John Simm and Nikki Amuka-Bird are leading a mystery thriller series titled I, Jack Wright for Federation Stories and UKTV.
Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones) will also feature.
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe scribe Chris Lang is penning I, Jack Wright, which Federation is producing and distributing via its UK arm. A number of deals have already been struck for Scandi public broadcasters YLE, DK, NRK and SRK. Deadline understands a deal with the BBC is close.
Shooting will begin this month on the series that stars double-BAFTA nominee Simm as Gray Wright. When the provisions of Jack’s final will and testament are made known, his third wife Sally (Amuka-Bird) and sons are shocked to discover they have been largely cut out of his enormous fortune. As DCI Morgan and DC Jones delve further into the case, they realize Jack’s cause of death was in fact murder. Their sights turn to the Wright family, where the mother of all feuds is beginning. More cast will be announced soon.
The show’s writer, Lang, was BAFTA-nominated for penning ITV’s hit drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. Past credits include TV’s Unforgotten, Innocent and Dark Heart.
Producer Federation Stories opened in the UK in 2021 and is overseen by former eOne execs Polly Williams and Arielle Gottlieb. They are working on the likes of an adaptation of Jackie Collins’ Lovers & Gamblers and are producing Miss Austen in association with PBS Masterpiece, Bonnie Productions and the BBC.
“Chris Lang is a master of the thriller genre, and it’s been a delight to work with him on bringing this wholly original, juicy and vibrant piece to the screen,” said Williams. “I, Jack Wright is a whip-smart, bingeable, funny and relatable treat.”
The UKTV original was commissioned by Hilary Rosen. The pre-investment deal was brokered by Tarmo Kivikallio, head of acquisitions and commissioning for YLE. The series has been ordered for Alibi by Emma Ayech, channel director. Executive producers are Williams, Gottlieb, Lang and Tom Vaughan. Helen Perry will be executive producer for UKTV. The series will be directed by Vaughan (Doctor Foster, The Flight Attendant) and produced by Nickie Sault (The Outlaws, The Virtues).
ITV has renewed hit crime drama Unforgotten for a sixth season.
The series, created and written by screenwriter Chris Lang and produced by Mainstreet Pictures will star Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
The first season premiered in 2015, with Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar as cold case detectives. Sseason five, which introduced Sinéad Keenan after the shocking conclusion in the previous series, aired on ITV earlier this year.
Season 6 will be filmed in the UK and the US. Meanwhile, Unforgotten Season 5 broke all records for viewing figures on ITV X and is the highest rated show on ITV this year with 8.4 million tuning in to episode one.
Mainstreet Pictures is an ITV Studios label, founded in 2013 by joint MDs and exec producers Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes. BBC Studios distributes the show worldwide.
The Thief, His Wife and His Canoe has been shortlisted for the 2023 BPG Awards in the category of Best Drama Series.
The winners of the TV and Streaming Awards listed will be announced at the 49th BPG Awards lunch on Friday March 24th 2023, at The Horseguards Hotel in Whitehall, London.
“Told over four gripping instalments, it’s a brilliantly told, well-acted piece of drama, which deftly navigates the high tension and ridiculousness of the true-life tale. Whether you know what happens in the end or not, this drama will have you questioning how they ever thought they could get away with it.
– Mandeep Kaur-Lakhan (BFI)
“Chris Lang, creator of the great cold-case series “Unforgotten,” switched things up in this fact-based mini-series for the British network ITV: Eddie Marsan plays a man who fakes his own death for insurance purposes, hoping his case will go cold. Marsan is good as the scammer, but the undersung British actress Monica Dolan is great as his wife, who has to play the grieving widow to the police, the insurance company and their own sons while still dealing with her narcissistic husband, who moves into the empty flat next door.”
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe has attracted rave reviews & has already become one of the top ten rated dramas of the last three years, with a whopping 9m viewers so far.
Praise for The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe
‘Chris Lang’s delicious rendition of this true life caper….Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan were both superb, the script was clever, always with one eye on the ludicrousness of the situation.’ The Times
‘A delight….engrossing, thought-provoking and with a wicked dose of black humour. Chris Lang’s hilariously deadpan script….the marvellous Eddie Marsan is superb…un-missable drama.’ The Mail
‘Dolan and Marsan are both superb….laugh out loud.’ The Observer
‘Monica Dolan gave an acting masterclass… seriously compelling viewing. A very British crime story, superbly told.’ The Daily Telegraph
‘Chris Lang’s finely pitched retelling of the story. Performance of the week.’
The Daily Mirror
‘(Lang’s)… droll and disobliging reimagining of the couple will remain unforgettable.’ The Guardian
‘A treat, Eddie Marsan is on tremendous form…strikes just the right tragic-comic note.’ Daily Express
‘A brilliantly entertaining drama, full of comic moments in a fleet footed script.’ Mail on Sunday
‘ITV has really pulled off a winner, quirky, off beat, hard hitting and truly memorable…brilliant.’ Radio Times
‘A thoroughly captivating watch…stellar performances…a stroke of genius.’ Metro
‘The most glorious series of the year so far. I could not stop watching. It was delicious. It was comic yet tragic. It made you laugh, made you cry. It was unavoidably gripping.’ Mail Online
‘Dolan was magnificent.’ The i
‘A brilliantly acted dramatisation…Marson and Dolan are excellent.’ The People
April sees the screening of of The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, Chris Lang’s four-part drama tells the true story of Hartlepool couple John (Eddie Marsan) and Anne Darwin (Monica Dolan), who faked John’s death during a supposed canoe accident in 2002 before John was discovered to be alive, leading to their arrest and prison sentencing in 2008.
The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe explores John Darwin’s big scam and how it was carry out. It also show how Anne (played by Monica Dolan) became complicit in her husband’s bizarre deception to avoid bankruptcy, as she played the grieving widow and tried to convince the world, their friends, the police and insurance companies that John had gone missing while canoeing off the North East coast. Even their sons, Mark and Anthony, were none the wiser for five years, as their father secretly lived hidden in a bedsit next door to the home he shared with Anne.
Series 4 of Chris Lang’s Unforgotten has been nominated for a Royal Television Society Award in the category Best Drama Series.
Chair of the Awards, Kenton Allen, said: “Despite the unprecedented challenges the last two years have presented every single one of us, the sheer talent and amazing professionalism from UK creatives both in front of and behind the camera, has truly shone through. This year’s nominees are incredible examples of the phenomenal skills and world-class talent working in UK television. A huge congratulations to all those nominated. We’re really looking forward to gathering, in real life, to celebrate our wonderful industry at the RTS Programme Awards for the first time since those halcyon days of 2019.”
Chris Lang has been nominated for Best Writer at the 2022 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for his series Unforgotten.
The winners will be announced at the 48th BPG Awards lunch on Friday March 25th 2022, at The Brewery in the City of London, sponsored by YouTube. The Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting is in the gift of the BPG Executive Committee and will be presented as well.
A full list of categories and nominees can be found at the BPG website
Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan take the roles of Anne and John Darwin in ITV’s The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, written by acclaimed screenwriter Chris Lang and produced by award winning producers, Story Films
Renowned actors, Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan, will play Anne and John Darwin in the extraordinary and compelling ITV drama, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe.
The real life story of how John Darwin, played by BIFA nominee Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, Sherlock Holmes, Happy Go Lucky) faked his own death to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy is written by acclaimed screenwriter Chris Lang.
Commented Chris Lang:
“I am beyond delighted to be working with two of the finest actors of their generation. I have admired them both from afar for many years (not in a creepy way though) and cannot wait to see them bring Anne and John Darwin to life.”
The drama will focus on how Anne Darwin, played by BAFTA-winner Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult, W1A, A Very English Scandal), became complicit in her husband’s deception as she started to convince the world, their family and friends, the police and insurance companies, that he had gone missing in 2002 whilst canoeing off the coast of Seaton Carew in Cleveland, where the couple owned two large houses with panoramic views of the sea.
The deception was to take its toll on Anne who lied to their sons, Mark and Anthony, for five years whilst her husband, in the early days of the fraud, secretly lived in a bedsit next door to the home he shared with Anne.
Devastated by the loss of their father, neither son had an inkling their parents were capable of such treachery. Anne and John Darwin eventually decided to leave Seaton Carew and move to Panama City to start a new life together before their secret was exposed by the discovery of an infamous photo of them posing in a Panama real estate office in July 2006.
At her trial Anne Darwin pleaded not guilty, arguing that she had been coerced into the plot by her husband, but the jury didn’t believe her. She and her husband were both jailed for more than 6 years.
The four-part drama commences filming in the North East this month and is produced by Story Films, the company founded by three times BAFTA-winner David Nath (The Murder Detectives, My Name is Lizzie) and fellow award-winning director Peter Beard. Susie Liggat (Giri/Haji) also executive produces, with Alison Sterling (The Windermere Children) producing.
They will be joined by the celebrated screenwriter of Unforgotten and Innocent Chris Lang (The Hookup Plan, Dark Heart, A Mother’s Son) who also executive produces the four part series. BAFTA winning director, Richard Laxton, (Honour, Mrs Wilson, Mum) directs each of the four episodes.
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is based upon the unpublished manuscript written by journalist David Leigh who was the first journalist to track down Anne as she was on the verge of setting up a new life in Panama.
Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan will be joined in the cast by Mark Stanley (White House Farm) and Karl Pilkington (Sick of It, Derek).
Commented Eddie Marsan:
“I’m so thrilled to be working with Chris Lang, one of our greatest writers and to get the chance to work with Monica Dolan. The story of how and why John Darwin faked his own death to defraud insurance companies is fascinating, and if it weren’t fact, you’d think it unbelievable. I can’t pretend to understand what was going on in his head when he made those choices, but I’m going to do my absolute best to portray him, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Commented Monica Dolan:
“The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe tells the story of surely the most outrageous fraud of modern times – and my favourite kind of drama is when the outrageous comes from the prosaic. As breath-taking as their managing to pull this deception off in the first place, is how spectacularly the couple wrecked it for themselves as soon as they had got away with it.”
London based independent production company, Story Films, was created by David Nath and Peter Beard with the aim of producing creative, bold and thought-provoking programmes.
The drama has been commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama Polly Hill and will be produced in association with All3Media International.
All3Media International represents the show internationally.
Eddie Marsan is represented by Markham, Froggatt & Irwin and UTA. Monica Dolan is represented by Will Hollinshead at Independent Talent.