Anya Reiss (Image: Marc Brenner)
The BBC has commissioned ‘Reputation’, a new six-part legal drama from The Forge, which looks set to dive headfirst into the messy, expensive and extremely public world of celebrity defamation battles.
Created and written by Anya Reiss (Becoming Elizabeth, A Doll’s House), the drama is described as “audacious and glossy”, which is usually code for “everyone is rich, furious, and probably leaking things to the press.” It follows Elaine, a formidable lawyer who has built her career defending free expression, only to find herself dragged into the case of the decade when she agrees to represent global pop star Davina Knight.
The trouble begins when Davina releases a provocative new song accusing her ex-husband, Billy, of abusive behaviour. Billy retaliates, and what begins as a private breakdown soon explodes into a very public libel battle.
As the case escalates, the fight spills well beyond the courtroom. PR teams are deployed, laws are bent, social media turns into a battleground, and the truth becomes increasingly difficult to separate from whatever is driving the most clicks that day. All of which feels horribly plausible.
For Elaine, the case also starts to drag her own personal life into the firing line. The big question is how far she is willing to go to win, and what it will cost her. For Davina, it is how far she will go to protect her reputation.
“When I found out London was the global capital of high stakes libel cases – where the rich, powerful and famous come to fight in public for their reputations – I was in. I’ve loved writing this world and now I’m excited to get it off the page and onto the screen,” said Anya Reiss, writer of ‘Reputation’.
The series comes from The Forge, the Banijay UK company behind Just Act Normal, Falling and A Woman of Substance. Alex Kazamia (Generation Z) will produce, while BAFTA and RTS award-winner Mahalia Belo (The End We Start From, The Long Song) will direct.
“We are so excited to be working with Anya again – her scripts are sharp, badly behaved, very funny and totally addictive,” said George Ormond, Executive Producer and Joint Managing Director for The Forge.
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, adds: “Reputation is high-stakes, intoxicating and hugely entertaining, with a lot to say about the world. In Elaine and Davina the brilliant Anya Reiss has created two lead characters for the ages, and we’re delighted to be working with her, Mahalia and the team at The Forge to bring this very public battle to BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”
Alongside Anya Reiss, other writers on the series are Shyam Popat and Karla Crome. Executive producers are George Ormond, Jade Taylor, Anya Reiss and Mahalia Belo. Banijay Rights will handle international distribution.
No casting has been announced yet, but the premise feels like exactly the sort of thing that could attract some very interesting names. A celebrity libel battle, PR warfare, social media outrage, and a lawyer slowly discovering that her own life is not safely outside the blast radius? That has BBC prestige drama written all over it.
‘Reputation’ does not yet have a premiere date but will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK. 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 it gets a UK premiere date. Visit Never Miss.
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