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''State of Play'' is a British television drama series, written by
Paul Abbott Paul Abbott (born 22 February 1960) is an English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain, following his work on popular series such as ...
and directed by David Yates, that was first broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
in 2003. The series tells the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a political researcher, and centres on the relationship between the leading journalist, Cal McCaffrey, and his old friend, Stephen Collins, who is a Member of Parliament and the murdered woman's employer. The series is primarily set in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and was produced in-house by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in association with the independent production company Endor Productions. The series stars
David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. Described by the British Film Institute as "one of the most versatile English actors of his generation", he is noted for the meticulous preparation and research h ...
,
John Simm John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' S ...
,
Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' Gosford Park'' (2001), '' Intermission'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), ''Boardwa ...
,
Polly Walker Polly Alexandra Walker (born 19 May 1966) is an English actress. She has starred in the films '' Enchanted April'' (1991), '' Patriot Games'' (1992), ''Sliver'' (1993), '' Restoration'' (1995), '' The Gambler'' (1997), and '' Savage Messiah'' ( ...
,
Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...
, and
James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
in the main roles. The series was Abbott's first attempt to write a political thriller, and he initially made the majority of the plot up as he went along. He was prompted to write the series after BBC Head of Drama
Jane Tranter Jane Tranter (born 17 March 1963) is an English television executive who was the executive vice-president of programming and production at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles base from 2009 until 2015. From 2006 to 2008, she was the BBC's controller of ...
asked him whether he would consider writing a piece "bigger" than anything he had written so far in his career. The serial was Abbott's third major writing project for the channel, following ''
Clocking Off ''Clocking Off'' is a British television drama series which was broadcast on BBC One for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott. It was effectively an an ...
'' and ''
Linda Green ''Linda Green'' is a British comedy-drama television series that aired on BBC One from 30 October 2001 to 17 December 2002. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company. The series was created by Paul Abbott, and other ...
''. The series was also a major turning point in David Yates' directorial career, as he began to direct various high-profile television projects following his work on the series. The six-part series was broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on Sunday evenings at 9:00pm from 18 May to 22 June 2003. Episodes two to five were initially premiered on the
digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adva ...
station BBC Four at 10:00pm on the nights of the preceding episodes' BBC One broadcast; however episode six was held back for a premiere on BBC One, so as not to allow the final twists to be spoiled for those who did not have access to digital television. In 2004, the series ran in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on the BBC's
BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary seri ...
cable channel. In 2005, the series was released on DVD by BBC Worldwide, in a two-disc set. Episode one features an
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
from Abbott and Yates, and episode six a commentary from Yates, producer
Hilary Bevan-Jones Hilary Bevan Jones is a British television producer. In 1994 she started Endor Productions, choosing the name from that of the novel ''The Road to Endor'' by E. H. Jones, her grandfather.Mark Day. The success of the series and its favourable impression on BBC executives led to Abbott being commissioned to write a sequel, before the first series had even been aired.McLean, Gareth
''TV review: The genuine article''
"The Guardian". Monday 19 May 2003. In 2006, however, a second series appeared to have been abandoned, with Abbott telling Mark Lawson on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's '' Front Row'' in November that he "couldn't find a way to make the story work".


Synopsis

While investigating the murder of fifteen-year-old teenager Kelvin Stagg in what appears to be a drug-related killing, journalist Cal McCaffrey of ''The Herald'' (
John Simm John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' S ...
) and his colleagues Della Smith (
Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' Gosford Park'' (2001), '' Intermission'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), ''Boardwa ...
) and Cameron Foster (
Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...
) find a connection with the coincidental death of Sonia Baker, a young researcher for MP Stephen Collins (
David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. Described by the British Film Institute as "one of the most versatile English actors of his generation", he is noted for the meticulous preparation and research h ...
). As their investigation progresses, they uncover not only a connection between the deaths, but a conspiracy with links to oil industry-backed corruption of high-ranking British government ministers.


Cast

*
John Simm John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' S ...
as Cal McCaffrey *
David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. Described by the British Film Institute as "one of the most versatile English actors of his generation", he is noted for the meticulous preparation and research h ...
as Stephen Collins MP *
Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' Gosford Park'' (2001), '' Intermission'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), ''Boardwa ...
as Della Smith *
Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...
as Cameron Foster *
James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
as Dan Foster *
Polly Walker Polly Alexandra Walker (born 19 May 1966) is an English actress. She has starred in the films '' Enchanted April'' (1991), '' Patriot Games'' (1992), ''Sliver'' (1993), '' Restoration'' (1995), '' The Gambler'' (1997), and '' Savage Messiah'' ( ...
as Anne Collins *
Philip Glenister Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI William ...
as DCI William Bell *
Marc Warren Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in '' Band of Brothers'', Danny Blue in '' Hustle'', Dougie Raymond in ''The Vice'', Dominic Foy in '' State ...
as Dominic Foy *
James Laurenson James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...
as George Fergus MP *
Benedict Wong Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Kublai Khan in Netflix's ''Marco Polo'' (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in '' The Martian'' (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since ''Doctor Strange'' (2 ...
as Pete Cheng *
Amelia Bullmore Amelia Mary Bullmore (born 31 January 1964) is an English actress, screenwriter and playwright. She is known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' (1990–1992), ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (2002), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2009), '' Twenty Twelve ...
as Helen Preger *
Deborah Findlay Deborah Findlay (born 23 December 1947) is an English actress. She joined a theatre company while studying English at the University of Leeds. Career Findlay has worked primarily on stage and appeared in numerous productions, including the origi ...
as Greer Thornton * Tom Burke as Syd Hardy *
Rebecca Ryan Rebecca Ryan (born 27 April 1991) is an English actress, best known for her role as Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Shameless'' (2004–2009). Ryan also appeared as Vicki MacDonald in the BBC One school-based drama seri ...
as Karen Collins *
Rory McCann Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy ''Hot Fuzz'', Jurgen the Brutal in the ...
as DI Stuart Brown *
Michael Feast Michael Feast (born 25 November 1946) is an English actor of stage and screen. He was born in Brighton, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He performed in the original 1968 London production of ''Hair''. He worked several ti ...
as Andrew Wilson *
Rebekah Staton Rebekah Staton (born 17 June 1981 in Leek, Staffordshire, England) is an English actress and narrator. She is best known for narrating '' Don't Tell The Bride'' and for her roles as Della in '' Raised by Wolves'' and Katy in ''Home''. She has al ...
as Liz Dixon * Johann Myers as Sonny Stagg * Maureen Hibbert as Olicia Stagg * Shauna Macdonald as Sonia Baker *
Christopher Simpson Christopher Simpson (1602/1606–1669) was an English musician and composer, particularly associated with music for the viola da gamba. Life Simpson was born between 1602 and 1606, probably at Egton, North Yorkshire. He was the eldest so ...
as Adam Greene


Episodes


Reception

Reviewing the first episode for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper the day after it had aired, Gareth McLean wrote that "...it's bloody magic. The story is gripping, the acting is ace and Paul Abbott's script is outstanding. His ear for dialogue, and for different voices, is exceptional. The exposition is swift, nifty and joyously unclunky. The characters are credible and rounded. If you can count the best dramas of recent years on the fingers of both hands, it's time to grow a new finger." Other newspaper critics were similarly impressed with the opening instalment. In ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', Paul Hoggart wrote that "Two excellent performances rom Morrissey and Simmensure that the relationship has a turbulent dynamism that is credible and engaging." James Walton in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' was more cautious, feeling that the opening episode had been promising but the serial as a whole still had the potential to go wrong. "At this stage however, the programme is certainly good enough to make me hope not and to ensure that I'll be back next week to find out." The consensus appeared to be that the serial maintained its quality to the end. Previewing episode four, Jonathan Wright of "The Guide" section in ''The Guardian'' described it as "a political conspiracy thriller that's as buttock-clenchingly tense as ''
Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...
'', as cynical about the British political system as ''
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...
'', and stands comparisons to both." The television critic of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', Tom Sutcliffe, wrote of the final episode: "I'm not sure that a thriller can end in anything other than anti-climax. If it has been good you're sad it's over, and if it ends badly you're quite likely to feel that you've been duped. Paul Abbott's ''State of Play'', which has had me swallowing double doses on a Sunday evening whenever the schedules allowed, left us with the first kind of let-down rather than the second." Bill Nighy won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role. The series also won a Peabody Award in 2004 and won BAFTAs for Best Sound (Fiction/Entertainment) and Best Editing (Fiction/Entertainment). It was nominated, but did not win, in the Best Actor category again, for Morrissey; in the Best Drama Serial category; Best Original Television Music and Best Photography and Lighting. It also won major awards from the Royal Television Society,
Banff Television Festival The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is dedicated to world ...
,
Broadcasting Press Guild The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) is a British association of journalists dedicated to the topic of general media issues. History The Guild was established in 1974 as a breakaway of The Critics' Circle. Currently it groups over 100 staff and f ...
,
Cologne Conference The Film Festival Cologne (formerly: Cologne Conference) is an international Film and Television Festival that takes place annually in Cologne, Germany. With about 10.000 visitors, the Film Festival Cologne is considered as the best attended festi ...
,
Directors Guild of Great Britain The Directors Guild of Great Britain (DGGB) was a professional organization that represented directors across all media, including film, television, theatre, radio, opera, commercials, music videos, corporate film/video and training, documentaries, ...
, Edgar Awards, and the
Monte Carlo TV Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, introdu ...
.


Adaptation

''State of Play'' was
adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
into an
Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...
feature film that was released in the United States in April 2009. The plot retained substantial similarities to the original six-hour series, retaining the main characters, but with its location changed to Washington, D.C., and with certain aspects condensed and changed in order to fit the two-hour format. The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald from a screenplay written by Matthew Michael Carnahan,
Tony Gilroy Anthony Joseph Gilroy (born September 11, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He wrote the screenplays for the original '' Bourne'' trilogy (2002–2007) and wrote and directed the fourth film of the franchise, '' The Bourne Legacy'' (2012). He also ...
, Peter Morgan, and Billy Ray.
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...
, Russell Crowe,
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
and Helen Mirren appear in the lead roles. In an April 2009 interview to promote the film, Affleck, who plays Congressman Stephen Collins, said he drew on the experiences of
Gary Condit Gary Adrian Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American former politician who represented California's 18th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003. He gained significant national attention for an extramarital af ...
, Eliot Spitzer, and
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
while preparing for the role. The film was generally well received, but not as lauded as the series.


References


Television

* Abbott, Paul. ''
The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...
– Paul Abbott''. ITV. Sunday 15 May 2005.


External links

*
''State of Play''
at the
Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
*
''State of Play''
at bbc.co.uk. * {{DEFAULTSORT:State of Play (Tv Serial) 2003 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British political television series BBC television dramas Edgar Award-winning works Peabody Award-winning television programs 2000s British television miniseries British political drama television series 2003 in British politics 2000s British crime television series English-language television shows Television shows set in London