BBC Two is adding a fifth(!) FX original series to their slate of acquisitions. The channel has secured the exclusive UK rights to the network’s John Paul Getty III abduction drama series Trust after striking a deal with international distributor Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution. The series will premiere on BBC Two later this year.
Trust opens in 1973 with the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, heir to the Getty fortune, in Rome. His captors bank on a multi-million dollar ransom, but back in England Paul’s wealthy grandfather refuses to pay up. With Paul’s father lost in a drug-induced daze, it is left to Paul’s mother – the penniless Gail Getty – to negotiate with both the increasingly desperate kidnappers and her stubborn former father-in-law to save her son.
The series, which is envisioned as a returning series, is produced by FX Productions, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films and Snicket Films Limited and stars Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Brendan Fraser (The Mummy), Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats), Anna Chancellor (Ordeal By Innocence), Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders), Amanda Drew (Broadchurch) and Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show). Trust was created by Simon Beaufoy, who also serves as an executive producr by Danny Boyle and Christian Colson.
After largely shying away from U.S. acquisitions in the past several years, BBC Two has become enamoured with FX original of late. Trust joins American Crime Story, Snowfall and Feud, all of which premiere in the UK on the channel. BBC Two also holds repeat rights to Donald Glover’s FX comedy Atlanta, which initially airs on this side of the pond on FOX UK.
All five FX series are distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution and were acquired for the BBC by Director of Programme Acquisition Sue Deeks. “Trust is bold storytelling, made with verve, style and ambition”, Deeks said. “The Getty family have captured the public’s imagination like few others, and there is no better team to reimagine their story for television than the award-winning trio of Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy and Christian Colson. We’re very excited to bring this compelling new series to BBC Two.”
Check out FX’s original trailer for Trust below:
