Channel 4 Orders Bash Doran Spy Thriller

Channel 4 has commissioned Jerusalem (working title), a post-World War II thriller written and created by Bash Doran (Boardwalk Empire, Smash, Masters of Sex).

The 6×1-hour series is set in the aftermath of the Second World War and centers on a seismic moment in history, when Britain was struggling to define itself in a new world order. The central character is Feef Symonds, a bold and ambitious twentysomething woman who joins the Civil Service in 1945 and agrees to spy on her own government for the Americans.

The drama is being produced by 42 and Twenty Twenty Television, and it is co-funded by Channel 4 and all3media International.

Beth Willis, the head of drama at Channel 4, said: “Bash’s writing is so evocative and immersive you can’t help but to hold on tightly to her extraordinary and diverse cast of characters and never let them go. She has found contemporary resonance in the past at every turn. We are honored and excited that Bash and the brilliant 42 and Twenty Twenty will be bringing six hours of this insightful, epic and sweeping tale to Channel 4.”

Doran commented: “I’m so excited and privileged to be able to write this show with Channel 4, 42 and Twenty Twenty. It is my perspective on a defining moment in British history when the nation was divided and there was a fight for Britain’s soul. I left England for America not long after I graduated. This show has always been for me an exploration of why I left and my way of coming home.”

Executive producers Eleanor Moran, Tim Carter and Rory Aitken said: “We are hugely excited to be bringing Bash Doran’s first original series to the screen. Jerusalem (w/t) weaves a tense and emotionally charged spy thriller out of the surprisingly tortured relationship between Britain and America, which echoes down the decades and resonates more powerfully than ever in the era of Trump and Brexit. In Feef, Bash has created an extraordinarily modern heroine, who goes from government employee to reluctant traitor at a cost that she herself could never have imagined.”