ITV commissions conspiracy thriller Strangers

John Simm, Anthony Wong, Emilia Fox and Dervla Kirwan will star in Strangers, an ambitious and timely eight-part conspiracy thriller written by screenwriting newcomers Mark Denton and Jonny Stockwood. The series has begun filming in Hong Kong.

Simm takes the role of Professor Jonah Mulray who receives a devastating international phone call about the death of his wife, Megan (Dervla Kirwan), who has been working in Hong Kong. He’s poleaxed with grief, but has to galvanise himself to board a plane for Asia to identify his beloved wife’s body. Megan has died in a car accident on the beautiful mountain roads at the top of Tai Po overlooking Hong Kong, and although a notorious black-spot, Jonah feels he must unravel the circumstances of her death following an emotional voicemail left by his wife just seconds before her death. With the help of Sally Porter (Emilia Fox) from the British Consulate, Jonah is taken to the mortuary and in the saddest of surroundings he realises his wife has gone forever.

Heartbroken Jonah is interviewed by Hong Kong detectives Daniel Tsang, Felix Chang and Wilfred Chow about Megan’s death, but frustratingly they appear to be going through the motions. Is there more to the police investigation than the officers are revealing?

ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill said, ‘We’re delighted John Simm has agreed to take on the role of Jonah Mulray whose life is devastated when his wife Megan is killed in a car accident. Strangers is a taut and tantalising thriller with a compelling narrative which keeps you gripped from the outset.’

The series has been commissioned from Two Brothers Pictures, the drama indie established by award-winning writers and producers Harry and Jack Williams (The Missing, Fleabag, One of Us).

Harry and Jack Williams commented, ‘We’re delighted to be bringing Mark and Jonny’s incredible debut series to life. Their writing is rich and intelligent and combines a narratively taut thriller with a characterful emotional journey that we hope will draw audiences in.’

Strangers is directed by Paul Andrew Williams (Broadchurch, The Eichmann Show, Murdered by My Boyfriend) who also executive produces the eight-part series alongside the Williams brothers. Matthew Bird (Decline and Fall, The Musketeers, Fortitude) produces the series, which will also film in London later this year. Marston Bloom (Marcella, New Tricks, Vera), Adam Gyngell and Fred Armesto have written episodes four, five and six respectively.

Creators Mark Denton and Jonny Stockwood said, ‘We are thrilled to be working with Two Brothers and ITV on this exciting new drama – we hope it will keep audiences gripped.’

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