BBC2 has acquired Trust, the new drama from executive producers Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy and Christian Colson based on the kidnapping of the heir to billionaire John Paul Getty.
The ten-part series will premiere in the UK exclusively on BBC Two, and was acquired by the channel from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution. Trust stars Donald Sutherland as J. Paul Getty Senior, the oil tycoon and art collector at the head of the Getty family, alongside a cast that includes 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 opens in 1973 with the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III (Dickinson), heir to the Getty fortune, in Rome. His captors bank on a multi-million dollar ransom, but back in England Paul’s wealthy grandfather (Sutherland) refuses to pay up. With Paul’s father (Michael Esper) lost in a drug-induced daze, it is left to Paul’s mother – the penniless Gail Getty (Swank) – to negotiate with both the increasingly desperate kidnappers and her stubborn former father-in-law to save her son.
Patrick Holland, Channel Controller of BBC Two says: “I am tremendously excited that Trust is coming to BBC Two. The series has the unique scale, singular vision and extraordinary swagger that only Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy and Christian Colson can bring.”
Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, says “Trust is bold story-telling, made with verve, style and ambition. 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."
Trust (10×60’) is created by Simon Beaufoy and executive produced by Danny Boyle, Beaufoy and Christian Colson – the Academy Award® winning team behind Slumdog Millionaire with Boyle directing the first three episodes. The show is produced by FX Productions, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films and Snicket Films Limited, and is distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution.
Trust will air on BBC Two from the autumn.
Jon Creamer
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