So much Scouse talent in one TV drama.
A new Liverpool-based drama commissioned by Channel 4, Help (w/t), will see two of Liverpool’s well-known actors, Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, in their professional homecoming for a one-off, state-of-the-nation drama.
Help, is set in a fictional Liverpool care home, and tells the moving story of the relationship between Sarah, a young care home worker (Comer), and Tony, a patient (Graham), whose lives are changed forever by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last spring.
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The filming of Help (w/t) in Liverpool City Region will begin in early 2021 and will be produced by The Forge, the production company behind Roadkill and The Accident, in association with One Shoe Films. Help (w/t) will receive investment and support from Liverpool Film Office through its Liverpool City Region Production Fund, using funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund.
It is the first of several high-profile productions that the Film Office is set to announce support for in the coming months, as part of Liverpool City Council and the Combined Authority’s joint strategy to reinvigorate the region’s film and TV sector in the wake of COVID-19.
Help (w/t) is written by BAFTA-winning writer, Jack Thorne, best known for writing the His Dark Materials TV series and National Treasure, who also collaborated with Stephen Graham on The Virtues. The new Liverpool-based drama will also be directed by Marc Munden, who also is making a return to Liverpool after his imaginative take on Channel 4’s Utopia.
Stephen Graham said: “Jack is one of the greatest and most truthful writers of our generation and in Help he has crafted a profoundly important piece of social realism. I’ve wanted to work with Jodie for ages, and together we’re hugely passionate about shining a light on one of the biggest tragedies of our time and the people at the heart of it.”
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BAFTA-winning Jodie Comer, made a point of thanking Stephen Graham in her 2019 winner’s speech for the vital support he gave early in her career including introducing her to his own agent. The stars best known for their leading parts in Killing Eve and Line of Duty have also previously worked together on another Liverpool-based series, BBC’s Good Cop.
Jodie Comer said: “I am, of course, thrilled to finally be working alongside Stephen and the supremely talented Jack, Marc and those at Channel 4. For us to be able to explore such a relevant and emotive story through the eyes of such beautifully real characters, and in our home city of Liverpool, is a real honour. We’re determined to do justice to so many of the untold stories and heroes that have been affected as a result of this crisis and to handle them with care.”
Other productions to have filmed in Liverpool City Region recently include; Warner Bros.’ The Batman, Netflix’s The Irregulars, The English Game, BBC’s Anthony, Sky’s COBRA, ITV’s Viewpoint, and Channel 4’s It’s a Sin. The Tim Roth thriller series Tin Star: Liverpool will also debut on Sky Atlantic on December 10.
[Featured Image: Liverpool Film Office]