‘Gone,’ From ‘Hijack’ Creator George Kay, Sold to BritBox U.S, Canada

Identifying considered one of the scorching tickets at this yr’s London TV Screenings,’ “Gone,” from George Kay, creator or author of “Hijack,” “The Long Shadow” and “Lupin,” has scored bullish pre-sales across 4 continents led by a BritBox deal for the U.S. and Canada. 

Other pre-sales on the upcoming psychological thriller, starring David Morrissey (“Sherwood”) and Eve Myles (“Keeping Faith”), absorb each top broadcast networks and streaming companies in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe. 

Partners embrace Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, and Australian streaming service Stan. SkyNew Zealand has also licensed “Gone,” set to air on Three and stream on ThreeNow.

Across Asia, A3Media International has struck a pre-sales take care of BBC Studios’ premium SVOD drama channel, BBC First, alongside its multi-genre SVOD platform, BBC Player.

The six-part collection might be considered one of the centerpiece scripted titles at All3Media International‘s London Screenings showcase on Feb. 26.

In “Gone,” sure for ITV and ITVX for a March bow, Morrissey performs the headmaster of an elite English non-public faculty, whose spouse abruptly vanishes. Enter Detective Annie Cassidy (Myles) who views Polly as the prime suspect and “Gone” lifts off as a high-stakes cat and mouse psychological drama-thriller between the hard-charging Cassidy and Polly, who maintain his personal counsel. 

That comes along with his caste and sophistication. Released mid-Feb, a trailer for “Gone” begins not with Polly however his faculty, which seems to be to date again to Tudor instances, its facade sporting a chic nineteenth century Anglo-Italianate makeover. It goes on to catch Polly addressing college students in the faculty’s main corridor, its coat of arms behind him. Cut to Polly’s nation home. 

This is a person who’s the voice of the British institution, its ethical arbiter whose ethics aren’t to be questioned calmly. Enter Myles Cassidy, caught in the trailer in a barely bigger than regular first close-up, who stares at Polly across a police interrogation room desk with an air of not very dissimulated disbelief.

This is a “story about privilege and prejudice,” Kay said when “Gone” was announced. “The truth is tantalisingly close. Or at least, that’s what Annie thinks,” he teased. Kay’s Observatory Pictures, backed by All3Media, produces with New Pictures, in affiliation with All3Media International.

“Blending psychological mystery with a claustrophobic thriller and layered character drama, George Kay’s latest series has resonated strongly with international buyers as is evident through this impressive line-up of premium partners at pre-sale stage, including BritBox,” said Jennifer Askin, EVP Americas at All3Media International. 

“With its atmospheric setting, a stellar cast led by David Morrissey and Eve Myles and a tightly constructed cat-and-mouse narrative, “Gone” delivers sustained stress and broad viewers enchantment,” she added. “We look forward to unveiling further details to buyers at our upcoming upfronts event this week.”

“Beyond the central mystery, ‘Gone’ digs into themes of trauma, trust and the long shadow cast by elite institutions, giving the drama a deeper emotional and social edge alongside its thriller elements,” All3Media International famous in a press assertion on Wednesday. 

Written and created by Kay, “Gone” is directed by BAFTA-winning Richard Laxton (“Mrs Wilson,” “The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe”). Cast also takes in Jennifer Macbeth, Arthur Hughes, Nicholas Nunn, Elliot Cowan, Billy Barratt, Rupert Evans, Jodie McNee, Oscar Batterham and Clare Higgins.

“Gone” is produced by Mark Hedges (“Hanna,” “The Rising”). Kay, Laxton, Willow Grylls (“Des,” “The Missing”) and Matt Sandford (“The Long Shadow”) function government producers.

“Gone” is fiction, A3Media Intl. stresses It is partly impressed, however, by the e-book “To Hunt a Killer” and the real-world work of former Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay and ITV Crime Correspondent Robert Murphy, each of whom labored as consultants on the present.