ITV Commissions Crime Drama ‘Wild Bill’ Starring Rob Lowe (Yes, That Rob Lowe)
When it comes to casting for new ITV dramas, a number of names come to mind. One that probably doesn’t is American Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor, Rob Lowe. However, ITV has commissioned brand new crime drama ‘Wild Bill‘ which will star and be exec produced by ‘The West Wing’ alumnus.
When high-flying US police chief Bill Hixon (Lowe) lands in Boston, Lincolnshire, with his 14-year-old daughter Kelsey in tow, he’s hoping they can flee their painful recent past. But this unfamiliar, unimpressed community will force Bill to question everything about himself and leave him asking whether it’s Boston that needs Bill, or Bill that needs Boston?
With a first class degree in Criminology, a Masters in Psychopathology and a Doctorate in Statistical Mapping, Bill Hixon is impressively qualified to tackle the county’s crime figures with his graphs, charts, algorithms and a tapestry of digits. Whip-smart, acerbic and unstoppable, Bill is very good at what he does. America’s Top Metropolitan Police Chief three years running is the ideal candidate to make his mark on the East Lincolnshire Force, not least by driving through drastic cuts. From the outset, Bill isn’t about making friends. He’s here to get the job done and get the hell out as quick as his spin-class-toned legs will carry him.
But Bill discovers the people of Boston are just as smart-mouthed, cynical and difficult to impress as he is. They don’t suffer fools, authority or algorithms gladly. And the man who’s spent his life keeping the messiness of human intimacy at arm’s length is reluctantly propelled into frontline policing and forced to reconsider his relationship with those closest to him. It’s funny and dangerous in equal measure.
“As an actor, Wild Bill is a larger than life character who’s outrageously articulate, has nothing to lose and revels in being an American fish out of water,” comments Lowe. “As an Executive Producer, I’m excited to work with such talented partners and to come back to work in the UK, which I always love.”
The drama is a first-time collaboration between ITV Studios label, Shiver, 42 (‘Traitors’, ‘Ironbark’, ‘Watership Down’) and Anonymous Content – the people behind ’13 Reasons Why’, ‘Maniac’, and the awesome ‘Mr. Robot’. Wild Bill is created by David Griffiths (‘The Hunted’, ‘Collateral Damage’), Kyle Killen (‘Halo’, ‘Awake’) and Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble (‘Silent Witness’, ‘Thorne: Sleepyhead & Scaredycat’, ‘Trial & Retribution’). Keeble & Appleton serve as lead writers and showrunners.
“Wild Bill gives us a chance to write about modern Britain and modern crime through unique eyes,” add Keeble & Appleton. “We wrote this for Rob Lowe, for his smart-talking, anarchic, soulful voice. Displacing Rob in Brexit Britain and specifically, in Boston, Lincolnshire allows us to tell stories that are leftfield and unexpected. We wanted to write something that couldn’t take place anywhere else, or at any other time.”
Filming for ‘Wild Bill‘ will take place around London and in Lincolnshire from November 2018. ITV hasn’t announced an air date yet, but it will presumably come to the channel in 2019. We’ll let you know when we have something specific.
