Hot Picks: Crossfire

Four-part thriller Crossfire promises to take viewers on an action-packed and emotional journey as it contemplates how ordinary people react in an extraordinary situation. 

Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard; Line Of Duty) lead the cast of the Fremantle-distributed drama as Jo Cross, who is relaxing on her hotel room balcony during a holiday in the Canary Islands when her tranquillity is shattered by gun shots ringing out across the complex.

The event reduces her carefree break to a living hell, as Jo, her family, fellow holidaymakers and hotel staff are forced to make split-second life-or-death decisions.

Besides Hawes, Crossfire features a raft of high-profile talent including Josette Simon (Small Axe), Anneika Rose (Deadwater Fell), Lee Ingleby (The A Word), Daniel Ryan (The Bay) and Vikash Bhai (The Stranger). 

Fremantle is expecting Crossfire to be another hit from Dancing Ledge Productions, which has had huge success recently with The Responder starring Martin Freeman, as well as its gripping dramatisation of The Salisbury Poisonings, both for the BBC. Dancing Ledge executive producer Chris Carey describes the drama as “taught, unnerving, raw and pulsing with adrenaline”.

Carey hails the female talent in front of and behind the camera on the series, a rarity for a crime thriller. Directed by Tessa Hoffe (Kin), Crossfire marks the TV writing debut of novelist Louise Doughty, whose Apple Tree Yard was adapted by Kudos for BBC1 in 2017. Like Apple Tree Yard, Crossfire highlights Doughty’s self-confessed fascination with “how so-called ordinary people respond to intense pressure”.

Carey says: “It is the exploration of character that takes the audience beyond the action. With Louise Doughty writing, Keeley Hawes leading a phenomenal cast and Tessa Hoffe at the helm, Crossfire subverts a genre that has traditionally been male-driven, which adds another layer of originality to this drama.”

Hawes also serves as an executive producer through her indie Buddy Club Productions, with Carey describing her as a “brilliant producing collaborator”.

Crossfire is a co-production between the BBC and Spanish free-to-air broadcaster RTVE. The drama’s “universal appeal” lends itself to a number of different territories, with “huge potential” in Europe and the US, says Rebecca Dundon, vice-president of scripted content at Fremantle.

“Because of the nature of the show, it is something that we think will be very transferable to premium pay-TV, SVoDs and free-to-air partners,” she adds.

The co-commissioning partnership between the BBC and RTVE is another way in which Fremantle is exploring innovative distribution and financing options for its scripted series, Dundon says, as increasing drama budgets force distributors to explore different ways to get shows funded.

“This can be through co-production or third-party financing – there are lots of different ways you can set up that financing,” she adds. “For us, it’s not just about being a distributor any more, it’s about being a partner and how we get these shows made.”