The title of a TV drama that is set to recount Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been revealed.
The series, which is to be called 'The Sceptred Isle', was first announced earlier this year and will be directed by Michael Winterbottom.
Mr Winterbottom will also co-write, while Tim Shipman, the political editor of The Sunday Times, will act as a consultant.
Starting with his appointment as Prime Minister, the story will recount the first Covid-19 cases in the UK, through to Mr Johnson falling ill with the virus, and the arrival of his son.
The series' title is in reference to William Shakespeare's play, King Richard II, attributed to John of Gaunt:
"This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars ... This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England".
Director Michael Winterbottom (Ian West/PA)
Global producer and distributor Fremantle has signed a first look deal with Winterbottom and his production company Revolution Films, which will develop and produce scripted series and films, with Fremantle co-producing and distributing the projects worldwide.
The deal is done in collaboration with Richard Brown and his company Passenger, with Brown and Melissa Parmenter from Revolution Films serving as executive producers on the political drama, which “will tell the true story of the biggest national and personal crisis to face a government leader since World War II.”
Winterbottom said: “We are very excited at the prospect of developing our film and television production with our new partners at Passenger and Fremantle. We want to provide a space where directors can have the freedom to develop and tell the stories they are passionate about.”
Andrea Scrosati of Fremantle added: “Our global drama slate is growing thanks to unique creative partnerships that we are building across the world.
“Michael is such an incredibly sophisticated and prolific auteur; his vision is inspiring, and I admire the fact he continues to challenge the status quo.
“I am so proud that he and Melissa have chosen Fremantle as their creative partner and I look forward to the great content we will develop together.”
Fremantle has also recently signed deals with creatives including Pablo Larrain and Juan de Dios Larrain, Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Sorrentino, Neil Gaiman and Neil Cross.
The cast for the series and further details about the plot are yet to be announced.
Why are you making commenting on HeraldScotland only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel