Law & Order: UK: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Londonskyline.jpg|thumb|left|''Law & Order: UK'' is based in London]] |
[[File:Londonskyline.jpg|thumb|left|''Law & Order: UK'' is based in London]] |
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''Law & Order: UK'' is the |
''Law & Order: UK'' is the sixth spin-off of the [[Law & Order franchise|''Law & Order'' franchise]], one of the most successful brands in American primetime television.<ref name="itv20081017" /> An ITV press release summarized the premise of ''Law & Order: UK'' with their variation on the famous ''Law & Order'' introduction, "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime, and the Crown Prosecution Service who prosecute the offenders."<ref name="itv20081017">{{cite web | url = http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/Pressreleases/Programmepressreleases/ThecreamofBritishactingtalentcomestogetherforLawOrderUK/default.html | title = The cream of British acting talent comes together for Law & Order:UK| accessdate = 2009-01-26| date = 2008-10-17 | publisher = [[ITV]] | location = United Kingdom }}</ref> |
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''Law & Order: UK'' will be based in [[London]] and duplicates the episode format of the original. The first two [[act (drama)|act]]s will focus on the perpetration of a crime and the related police investigation (typically cumulating in an arrest), while the last two acts follow the legal and court proceedings in an effort to convict the suspect.<ref name="ds20081215">{{cite web | url = http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a138447/2009-tv-preview-law--order-uk.html | title = 2009 TV Preview: Law & Order UK | accessdate = 2009-01-26 | last = Wilkes | first = Neil | date = 2008-12-15 | work = [[Digital Spy]] | publisher = Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd | location = [[United Kingdom]]}}</ref> |
''Law & Order: UK'' will be based in [[London]] and duplicates the episode format of the original. The first two [[act (drama)|act]]s will focus on the perpetration of a crime and the related police investigation (typically cumulating in an arrest), while the last two acts follow the legal and court proceedings in an effort to convict the suspect.<ref name="ds20081215">{{cite web | url = http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a138447/2009-tv-preview-law--order-uk.html | title = 2009 TV Preview: Law & Order UK | accessdate = 2009-01-26 | last = Wilkes | first = Neil | date = 2008-12-15 | work = [[Digital Spy]] | publisher = Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd | location = [[United Kingdom]]}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 21:26, 7 February 2009
| Law & Order: UK | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Dick Wolf |
| Written by | Chris Chibnall |
| Starring | Bradley Walsh Jamie Bamber Harriet Walter Ben Daniels Freema Agyeman Bill Paterson |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 commissioned |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Chris Chibnall Jane Featherstone Andrew Woodhead Stephen Garrett[1] |
| Producer | Richard Stokes |
| Production companies | Kudos Film and Television Wolf Films NBC Universal |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV1 |
| Release | Spring 2009 |
| Related | |
| Law & Order | |
Law & Order: UK is a forthcoming British police procedural and legal television program. It is the seventh installment worldwide to be based on the original US series, Law & Order. Law & Order: UK is slated to premiere on ITV1 in spring 2009 and will play a central role in ITV1's drama programming in 2009.[2] The program is financed by the production companies Kudos Film and Television, Wolf Films, and NBC Universal.[1]
Premise
Law & Order: UK is the sixth spin-off of the Law & Order franchise, one of the most successful brands in American primetime television.[1] An ITV press release summarized the premise of Law & Order: UK with their variation on the famous Law & Order introduction, "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime, and the Crown Prosecution Service who prosecute the offenders."[1]
Law & Order: UK will be based in London and duplicates the episode format of the original. The first two acts will focus on the perpetration of a crime and the related police investigation (typically cumulating in an arrest), while the last two acts follow the legal and court proceedings in an effort to convict the suspect.[3]
Production
The first 13 episodes of Law & Order: UK are based on scripts from the original Law & Order series to accomodate contractual requirements with creator Dick Wolf's Dick Wolf Productions and to build on the experience with successful storytelling. The episodes were picked by show runner and lead writer Chris Chibnall, who had previously worked on Torchwood, Life on Mars and Born and Bred. Producer Richard Stokes thought of Chibnall as "a great voice for this show on British television",[3] describing him as "a brilliant writer"[3] who has "been gaining a fantastic experience in production" and has "a very clear idea about how the brand works".[3]
Chibnall delved through the so-called Law & Order bible (a collection of synopses for every episode) and watched the series on DVD before picking 15-16 that would translate well to British television. The final 13 episodes are the favorites of Chibnall and Stokes, although one episode had to be replaced due to incompatibility with British law.[3] Stokes considered a 13-episode series to be quite long for British television drama, and described the pacing as "the only real challenge".[3] The scripts have been updated for contemporariness, and while the difficulties of adaptating the scripts for the British legal system exceeded the expectations of the production team, Stokes opined that audiences familiar with both shows would enjoy them for their distinctions.[3] According to self-proclaimed Law & Order: UK writer James Moran, the show has legal and police advisors to assist.[4] It is unknown if a possible second series of Law & Order: UK would re-use original Law & Order scripts.[3]
The filming of Law & Order: UK began in January 2008.[5]
Jamie Bamber assumed in a December 2008 interview with the Los Angeles Times that Law & Order: UK will also be broadcast in the United States.[6]
Cast
ITV's Director of Drama, Laura Mackie, exolled Kudos, the production company of Law & Order: UK, saying they "have put together the perfect cast to deliver a quintessentially modern British take on a highly successful crime format. The breadth of the acting talent involved will build on the strength of Chris Chibnall's lively and complex scripts."[5]
The announced main cast is:
- Bradley Walsh as DS Ronnie Brooks – The lead cop and "a real East End copper’s copper",[5] Brooks is an ex-alcoholic with "an inner peace". Comparing him to an Obi-Wan Kenobi character, producer Stokes expects audiences to be pleasantly surprised with the English comedian in this straight man role.[3]
- Jamie Bamber as DS Matt Devlin – Brooks' less wizened and more impulsive partner and friend.[3][5] After starring on the American sci-fi show Battlestar Galactica for five years, Bamber was happy to return and reconnect with the UK, as well as the London theatre scene.[6]
- Harriet Walter as DI Natalie Chandler – As Brooks and Devlin's boss, it's Chandler's job is to push her detectives, making sure they stay within the lines of propriety and to play devil's advocate to their investigations.[3]
- Ben Daniels as James Steel – The lead London prosecutor, a "man on a mission for justice" and "the absolute moral centre of the show."[5][3]
- Freema Agyeman as Alesha Phillips – Steel's "hard-working and strong-willed" assistant and a "brilliant young barrister".[5][3]
- Bill Paterson as George Castle – The head of the Crown Prosecution Service for London.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d "The cream of British acting talent comes together for Law & Order:UK". United Kingdom: ITV. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ "Doctor Who star to practice Law & Order: UK for ITV1". inthenews.co.uk. London, England, United Kingdom: Adfero ltd. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|curly=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wilkes, Neil (2008-12-15). "2009 TV Preview: Law & Order UK". Digital Spy. United Kingdom: Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ Moran, James (2008-03-16). "Announcements, and an agent anecdote". the pen is mightier than the spork. James Moran's blog. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cast announced for Law & Order: UK". ITV. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ a b Sicha, Choire (2008-12-07). "Sunday Conversation: 'Battlestar's' Jamie Bamber". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, United States: Eddy Hartenstein. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
He's launching the U.K.'s 'Law & Order' series, but his lips are sealed on how the sci-fi series wraps up.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|curly=ignored (help)