Even before finishing production on the pilot, Channel 4 is showing a lot of confidence in their new dramedy project Babylon, which hails from Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong and is being directed by Danny Boyle. The broadcaster has picked up Babylon to series with a six episode order. The pilot will air on Channel 4 in 2014, with production on the series proper expected to commence in 2014.
Production on Babylon‘s pilot is now underway and it has been announced that the pilot/series will star James Nesbitt (Monroe) as Richard Miller, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. Other cast members include Brit Marlin (Community), Paterson Joseph (Law & Order: UK), Andrew Brooke (Da Vinci’s Demons), Jill Halfpenny (Lightfields), Adam Deacon, Daniel Kaluuya, Jonny Sweet and Bertie Carvel. TVWise can also reveal that Martin Trenaman, who we previously reported to be in talks to take on a role in Babylon, has now closed said deal and will also star.
Initially announced by Channel 4′s Chief Creative Officer Jay Hunt at the Guardian Edinburgh Internation TV Festival in August, Babylon is a new dramedy written by The Peep Show‘s Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The series is set in the “political world of modern policing” and takes a wry look at the people and politics in the command rooms and on the frontlines of a modern police force, as it attempts to uphold the peace under constant scrutiny in one of the world’s busiest capital cities. Acclaimed director Danny Boyle is attached to helm the pilot, marking his first TV project in nearly 12 years. The executive producers are Danny Boyle, Robert Jones, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong.
