ITV Orders ‘Protection’ Starring Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall & Katherine Kelly
ITV has commissioned new thriller ‘Protection‘ from multi-award-winning producers New Pictures, written by acclaimed screenwriter Kris Mrksa, and starring Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall & Katherine Kelly.
Witness protection is often glamorised as keeping innocent witnesses safe from harm but the truth is darker, murkier, and far more complex. Many protected people are themselves criminals. It’s a life of moral compromise. It also involves maximum secrecy, false identities, and a world where you can’t trust your own colleagues.
Based on the first-hand experiences of a long-serving witness protection officer, Protection is about what happens when the system breaks down. It’s about a police officer, Detective Inspector Liz Nyles (Siobhan Finneran – Happy Valley, Alma’s Not Normal, Time, The Stranger, A Confession), who finds herself at the heart of such a breach; personally compromised by an affair with a colleague, but determined to fight back, and uncover the true source of corruption within her unit. To redeem herself, the reputation of her lover, and to keep her witnesses safe. Even if they don’t always deserve it.
Navigating the morally grey, clandestine world of witness protection, Liz’s mission to find the truth will take her deep into the heart of the criminal underbelly and beyond as she becomes more and more torn between caring for her family, her loyalty to her lover and her duty as a police officer. This is the story of a smart, tough cop, out of her depth in a world where nothing is as it seems.
Joining Finneran in the six-part series are Nadine Marshall (Champion, Sherwood, Trigger Point) and Katherine Kelly (The Long Shadow, Bloods), who also take starring roles in the drama. Additional casting includes Barry Ward (Bad Sisters), Chaneil Kular (Sex Education), David Hayman (Sid and Nancy), Nichola Burley (The Gold) and Akiya Henry (Silent Witness).
With a deft narrative that engages from the outset, Kris Mrksa (No Escape, White House Farm, Nowhere Boys, Underbelly) creates suspenseful twists and with every hairpin turn perfectly navigates the story to ensure the audience won’t know who to believe and who is telling the truth.
“Protection is a suspenseful conspiracy thriller, but it also explores some complex moral questions, about how far we should be prepared to go in order to serve the greater good,” comments Mrksa. “The murky world of witness protection, where hardened criminals are often sheltered, in the hope that they will help bring down other criminals, provides the perfect context for examining these thorny issues. I’m incredibly excited to be working with the team at New Pictures again, in bringing this complex world to life.”
‘Protection’ is based on an idea by a witness protection specialist who served in the Met for 30 years. During his time in witness protection, he looked after a number of high-profile cases and informants, including, war criminals, terrorists and criminals of all kinds.
“The clandestine world of witness protection creates a thrilling backdrop for this intriguing crime thriller written brilliantly by Kris Mrska,” adds ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill, who will oversee production on behalf of the broadcaster. “We’ve attracted an amazing cast including Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly and I’m delighted to commission the series from Willow Grylls and her team at New Pictures.”
The drama will be directed by Simen Alsvik (Fenris, The Nest, Neste sommer) and Sasha Ransome (Cobra, McDonald & Dodds). The writers are Kris Mrksa for episodes 1, 3 and 6, Polly Buckle (No Escape, A Discovery of Witches) for episodes 2 and 4) and Giula Sandler (Savage River, Nowhere Boys, White House Farm) for Episode 5.
‘Protection‘ Season 1 does not yet have a premiere date, but filming has commenced in Liverpool and the series will air on ITV and ITVX in 2024. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when they get a UK premiere date.
