Netflix picks up Bodyguard in ITV Studios Global Entertainment deal

Published: Tue 18 Sep 2018

Netflix picks up Bodyguard in ITV Studios Global Entertainment deal

Netflix has boarded Jed Mercurio's latest drama series, the terror thriller, Bodyguard.

The series is the most watched new drama launch of 2018 in the UK. Through a deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment, Netflix, who picked up the series at script stage, will premiere the series to its members globally outside of the UK and Ireland and China from October 24th 2018. Bodyguard is produced by World Productions, an ITV Studios company.

Details regarding Bodyguard are below:

Created and written by Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty), Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty, The Durrells, The Missing) and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Cinderella) star in the series.

Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd (Madden), a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Branch (RasP) of London's Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague (Hawes), Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, could he become her biggest threat?

Further cast include Gina McKee (Line of Duty); Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders), Vincent Franklin (Happy Valley), Pippa Haywood (Scott & Bailey), Stuart Bowman (Versailles) and Paul Ready (The Terror).

Bodyguard is produced by World Productions, an ITV Studios company. The series is executive produced by Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty, Bodies), Simon Heath (Line of Duty, Save Me, The Great Train Robbery) for World Productions and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for BBC directed by Thomas Vincent and John Strickland, and produced by Eric Coulter and Priscilla Parish.

Episode one received a consolidated figure of 10.4 million viewers, with a 40.9% share on BBC One. This is the highest launch figure for any new drama across all UK channels in a decade.

Maria Kyriacou, President International, ITV Studios said:

Bodyguard has gripped the nation with its twists and turns. Its a perfect example of a show produced locally which has huge global appeal. Through our partnership with Netflix, we can't wait for audiences around the world to enjoy the show as much as audiences here in the UK.

Notes to Editors:

About World Productions

Founded in 1990 by legendary UK TV Producer Tony Garnett and agent John Heyman, World Productions has produced over 300 hours of critically-acclaimed, award-winning drama for the BBC, ITV, Channel4, HBO & Sky, including Line of Duty, Born to Kill, In Plain Sight, Dark Angel, The Fear, The Bletchley Circle, United, This Life, No Angels, Ballykissangel, Ultraviolet, Between the Lines & Party Animals.

CEO & Creative Director Simon Heath, who joined in 1997, has led the company since Tony Garnetts retirement from producing in 2006. In May 2017 ITV Studios acquired a majority stake in the company.

About ITV Studios

ITV Studios produces over 8,400 hours of content annually across all its international production offices. It has production offices in the United Kingdom, USA, Australia, France, Germany, the Nordics and the Netherlands.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) is one of the world's leading international TV distribution, home entertainment, publishing, merchandising and licensing businesses. ITVS GE distributes celebrated content across all genres from both its in-house production business, ITV Studios, and in collaboration with leading producers from around the world.

Part of ITV PLC, which includes the UK's largest commercial broadcaster, ITV Studios Global Entertainment has offices in London, Hong Kong, Paris Los Angeles and Sydney.

LINK:	https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/netflix-picks-bodyguard...
	See more stories from itv

Most recent headlines