FX Orders Limited Series ‘Pistol’ From Danny Boyle About Legendary Sex Pistols Guitarist Steve Jones
FX has ordered ‘Pistol‘, a six-episode limited series about the legendary Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, based on Jones’ 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, it has been announced.
Anchored by Jones’ memoir, which offers a fascinating new perspective on one of rock’s greatest ever stories, ‘Pistol’ moves from West London’s council estates, to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s notorious Kings Road SEX shop, to the international controversy that came with the release of Never Mind the Bollocks, which is frequently listed as one of the most influential albums of all time. Their single “God Save the Queen” was banned by the BBC and reached Number 1 on the UK’s NME chart, but appeared at Number 2 on the Official UK Singles chart, leading to accusations that the song was purposely kept off the top spot. For the only time in chart history, the track was listed as a blank, to avoid offence to the monarchy.
Created and exec produced by Craig Pearce (‘Moulin Rouge!’, ‘Will’), Pearce wrote the drama alongside author/screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce (‘Doctor Who’, ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’). Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle (‘Trainspotting’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ’28 Days Later’) will direct and exec produce the project.
“It’s great to be back in business with Danny Boyle, an exceptional artist responsible for so many great feature films and TV series,” commented Nick Grad, President, Original Programming, FX Entertainment. “Steve Jones was at the centre of the storm that shook the rock establishment and we’re thrilled to have Danny and the rest of the creative team tell his story as a member of one of music’s most notorious bands – the Sex Pistols.”
‘Pistol’ will star Toby Wallace (‘Babyteeth’, ‘The Society’) as Steve Jones, Anson Boon (‘Crawl’, ‘1917’, ‘Blackbird’) as John Lydon, Louis Partridge (‘Enola Homes’, ‘Medici’) as Sid Vicious, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Fabien Frankel (‘The Serpent’, ‘NYPD Blue’) as Glen Matlock, Dylan Llewellyn (‘Derry Girls’) as Wally Nightingale, Sydney Chandler (‘Don’t Worry Darling’) as Chrissie Hynde, Emma Appleton (‘The Witcher’, ‘Traitors’) as Nancy Spungen, and Maisie Williams (‘Game of Thrones’) as punk icon Jordan.
“Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent,” adds Boyle. “This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever. It is the detonation point for British street culture…where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion… and everyone had to watch & listen… and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols. At its centre was a young charming illiterate kleptomaniac – a hero for the times – Steve Jones, who became in his own words, the 94th greatest guitarist of all time. This is how he got there.”
Jones, Boyle and Pearce serve as Executive Producers alongside Gail Lyon, Anita Camarata, Tracey Seaward, Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and wiip. Boyle is represented by WME and Sue Rogers of Independent. The series is produced by FX Productions.
‘Pistol‘ is set to begin production on 7th March. In the US, the drama will air on FX. In the UK… depending on when it airs, it could be on the BBC, under their overall deal with FX… However, that is due to run out in October 2021. It’s possible the BBC/FX deal could be renewed, or FX content may move to STAR on Disney+ in the UK, the new “mature content” brand which launches in February on the streaming service. At the moment we don’t know, but either way, it should be available somewhere in the UK when it does air. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
