BBC, ZDF seek Counsels

FIRST LOOK: Filming is underway in Glasgow on upcoming BBC series Counsels, a high-stakes legal drama set in the Scottish city featuring a cast including Brandon Grace, Ro Kumar, Eilidh Park, George Prentice, Alyth Ross and Rebecca Bell.

Coproduced with Germany’s ZDFneo, the eight-part series follows the lives of a group of twentysomething lawyers in the crucial moment when a few years out of university their careers finally become serious. Working across the legal landscape, whether as public prosecutors, slick representatives of glossier commercial interests or the shabby and good-hearted last resort of those with nothing left to lose, each one of them is out to win.

They are colleagues jostling for promotion, lovers trying to hold onto one another as ambitions accelerate and pure adversaries professionally and personally.

The young lawyers include Jamie (Grace), Bav (Kumar), Nadine (Park), Alasdair (Prentice), Katie (Ross) and Karina (Bell), who must navigate their sometimes complex and messy lives whilst exploring the challenging yet thrilling world of law.

The ensemble cast also includes Michelle Gomez, Derek Riddell, Laura Haddock, Daniela Nardini, Michael Nardone, Sally Howitt, Stuart Bowman and Stephen Purdon.

A Balloon Entertainment (Champion, Clique) production for BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Scotland, the series is co-created by Scottish writers Bryan Elsley (The Crow Road, Skins) and BBC Writers’ Drama Room graduate Gillian McCormack.

It is written and executive produced by Elsley and McCormack, with further episodes written by Maryam Hamidi (Vigil) and Jingan Young (Red Eye). Gaynor Holmes and Stephanie Fyfe are executive producers for the BBC with Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland and Daniel Donnelly and Dave Evans for Balloon.

The producer is Brian Kaczynski (Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, Mayflies) and the directors are Lynsey Miller (Surface S2, The Turkish Detective) and Siri Rødnes (Shetland, River City).

The series will be distributed by All3Media International.