HBO is getting into the Richard Gadd business.
The premium cable network has come on board Lions, the BBC drama series created by the Baby Reindeer creator and star.
The British public broadcaster unveiled the project in February, two months before Gadd became a massive international star thanks to the success of the Netflix dark dramedy, which is one of the streamer’s most-watched shows ever.
The new series asks “What does it mean to be a man?” When Niall’s estranged ‘brother’ Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives. Spanning almost forty years from the 1980s to the present day, the series will cover the highs and lows of the brothers’ relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults – with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. It will capture the wild energy of a changing city and a changing world.
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Gadd is writing and exec producing.
Alexandra Brodski (Somewhere Boy) and Eshref Reybrouck (Ferry: The Series) are attached to direct. The series comes from Chloe producer Mam Tor Productions, which was founded by Tally Garner and backed by Banijay. Garner and Morven Reid exec produce for Mam Tor alongside Gaynor Holmes for the BBC and Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland. Wendy Griffin is producer.
The new show comes as the controversy surrounding Baby Reindeer continues; Fiona Harvey, who is thought to be the inspiration for Jessica Gunning’s stalker character Martha, is suing Netflix, ostensibly for suggesting that Baby Reindeer is a “true story”.
Gadd said, “Ordering a HBO boxset of The Sopranos, The Wire, or Oz and watching it from start to finish were some of the happiest moments of my childhood. Since then, it has always been a dream of mine to work with HBO and be part of their iconic roster of shows. I am so grateful to Francesca Orsi, Kara Buckley and Clint LaVigne for taking this chance on the show and on Ruben and Niall too who – despite growing up in a dead-end Scottish town – would be absolutely pinching themselves at this. I cannot wait to get started.”
Kara Buckley, SVP, HBO Drama Programming, said, “We are tremendously excited to partner with the BBC and Richard Gadd, whose remarkable talent continues to make waves across the globe. With this new, gripping and evocative series, we are proud to welcome Richard to the HBO family.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, added, “We are delighted that HBO are joining us to bring Richard Gadd’s exquisite Lions scripts to the screen. This is bold, brilliant, one-of-a-kind storytelling and we can’t wait for viewers to see it.”