Channel 4 and Nat Geo Channel are planning a major new drama about four young people who travel to Syria to join Islamic State
Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky (pictured) is set to write and direct a drama for Channel 4 and National Geographic Channel about four young people who travel to Syria to join Islamic State.
The broadcasters will team up for the first time for the four-part fictional drama about four British men and women who leave their lives behind to travel to Raqqah in Syria.
The currently untitled drama will be based on first-hand accounts and is expected to premiere on Channel 4 next year. It will be broadcast on National Geographic Channel around the rest of the world.
Beth Willis, head of drama at Channel 4, said: “After a year of extensive research, Peter has written a fascinating fictional story that sheds light on an unknown and unimaginable world.
“This is a deeply authentic drama through which we are able to question and confront an incredibly complex, divisive and urgent global issue.
“I’m delighted to be partnering with National Geographic and Archery Pictures to bring Peter’s brilliant work to audiences in the UK and worldwide.”
Peter, who racked up a string of awards for his work on Wolf Hall, was the centre of attention at the TV Baftas earlier this year when he launched a staunch defence of the BBC from the winner’s podium as he collected the first award of the night.
He has already won Baftas for Britz, about a British Muslim family in post 9/11 Britain; The Government Inspector, about the Iraq war dossier row and the death of Dr David Kelly; and Warriors, his two-part film about British peacekeepers in Bosnia.
He was nominated for The Promise, a love story set against the backdrop of the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
