Hot Picks: Gunpowder Siege

Gunpowder Siege is a landmark project in more ways than one. The three-part series is the scripted debut from (UK-US) producer Lightbox, a company more associated with hard-hitting documentary series like Marilyn Manson: Behind The Mask or Bad Host: Hunting The Couchsurfing Predator, as well as Oscar-winning doc features Searching For Sugar Man and Man On Wire.

It is also the first straight drama order for Sky History, which has a strong relationship with docu-drama, particularly covering notable British historical events.

While audiences may think they are familiar with the Gunpowder Plot, Gunpowder Siege sets out to dispel long-standing myths surrounding the conspiracy – not least by beginning on 5 November 1605, the date on which many assume the story ends.

Caught in the act of attempting to blow up parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the Palace of Westminster, the seeming chief conspirator Guy Fawkes is merely a peripheral figure of a rebellious group fighting for the freedom of the Catholics.

Focusing on the three ringleaders – Robert Catesby, his cousin Thomas Wintour and their ruthless enforcer Thomas Percy – the drama follows the trio’s attempts to raise a revolutionary army, while Fawkes endures brutal torture in the Tower of London.

As the most wanted men in England, they speed from London to the Midlands, intent on sparking a Catholic rebellion, overthrowing King James and placing his young daughter, Princess Elizabeth, on the throne.

Gunpowder Siege is one of the standout projects on distributor Sphere Abacus’s Mipcom slate – and the first following Abacus’s acquisition by Canadian giant Sphere Media. Managing director Jonathan Ford, who has represented Lightbox’s documentaries before, notes the significance of a factual specialist making a drama.

“This is not about embellishing the story and adding fictional elements like a historical drama might,” he says. “It’s a scripted project, but it tells the story in a documentary fashion. The actors talk to the camera in places.

“We all know the myth and legend of the Gunpowder Plot, but this is about understanding some of the truth behind it.”

Sphere Abacus envisages a wide range of buyers, spanning history channels – where factual programming predominates – and drama networks.

The series is written by Blue Lights scribe Noel McCann, and though it has the suspense of the hit police drama, secrecy and intrigue dominate over high-octane action.

The show will TX on Sky History in the UK and Ireland, as well as in some European territories. However, Sphere Abacus has distribution rights for the rest of the world, including North America, Australia and New Zealand, alongside French-speaking Europe, LatAm and Asia.

“We’ve not rushed out to try to sell it off a teaser because it delivers as a scripted piece. We want buyers to see a full episode,” Ford says. “We certainly think it’s a returnable concept.”