Max Finch (Richard Gere), an American tabloid mogul who owns the National Reporter, summons his estranged ex-wife Kathryn (Helen McCrory) and their fragile thirty-year-old son Caden (Billy Howle) to London after the boy suffers a catastrophic stroke. Caden’s recovery stalls; he hallucinates, rages and clings to his girlfriend Orla (Niamh Algar) while Max plots to install a Muslim prime minister (Danny Sapani) and silence anyone who remembers the family’s buried crimes. Over eight hours the Finches rip open old wounds: Kathryn’s inherited wealth, Max’s ruthless climb, Caden’s childhood betrayal, all set against the countdown to a general election the paper can swing.
Shot in London and Andalucía during the summer of 2018, the serial marks Gere’s first television work since a 1976 Kojak episode; he later told Radio Times the six-month shoot felt “like doing four indie movies back to back” and vowed never to repeat it. Creator Tom Rob Smith keeps the camera tight on power’s cost: newsroom lay-offs, homeless shelters, psychiatric wards, private jets, each space rendered in steel greys by cinematographers James Friend and David Luther. Rob Lane’s score pulses under speeches about truth, loyalty and England’s soul, but the drama’s engine is McCrory’s brittle composure as Kathryn realises her son has become the weapon that will destroy them all.
Production Details
BBC Two / 1 Season / 8 Episodes / 2019
Created by: Tom Rob Smith
Showrunner(s): Stephen Wright, Tom Rob Smith, Elizabeth Kilgarriff
Writer(s): Tom Rob Smith
Producer(s): Lisa Osborne, Sharon Bloom
Cinematography: James Friend, David Luther
Music: Rob Lane
Main Cast
Richard Gere as Max Finch
Billy Howle as Caden Finch
Helen McCrory as Kathryn Villiers
Niamh Algar as Orla Green
Rachel Sophia-Anthony as Poverty Campaigner
Paul Ready as Nick Caplan
Pippa Bennett-Warner as Lauren Elgood
Sinéad Cusack as Maggie Barns
Samuel Leakey as 7-Year Old Caden
Orton O'Brien as Caden (Aged 10-12) / 10-year-old Caden
Harriet Turnbull as Lorna Howard
Terry Haywood as Brave Kitchen Worker
