The Hour (BBC TV series)
| The Hour | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Period drama |
| Created by | Abi Morgan |
| Written by | Abi Morgan |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) | Daniel Giorgetti |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jane Featherstone Derek Wax Abi Morgan Lucy Richer |
| Producer(s) | Ruth Kenley-Letts |
| Running time | 59 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Kudos Film and Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two, BBC HD |
| Original release | 19 July 2011 – 13 December 2012 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Hour is a 2011 BBC drama series centred on a new current-affairs show being launched by the BBC in June 1956, at the time of the Hungarian Revolution and Suez Crisis. It stars Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, and Romola Garai, with a supporting cast including Tim Pigott-Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Burn Gorman, Anton Lesser, Anna Chancellor, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and Oona Chaplin. It was written by Abi Morgan (also one of the executive producers, alongside Jane Featherstone and Derek Wax).
The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC HD from 19 July 2011 each Tuesday at 9 pm. Each episode lasts 60 minutes, with Ruth Kenley-Letts as producer and Coky Giedroyc as lead director. It was commissioned by Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two, and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning and produced by Kudos Film and Television.
Following the airing of the final episode of the first series, it was announced that a second series had been commissioned, which is co-produced by American network BBC America. It premiered on 14 November 2012 in the UK and on 28 November 2012 in the United States.
On 12 February 2013, it was announced that the series was cancelled by the BBC.
In the autumn of 1956, Freddie Lyon (Ben Whishaw) is a reporter unhappy with his job producing newsreels for the BBC. Desperate to get onto television, which he feels offers greater immediacy, Freddie is unaware that his best friend Bel Rowley (Romola Garai) has been selected by their mentor Clarence Fendley (Anton Lesser) to produce a new news magazine, the titular "The Hour". Rowley selects experienced war correspondent Lix Storm (Anna Chancellor) to head the foreign desk for the programme, leaving Freddie to run domestic news, a position which he considers inferior. For anchor of the programme, Clarence selects the handsome and patrician Hector Madden (Dominic West). They are joined by Thomas Kish (Burn Gorman), a mysterious and taciturn translator for the BBC who helps them cover the developing Suez Crisis.
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