Fall is coming and it’s not just HBO, AMC, Netflix and the like showing off their upcoming shows. Today it’s time for the BBC to give a taste of what’s coming this fall. For us, the most exciting tease is that for Park Chan-wook‘s period series “The Little Drummer Girl” starring Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgård, and Florence Pugh among others. The upcoming six-episode miniseries in an adaptation of John le Carré’s spy novel and is set in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Here’s the official synopsis:
Based on John le Carré’s best-selling literary masterpiece of the same name and directed by visionary filmmaker Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Stoker), The Little Drummer Girl weaves a suspenseful and explosive story of espionage and high-stakes international intrigue. Set in the late 1970s, the pulsating thriller follows Charlie (BAFTA-nominate Florence Pugh), a fiery actress and idealist whose resolve is tested after she meets the mysterious Becker (Emmy® and Golden Globe®Award-winner Alexander Skarsgård) while on holiday in Greece. It quickly becomes apparent that his intentions are not what they seem, and her encounter with him entangles her in a complex plot devised by the spy mastermind Kurtz (twice Academy Award-nominated Michael Shannon). Charlie takes on the role of a lifetime as a double agent while remaining uncertain of her own loyalties.
The BBC also had success with another le Carré adaptation, “The Night Manager” with Tom Hiddleston. Like that show, “The Little Drummer Girl” will also air on AMC in the U.S. There’s no date, but the BBC version is expected this fall. AMC’s date is November 19 at 9pm ET.
Additional footage shown in this preview includes the first look at the “Les Miserables” miniseries with David Oyelowo, Dominic West, Olivia Coleman and Lily Collins, “Wanderlust” with Toni Collette coming to Netflix this fall, “Informer” with Paddy Considine, which will eventually air on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., “Mrs. Wilson,” (Ruth Wilson plays her own grandmother), “The ABC Murders” with John Malkovich, “Gentleman Jack,” coming to HBO, from the creator of “Happy Valley,” “War Of The Worlds starring Rafe Spall, “The Long Song” with Hayley Atwell, “Bodyguard,” “Press” with Charlotte Riley and Ben Chaplin, and another new season of “Luther” with Idris Elba.
There’s also additional footage of “Black Earth Rising” starring Michaela Coel (“Chewing Gum“), and John Goodman coming to Netflix soon (trailer here) and the upcoming new season of “Doctor Who” starring Jodie Whittaker.
Whew, that’s a lot and plenty of riches coming to the BBC and then in some cases, to the U.S. as well.