Co-produced by STUDIOCANAL (Playing Nice, Families Like Ours) and Two Cities Television (Blue Lights, Patrick Melrose) and written by BAFTA award-winning Ronan Bennett (The Day of the Jackal, MobLand), filming has begun in Manchester and Liverpool, (as well as scenes in London and Paris) on new Channel 4 drama series Army of Shadows.
Leading the ensemble cast are BAFTA-winning Paddy Considine (House of The Dragon, MobLand), Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winner America Ferrera (Barbie, The Lost Bus), Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman) and Kit Harington (Industry, Game of Thrones). Lisa Gunning (Black Doves, The Power) will direct all six episodes.
A drama inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 film and Joseph Kessel’s seminal book of the same name, which famously dramatised the emergence of the French Resistance to the Nazi Occupation of France during World War 2, Army of Shadows is a bold new story from Ronan Bennett of how resistance takes shape in a fictional, occupied Great Britain. The series has been developed and produced with the support of the Melville family and the Kessel estate, which is controlled by the Irish Red Cross.
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To borrow from the series synopsis:
“Britain looks almost normal, but the flags are different, the news is careful, and nobody says certain things out loud anymore. But everyone can feel it. Somewhere beneath the surface of ordinary life something has gone terribly, quietly wrong. Out of the shadows emerges a former soldier known only as Berry, who starts building a secret resistance network. He knows one thing above all else: Don’t act before you’re ready.
An unlikely group starts to coalesce around him – people who’ve decided they can’t look away any longer: A soldier, a student, a radiographer, a journalist. Ordinary people, with ordinary lives, making an extraordinary and irreversible choice.
Against them: a state with unlimited reach, a ruthless minister who’ll do whatever it takes to maintain “order”, and an American intelligence operative called Jessie, who is very good at her job. Army of Shadows is a tense, propulsive thriller about what resistance actually costs. If your country were occupied, what would you do? “
Gwawr Lloyd, interim head of drama, Channel 4 says: “Ronan Bennett has created a gripping, provocative and action-packed drama that feels both epic in scale and strikingly relevant. Army of Shadows asks powerful questions about freedom, resistance and the choices people make when democracy is under threat. With a stellar cast lined up under the direction of Lisa Gunning, this is exactly the kind of thought-provoking and high stakes drama that Channel 4 looks to bring to our viewers. We’re delighted to partner with STUDIOCANAL and Two Cities Television on what promises to be an unmissable event series.”
Anna Marsh, CEO of STUDIOCANAL and chief content officer of CANAL+, added: “Inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville’s exceptional 1969 film from our catalogue, and Joseph Kessel’s formative book, we are incredibly proud to have developed this series from inception, attaching an extraordinary cast and creative team to bring ARMY OF SHADOWS into production today. Ronan Bennett’s work is thrilling, climactic and important. And we are delighted to now welcome Lisa Gunning who directs all 6 episodes with irrepressible vision and command.
“ARMY OF SHADOWS is a series that has no limitations across audience, geographies or relevance and in partnership with Two Cities Television and Channel 4 it is a privilege for the teams at CANAL+ and STUDIOCANAL to bring such a visceral piece of television to audiences around the world.”
Army of Shadows has been commissioned for Channel 4 by Lloyd, and Gemma Boswell and Rebecca Holdsworth, drama commissioning editors. Executive producers are Paul Gilbert and M-K Kennedy for STUDIOCANAL Television; Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin for STUDIOCANAL, with Stephen Wright and Michael Jackson for Two Cities Television alongside Ronan Bennett. STUDIOCANAL developed the series from inception with Two Cities Television, which is part of STV Studios. Alison Sterling is the series producer. STUDIOCANAL will handle international sales and worldwide distribution.
