ITV has announced that Anna Friel will lead the cast of new eight-part crime drama, Marcella, created by acclaimed Swedish screenwriter/novelist Hans Rosenfeldt.
Rosenfeldt created the global hit series The Bridge, which has screened in the UK on BBC4.
Set in contemporary London with a British Metropolitan Police Detective at its heart, Marcella is a noir thriller told with Rosenfeldt’s multi-layered Nordic style. The series will lead the audience through a narrative maze where any character could be a witness, victim or potential suspect.
Marcella will get involved in a serial murder case where the modus operandi of the killer bares a striking resemblance to an unsolved spate of killings from a decade ago.
Marcella is shocked to the core of her being when her husband Jason (Nicholas Pinnock) leaves her unexpectedly, confessing he no longer loves her. Suspicious of her husband’s motives for leaving her, Marcella finds herself playing detective away from work, but will her findings lead her to further heartbreak?
Anna Friel said: “I’m thrilled to be working on Hans Rosenfeldt’s first English drama. Scandinavian storytelling is hugely inspiring, but we Brits usually have to settle for doing a remake, so to be working with Hans on an original piece for ITV is a true privilege. Marcella is a complex woman and a wonderful layered character. Hans’ marvellous scripts have drawn a fantastic cast and crew together. I can’t wait to begin.”
Marcella will co-star Downton Abbey’s Laura Carmichael, Nicholas Pinnock, Ian Puleston-Davies (Coronation Street), Nina Sosanya (Last Tango in Halifax), Ray Panthaki, Jamie Bamber (Law & Order: UK, Battlestar Galactica), Patrick Baladi (The Office, Mistresses) and Harry Lloyd.
Filming will start on Marcella in London in November.
