
Channel 4 has renewed the Lesley Sharp-fronted crime thriller “Before We Die” — an English adaptation of a Swedish series, produced by the team behind Walter Presents.
Sharp will return as detective Hannah Laing, who joins forces with maverick detective Billy Murdoch (Vincent Regan) in a desperate bid to protect her son Christian (Gibson). Season 2 won’t follow the same storyline as its Swedish counterpart, which aired in 2019, but will see Hannah pitched directly against Dubravka, played by Kazia Pelka, the matriarch at the head of the Mimica Croatian crime family.
The adaptation is produced by Eagle Eye Drama, which was formed in late 2019 by Walter Iuzzolino, Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp, the creative team behind the global drama company Walter Presents. Channel 4 has a minority stake in the outfit, which began as the international drama showcase for the broadcaster and has since grown into an international niche streamer.
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Reflecting on the show, Sharp told Variety: “Caroline Hollick reminded me of a conversation we had years before we were both involved with ‘Before We Die.’ We were on a TV panel, somewhere, discussing female presence on screen and within the industry as a whole.
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“‘Wouldn’t it be great,’ we had said to each other, ‘if a time came when stories where women were the heroes, at the epicentre of drama, were not required to be in service to a lover, to domesticity, to being the side show fixer of emotional, spiritual or physical pain. Wouldn’t it be great if that became a norm rather than an aberration?'”
Sharp said “Before We Die” is “one such story.”
“Hannah is also the story of an older woman who remains proactive, engaged with the world and will not give up — like a lot of older women, like a lot of older women we all know,” she added.
Channel 4 head of drama Caroline Hollick, who co-commissioned the series, said: “I’m delighted to welcome back this gripping crime thriller to the channel. Series 1 struck a chord with audiences, with over 12 million viewers tuned into the show on All 4 — from the edge of their seats. I can’t wait for audiences to enter back into this world — with more surprises, twists and turns in store and I’m delighted to have Lesley Sharp back at the helm playing the formidable Hannah Laing, along with the rest of our brilliant cast.”
Jo McGrath, executive producer and CCO of Eagle Eye Drama, added: “‘Before We Die’ proved to be an irresistible boxset sensation for U.K. audiences and the second season will return with more fast paced action sequences and plenty more dramatic plot twists. So very rarely at the centre of crime thrillers, women this time round will be pulling all the strings, leading to a breath-taking climax to the series.”
The series is produced by Eagle Eye Drama in association with Caviar and is supported by the Belgian tax shelter via Caviar Film Financing. PBS Distribution holds the North American rights and ZDF Enterprises will distribute the series worldwide.
Season 1 of “Before We Die” has more than 12 million views on Channel 4 catch-up service All 4. The show will premiere in the U.S. on PBS on March 20.
The show was co-commissioned by Gwawr Lloyd. Season 2 will be directed by Carolina Giammetta (“The Drowning,” “Hollington Drive”), written by Mark Evans (“That Mitchell and Webb Look”) and will be filmed in Bristol and Belgium this year with McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino as executive producers.
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