The Day of the Jackal showrunner Ronan Bennett is reimagining 1969 war movie Army of Shadows for Channel 4 and Canal+, shifting the story from the French World War Two resistance to a near-future authoritarian Britain.
Bennett is teaming with Studiocanal and Patrick Melrose producer Two Cities Television on Army of Shadows, loosely based on Jean Pierre Melville’s movie starring Lino Ventura and Joseph Kessel’s 1943 book of the same name.
Using the underlying works of Army of Shadows, Bennett’s show is set in a near-future authoritarian Britain. Under de facto American occupation, a former British army officer builds a covert resistance cell from scratch – navigating betrayal, moral compromise and the tension between patience and action – as young recruits fight to reclaim their country and their futures. The show will follow this British resistance across six episodes from first kills and internal betrayals to propaganda campaigns, internment camps, and a climactic political assassination.
Army of Shadows is being made with the support of the Melville family, and the Kessel estate, which is controlled by the Irish Red Cross. The 1969 movie mixed Kessel’s experiences as a member of the French Resistance with fictional versions of other Resistance members. Initially criticized due in part to the political context of the time, the movie was re-released in the States in 2006 to critical acclaim, appearing in many critics’ best-of lists of that year.
Bennett is an in-demand showrunner who created hit Channel 4-Netflix drama Top Boy and went on to showrun the Sky-Peacock adaptation of The Day of the Jackal, which has a second season renewal.
Bennett said: “I’m thrilled to be working with the teams at Channel 4, Studio Canal, Two Cities and Canal+ on such great source material, and I’m delighted to have such strong support from the Melville family. Democracy is once again in clear and present danger. Resistance to fascism is – and must always be – a permanent struggle. This is a story about commitment, resistance and defiance in the coming age.”
Channel 4 has been going big on drama announcements this week as the Edinburgh TV Festival kicks off. Earlier today it unveiled a Steven Moffat show about No 10 Downing Street and yesterday it revealed a Glenn Close-starring adaptation of the short story collections of Swedish writer Helene Tursten titled Maud.
Army of Shadows is a first co-production for Channel 4 and Canal+. Studiocanal is handling international sales and worldwide distribution. Studiocanal developed the series from inception with STV Studios-backed Two Cities. Ron Halpern, Joe Naftalin and Paul Gilbert of Studiocanal are executive producing the series with Stephen Wright and Michael Jackson of Two Cities. Bennett is EP. Further details about casting will be announced in due course.
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