State of Play (2003– )

A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage pickpocket is shot dead.

Stars:

John Simm, Kelly Macdonald, Bill Nighy

16 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
John Simm	...	Cal McCaffrey (6 episodes, 2003)
Kelly Macdonald	...	Della Smith (6 episodes, 2003)
Bill Nighy	...	Cameron Foster (6 episodes, 2003)
Philip Glenister	...	DCI William Bell (6 episodes, 2003)
David Morrissey	...	Stephen Collins (6 episodes, 2003)
James McAvoy	...	Dan Foster (6 episodes, 2003)
Amelia Bullmore	...	Helen Preger (6 episodes, 2003)
Benedict Wong	...	Pete Cheng (6 episodes, 2003)
Marc Warren	...	Dominic Foy (6 episodes, 2003)
Rebekah Staton	...	Liz (6 episodes, 2003)
Polly Walker	...	Anne Collins (6 episodes, 2003)
Michael Feast	...	Andrew Wilson (5 episodes, 2003)
Johann Myers	...	Sonny Stagg (5 episodes, 2003)
Tom Burke	...	Syd (4 episodes, 2003)
Maureen Hibbert	...	Olicia Stagg (4 episodes, 2003)
James Laurenson	...	George Fergus (4 episodes, 2003)
Deborah Findlay	...	Greer Thornton (4 episodes, 2003)
Christopher Simpson	...	Adam Greene (4 episodes, 2003)
Sean Gilder	...	Sergeant 'Chewy' Cheweski (3 episodes, 2003)
Shauna Macdonald	...	Sonia Baker (3 episodes, 2003)
Rebecca Ryan	...	Karen Collins (3 episodes, 2003)
Charlie Ryan	...	Louis Collins (3 episodes, 2003)
Stuart Goodwin	...	Robert Bingham (3 episodes, 2003)
Patrick Brennan	...	Neil Woods (3 episodes, 2003)

Storyline

A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage pickpocket is shot dead.

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Plot Keywords:

politician | manchester | deception | friendship | forbidden love | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes you have to read between the lines

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Den tredje makten

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Endor Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min 57 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The set of the House of Commons chamber is the same one that was a part of Granada Studios Tour. It was purchased personally by the scriptwriter Paul Abbott so it could used in the drama otherwise it would have been destroyed when the Tour closed and he feared it would take too long to get the necessary money from the BBC. It is currently kept in storage in Oxford.

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Quotes

Stephen Collins: SPOILER:
[seated on the steps of Cal McCaffrey's house, as Cal is walking away]
Stephen Collins: You're no good to Anne now... Your name will be on the story... You'd know if you had them... Kids... They shoot the messenger... They just do

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Connections

Remade as State of Play (2009)

User Reviews

State of the nation, state of the art

What makes a good political thriller? Some things are obvious. Firstly, strong believable characters. Secondly, a fast-paced, complex, dazzling plot. But the plot must resolve into something comprehensible - there may appear to be one hundred mysteries, but beneath the smoke and mirrors, there must be one story. Anyone can write an infinite collection of coincidences and conspiracies - but a strong story makes simple sense in the end. Finally, a political drama needs to say something authentic about the current state of the world. If the final conclusion is that the Prime Minister has a prediliction for drinking the blood of teenage girls, then however plausible this is made to seem, an opportunity has been lost - if politics really is the subject matter, and not just the setting, then the personal drama must make some wider political point. Paul Abbott's 'State of Play' succeeds gloriously on all these points, and confirms his reputation as among the the sharpest writers in British television today.

Director David Yates also deserves credit, for keeping the mood tense but unmelodramatic throughout, while the cast show uniform excellence in bringing Abbott's characters to life. Abbott has commented that he knew he would have failed if any of his (largely journalistic) heroes could be sumarised as "mavericks" - a simple lesson ignored by ninety percent of writers today. Instead we have real, three-dimensional portrayals. What's especially impressive is how well the female characters are realised - neither passive decoration nor kick-ass post-feminists, but believable, not necessarily glamorous women - the contrast between the sexes has a low-key ring of truth. David Morrissey as the MP around whom the storm breaks is also excellent - when politicians are held in universally low stock, 'State of Play' avoids all the easiest shots. If one of the tragedy of politics is that many of its protagonists are first rate idiots, another is what it makes out of those who are not. Morrissey's Stephen Collins is never sympathetic, and yet comes across as the sort of man you might almost choose to try and run the country. Paul Abbott, meanwhile, is certainly the sort of man you'd choose to write a drama. In 'State of Play', he has produced the best British TV series since 'Holding On'.