Colin Firth will headline Lockerbie, a Sky drama series about the real-life airline tragedy that occurred in 1988. Here’s the trailer.
Rightly or wrongly, the British television industry often uses true life tragedies as the basis for drama. As proven with Gwyneth Hughes’ brilliant Mr Bates And The Post Office, such dramas, when done right, can provoke discussion on a national scale.
The latest true-life disaster to make its way to the screen is Lockerbie: The Search For Truth, which chronicles the aftermath of the horrific events of the 21st December 1988, when a bomb caused Pan Am Flight 103 to crash over the Scottish town, killing 270 people.
The synopsis for the five-part series, from Sky itself, reads as follows:
Dr Jim Swire (Colin Firth) and his wife Pam, who tragically lost their daughter in the Lockerbie bombing, have doggedly pursued justice ever since. The series will see Swire nominated spokesperson for the UK victims’ families in the wake of the disaster, as they unite to demand truth and justice. Travelling across continents and political divides, Swire embarks on a relentless journey that not only jeopardises his stability, family and life, but completely overturns his trust in the justice system. As the truth shifts under Jim’s feet, his view of the world is left forever sullied.
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The cast also includes Catherine McCormack, Rosanna Adams, Jemma Carlton, Harry Redding, Sam Troughton, Mark Bonner, Ardalan Esmaili and Selwa Jghale.
Scottish playwright David Harrower, whose film Una, based on his play Blackbird, is well worth seeking out, will act as lead writer, with Maryam Hamidi and Jim Sheridan also writing episodes. They adapted their scripts from the book The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father’s Search For Justice, which Swire co-wrote with Peter Biddulph.
Otto Bathurst is lead director, with Jim Loach also directing an episode.
Lockerbie: The Search For Truth will air on Sky on the 2nd January.
Watch the trailer below:
