BBC Acquires Beatles Origin Drama ‘Hamburg Days’ As Casting Is Revealed & Filming Begins

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The BBC has acquired ‘Hamburg Days’, a major new six-part drama exploring the formative years of The Beatles, with filming now underway in Hamburg, Munich and Liverpool.

Produced by W&B Television and Turbine Studios, and co-financed by AGC Television and German broadcaster ZDF, the series is inspired by German artist Klaus Voormann’s autobiography, and takes viewers back to the smoke-filled clubs of Hamburg’s St. Pauli red-light district in the 1960s. It was there that an inexperienced young rock ‘n’ roll band from Liverpool began the transformation from scrappy teenagers into one of the most influential music acts in history.

The newly announced cast sees Rhys Mannion (It Is In Us All, Freud’s Last Session) take on the role of John Lennon, with Ellis Murphy as Paul McCartney, Harvey Brett as George Harrison, Louis Landau (Rivals, Kennedy) as Stu Sutcliffe, and Patrick Gilmore as Pete Best. They are joined by Luna Jordan (Wild Republic, Sleeping Dog) as Astrid Kirchherr, Casper von Bülow (Druck, Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war) as Klaus Voormann, and Laura Tonke (22 Lengths, Amrum) as Nielsa Kirchherr.

Set against the backdrop of Hamburg’s club scene, ‘Hamburg Days’ follows the young band as they collide with two artists, Klaus Voormann and Astrid Kirchherr, whose influence would help shape not only their look, but also the mythology surrounding their rise. Before Beatlemania, stadiums, screaming fans and pop immortality, there were long nights, small stages, leather jackets, and a city that helped forge the band they would become.

The series is developed by Benjamin Benedict (Generation War) and written by Jamie Carragher (Succession). Christian Schwochow (The Crown, Munich – The Edge of War) directs alongside Laura Lackmann (Call My Agent Berlin, The Pimp: No F**Ing Fairytale*), with music curated by BAFTA-winning producer David Holmes (Killing Eve, Ocean’s franchise). Klaus Voormann serves as an exclusive consultant on the drama.

Executive producers are Benjamin Benedict, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann of W&B Television, Andrew Eaton and Justin Thomson of Turbine Studios, and AGC’s Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz and Miguel A. Palos Jr. Isabel Haug and Katharina Haase serve as producers. At ZDF, the project is overseen by Alexandra Staib, Caroline von Senden and Sandra Dettki. The production is supported by MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and FilmFernsehFonds Bayern.

AGC International will handle worldwide sales outside the UK and Germany.

‘Hamburg Days’ 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.