Coming to BBC One soon is a new adaptation of John le Carré novel The Little Drummer Girl, from the same creative team who delivered The Night Manager.
The international thriller stars Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Big Little Lies).
The Little Drummer Girl also marks the television debut of director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, The Handmaiden).
At a screening to launch the new six-part drama, executive producer Simon Cornwell (also le Carré’s son) spoke about adapting what he called a “huge and quite bold, complicated book” and compared it with his previous television production.
He told press including Digital Spy: “After The Night Manager, we were looking for something which shared the ambition and the scale and scope of The Night Manager but, at the same time, was radically different from it in tone, in approach, in storytelling and context.
“This seemed a very natural choice for us.”
The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman, was a considerable smash for the BBC in 2016, racking up over 10 million viewers.
Simon’s brother and fellow exec producer Stephen agreed: “There’s a shared scale and ambition between the two, they are both, in a sense, infiltrator stories.
“[But] I think there are a couple of things that are profoundly different about this story. I think what’s really unique emotionally and operationally about this story is the love story. You have a very, very unique kind of thriller which is discovered through an emotional landscape.”
Simon also commented on another recent BBC thriller, Bodyguard, and how he doesn’t feel pressure to emulate its success with The Little Drummer Girl. “I think we’re quite different to the Bodyguard. I actually think we’re quite different in ways that I would have to say I think are interesting and important. It’s a very, very different kind of show.”
Bodyguard was a phenomenal hit, earning 14 million viewers and becoming one of the most-watched shows of the decade. Simon concluded: “What can I say? I’m delighted for the BBC that the Bodyguard was hugely successful but I don’t feel particular pressure from that, because we’re so different frankly.”
Digital Spy also couldn’t resist asking for an update on further adventures for The Night Manager and how series two was coming along.
Simon replied: “There are so many rumours going around about the second season of The Night Manager… but we’re not going to explore those today.”
Boo!
The Little Drummer Girl airs later this year on BBC One.
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