Tom Hollander and Niamh Algar are set to lead “Iris,” a new Sky Original drama from “Luther” creator Neil Cross. It is a Sky Studios and Fremantle co-production.
“‘Iris’ is a sun-drenched chase thriller about a rootless and enigmatic genius, Iris Nixon who steals a code from charming philanthropist Cameron McIntyre and goes on the run,” reads the logline. “Armed only with her lethal intelligence and chameleonic charm, the clock is ticking for her to work out what the code could unleash before she is found.”
Algar (“Mary & George”) stars as Nixon, a social media manager and puzzle addict who spends her free time solving complex riddles. When she stumbles across a post online about a highly secretive code, she puts herself forward to try and crack it – leading her straight to Cameron McIntyre (Hollander). But all is not as it seems and — realizing she has unwittingly unlocked a powerful new technology for McIntyre to use at will — Iris decides to steal it and disappear, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase with the philanthropist that spans the globe.
“All I wanted to do was to make a show I wanted to watch,” said Cross. “‘Iris’ is an unapologetically exciting, witty, chase-driven adventure show and features a lead character the like of which I don’t think we’ve ever met before on TV. With Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander bringing these complex characters to life, coupled with Terry McDonough’s direction, I couldn’t be more excited to share this world and these characters.”
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“Breaking Bad” director Terry McDonough is lead director on the series, which also stars Meréana Tomlinson (“The Trials”), Sacha Dhawan (“The Great”), Maya Sansa (“Good Morning Night”), Peter Sullivan (“Poldark”) and Debi Mazar (“Younger”). Production kicks off this month in Sardinia, Italy with Sarah O’Gorman also directing.
Tim Bricknell is series producer while Susan E. Connolly and Ian Scott McCullough are on the writing team. Neil Cross and Terry McDonough exec produce alongside Dante Di Loreto and Jenni Sherwood for Fremantle and Adrian Sturges for Sky Studios. Wildside is providing production services in Italy.
“Iris” will drop on Sky and streaming platform Now in the U.K. and select European countries. Fremantle are repping international sales.