Suspense-filled drama coming to C4

Channel 4 has commissioned a new 10-part Korean political thriller, Opposite Number from Mammoth Screen (Endeavour, Parade’s End).

Described as ‘an ambitious, suspense-filled original drama series spanning the UK, US and North Korea’, the series takes us inside the closed worlds of North Korea and the charged nexus of relationships between London and Washington – from the power-playing heads of government to the opposing CIA and MI6 agents secretly deployed on the ground in Pyongyang – as the clock ticks on a global-scaled nuclear crisis.

On a covert mission in North Korea, the world’s most secretive nation, a British nuclear scientist is taken prisoner, triggering an international crisis which itself must be kept secret. Realizing their man could be forced to help North Korea finally weaponize its nuclear technology, the British Prime Minister and the U.S. President, two leaders of very different political stripes, must work together and mobilize every level of their governments to pull the world back from the brink…

The series is written by British playwright and screenwriter Matt Charman (The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder, Our Zoo) who says: “North Korea is one of the last truly impenetrable nations on the planet, and one of the most dangerous for the West. I wanted to write a drama that could blow the lid off our understanding of who we think the North Korean people are and what their government truly wants.”

Beth Willis, Deputy Head of Drama at C4, commented: “Matt Charman has done something extraordinary with this gripping political thriller. Weaving together three very different political systems – it is full of secrets, lies and almost constant tension. Opposite Number is real edge of your seat, addictive stuff and we are incredibly excited about seeing it brought to life by Matt and Mammoth Screen.”

Damien Timmer, Joint Managing Director, Mammoth Screen, added; “Mammoth Screen is delighted to be working with Channel 4 and Matt Charman, one of Britain’s leading writing talents, on this bold and provocative new series. Opposite Number is a thrill ride which taps into some of our deepest fears about international security and scratches away at the special relationship between the UK and US. It’s global politics, action and espionage as you’ve never seen before.”