Sky Atlantic Commision Lenny James’ ‘Gone’ & The Tunnel Series 3
When Sky said they wanted a ‘new big screen drama every month’, they weren’t kidding around, and these two original dramas are the latest in the network’s ever growing slate of Sky Original Productions.
Gone is created and written by Lennie James (Critical, The Walking Dead) and directed by BAFTA winner Nick Murphy (Occupation, The Last Kingdom). James, who wrote award-winning drama Storm Damage, also stars in the series with BAFTA winner Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Scott & Bailey) and Stephen Graham (This is England, Boardwalk Empire).
Set in south east London housing estate, Gone follows a unique and unlikely hero in the form of Nelson ‘Nelly’ Rowe (James) – a man who ‘likes a drink’, whose days are bookended by his first can and his last pint. Nelly lives with whichever woman he happens to be sleeping with at the time – often more than one and sometimes more than two. And he is the life and soul of the pub – a charmer, a chancer, a fighter, a liar and, at his age, a man who should know better.
“Everyone knows someone like Nelly,” comments James. “He’s the feller constantly at the end of the bar. The feller that can’t help himself, never really grew up and has wasted who he could have been. They are usually the cautionary tale. They are almost never the hero. In Gone, Nelly might just be…”
When Nelly is accused of a terrible crime, he sets off to clear his name and find the real perpetrator. It is a journey that will slam him hard up against the debris of his careless past but also offer him the chance to make amends for his mistakes, not least to Claire (Jones) with whom he shared a ‘summer of love’ 13 years ago.
Fans of The Walking Dead maybe concerned what this news means for Morgan. However, bear in mind Sonequa Martin-Green has just landed the lead on Star Trek: Discovery, and it would appear (at the moment!) she’ll be doing both shows. We will have to wait and see…
Returning to Sky Atlantic is The Tunnel, for a 3rd series and final, this one subtitled The Tunnel: Vengeance.
Following a critically acclaimed 2nd series, the emotionally charged finale brings together the adored and unlikely Anglo-French duo Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) and Elise Wassermann (Clémence Poésy) for their last outing. Another new and original story, this six part final instalment is penned by lead writer Emilia Di Girolamo (Law & Order: UK).
“This final, bone-chilling chapter in Elise and Karl’s story sees Elise make shocking discoveries that shake her to her very core,” comments Poésy. “Playing a character as nuanced and complicated as she is has been the greatest privilege and saying goodbye to her and the wonderful synergy I share with the incredible Stephen Dillane will not be easy.”
With Brexit a real possibility, The Tunnel: Vengeance is set in Europe amidst hysteria around a refugee crisis, the increasing threat and horror of terrorism and with far-right groups growing in power.
In this series we follow detectives Karl and Elise as they are faced with toxic and terrifying duo whose hideous crimes see them take ever more dark and desperate measures to provoke the police into collaborating on their desperate endgame. Against this, is the backdrop of Karl’s fractured family life and a miscarriage of justice from Elise’s past that shakes her to her core.
Both Gone and The Tunnel:Vengeance are commissioned by Sky’s director of programming for Sky entertainment UK & Ireland, Zai Bennett and Sky’s head of drama, Anne Mensah.
