London Spy
| London Spy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Tom Rob Smith |
| Written by | Tom Rob Smith |
| Directed by | Jakob Verbruggen |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) | |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Guy Heeley |
| Running time | 58–60 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Working Title Television BBC America NBC Universal BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 9 November – 7 December 2015 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
London Spy is a British-American five-part drama television serial created and written by Tom Rob Smith that aired on BBC Two from 9 November until 7 December 2015.
London Spy begins as the story of two young men: Danny (Ben Whishaw)—gregarious, hedonistic, and romantic—falls in love with Alex (Edward Holcroft)—asocial, enigmatic, and brilliant. Just as they discover how perfect they are for each other, Alex disappears. Danny then finds Alex's body. They lived very different lives: Danny is from a world of clubbing and youthful excess; Alex, it turns out, works for the Secret Intelligence Service. Danny decides to fight for the truth, utterly ill-equipped to take on the world of espionage.
The series was commissioned by Janice Hadlow and Polly Hill, and produced by Guy Heeley for Working Title Television. The executive producers are Juliette Howell, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Polly Hill. Filming began in 2014 in London and Kent, on the Isle of Grain and at Dartford.
The story is based on the death of Gareth Williams, an actual MI6 agent who was found dead under similar, mysterious circumstances.
The first episode premiered in the U.K. on BBC Two at 9pm on Monday 9 November 2015, and the serial concluded 7 December 2015. In the U.S., it premiered on BBC America starting 21 January 2016.
Reviewing Episode One for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan called it "an unutterably delicious, satisfying dish," with "Jim Broadbent, in fully teddy-bear-carrying-a-switchblade mode.." and Whishaw "the most powerful actor ever made out of thistledown and magic."The Daily Telegraph's Jasper Rees was unconvinced: "Whishaw's intense fixity of purpose could do nothing to defibrillate his DOA dialogue..." The same newspaper's Harry Mount gave a critical review of episode 3 which he regarded as "wearily unconvincing" with "long spells of ennui." In the Daily Mail, Christopher Stevens wrote: "Believe it or not, BBC execs reckon there is not enough gay drama on the Beeb [...] You might think that it's become impossible to switch the telly on without seeing two men locked in a naked clinch, or in drag, or snogging." The Huffington Post UK reported that Stevens' review had inspired a reader backlash, with online comments noting, "It's not a gay spy drama, it's a spy drama and some of the characters happen to be gay."
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Wikipedia