBC Scotland will also begin production on a four-part drama, One Of Us, later this year. Written by Jack and Harry Williams – the team behind acclaimed drama The Missing – it charts the fallout after a double murder rocks the lives of two families living side-by-side in rural Scotland.
SUSAN SWARBRICK