BBC Acquires ‘The Watch’ for BBC iPlayer & BBC Two To Premiere In July
BBC has picked up the UK broadcast right to ‘The Watch‘, the BBC America high-concept drama from BBC Studios inspired by characters created by Sir Terry Pratchett.
‘The Watch’ follows an unlikely group, The City Watch, who are forced to find the guts to save the world, surprising even themselves in the process. The comedic yet thrilling series pits trolls, werewolves, wizards and other improbable heroes against an evil plot to resurrect a great dragon that would lead to the destruction of life as they know it.
From lead writer and executive producer Simon Allen, the modern and inclusive series is inspired by characters created by Sir Terry Pratchett, including the captain of The City Watch Sam Vimes (Richard Dormer), the last scion of nobility Lady Sybil Ramkin (Lara Rossi), the naïve but heroic Carrot (Adam Hugill), the mysterious Angua (Marama Corlett) and the ingenious forensics expert Cheery (Jo Eaton-Kent) together with The Watch’s own idiosyncratic depiction of Death (voiced by Wendell Pierce).
“The Watch may have a dystopian setting but it is a really fun, energetic and enjoyable watch – full of thrills, humour and memorable characters,” commented Sue Deeks, Head of Programme Acquisition, BBC.
The stellar cast for the series also includes British Independent Film Award winner, Samuel Adewunmi (The Last Tree) as Carcer Dun, Bianca Simone Mannie (Homeland) as Wonse, Matt Berry (What We Do In The Shadows) as Wayne, a magical speaking sword, Anna Chancellor (Pennyworth) as Lord Vetinari, James Fleet (Outlander) as The Archchancellor, Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who) as Doctor Cruces, Ruth Madeley (Years And Years) as Throat, Paul Kaye (After Life) as Inigo Skimmer and Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Dynasty) as Captain John Keel.
“We had so much fun making this weird, wild ride of show with such an exceptional cast and dedicated crew,” adds Simon Allen, Lead Writer and Executive Producer. “We can’t wait for UK audiences to join our adorable gang on their adventures!”
The Watch is an 8-episode BBC America original series acquired from BBC Programme Acquisition. It is executive produced by Hilary Salmon (Luther), Ben Donald (The Mallorca Files) and Richard Stokes (Broadchurch) for BBC Studios, Rob Wilkins (Good Omens) for Narrativia, Simon Allen (Das Boot) and Craig Viveiros (The War of the Worlds). Johann Knobel (Shameless) is series producer, and Simon Rogers (Doctor Foster) is production designer.
On a side note (as this often comes up when we mention BBC Studios and BBC America) for those of you wondering why the BBC is “acquiring” something which, at first glance, is made by the BBC, let me explain… BBC America and BBC Studios are totally commercial entities, separate from the main UK BBC. BBC Studios do not receive any of the license fee, and in fact, subsidise the license fee by generating income for the BBC by making programmes both for the BBC and for other broadcasters. However, ‘The Watch’ was made by BBC Studios for BBC America which is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks, and again, does not receive any of the license fee. As BBC America is only really BBC in name only and is effectively a foreign external broadcaster, that means BBC in the UK has to “acquire” the show for the UK market.
‘The Watch‘ premieres Thursday, 1 July 2021 on BBC iPlayer in the UK and will be broadcast on BBC Two at a later date.
