Dead and Buried’s Benjamin McGrath

The upcoming four-part psychological thriller Dead and Buried, starring Annabel Scholey (The Split, The Serial Killer’s Wife) and Colin Morgan (Humans, Belfast) and written by novelist Colin Bateman, follows along as schoolteacher Cathy Martin bumps into a stranger out shopping with his son. What would be a small moment turns into a deep spiral, as Martin recognizes the man to be the drug dealer who killed her brother when she was a girl. Produced by Three River Fiction and Vico Films with support from Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and Coimisiún na Meán, the series is set to debut on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland on September 2. Benjamin McGrath, head of drama for Three River Fiction and executive producer of Dead and Buried, speaks with TV Drama about audiences’ insatiable appetite for crime; the ins, outs and benefits of creative financing and co-producing; and the value of a show’s entertainment factor above all.

TV DRAMA: How does Dead and Buried tap into current audience appetites for thrillers and crime content?
MCGRATH: During the show’s development, writer Colin Bateman recalled a night when he was approached in the Playhouse Theatre bar by a member of the audience who told him the same thing happened to them. They were walking down the street when they came face-to-face with the person who had killed someone they knew. Recently released from prison, here they were, free to live their life with impunity. Colin’s retelling struck a chord.

Dead and Buried treads the line between real crime and scripted thriller. It’s fictional but reflects real people’s real experiences. It asks: What would you do? Could you forgive? Do you turn the other cheek? Would you seek revenge? Audiences are increasingly looking for shows that make them think, shows that tap into a zeitgeist. Appetites shift like sand, but a good story is a good story. Dead and Buried goes to some dark places, but it will also make the audience laugh and keep them guessing to the very end.

TV DRAMA: What goes into producing a series that features complex psychological themes?
MCGRATH: As producers, we have a responsibility to truthfully reflect the realities of those struggling with mental health. Complex issues such as PTSD and bipolar [disorder] need to be portrayed with sensitivity and integrity. Dead and Buried tells the story of two people with indelibly linked lives, pulled back together in the most unlikely circumstances. The seismic moment opens old wounds and lays bare unresolved issues, leading to a series of poor decisions, so there’s an organic interdependency between the story and the psychology. There’s high drama, but it’s not gratuitous or casually provocative. Cathy’s spent much of her adult life managing complex emotions, triggered by the death of her brother. Michael has spent much of his adult life struggling to reconcile his past. Director Laura Way and the producing team worked closely with the cast to understand the themes we were exploring, ensuring their portrayals were emotionally truthful. The result is a story that is as recognizable as it is compelling. Despite going into some darkly dialed-up places, it stays faithful to the original material and respects the issues.

TV DRAMA: Talk to me about co-producing the series with Irish partners and the opportunities this offers. How does Dead and Buried represent some of the successful ways Ireland and the U.K. can work together on strategic co-productions?
MCGRATH: I knew that, as a mainland U.K. company, we’d need to co-produce. I set out early on to unlock regional funding opportunities, establish creative partnerships and explore alternative financing. Co-production is the only viable future for many producers, and this show is a testament to strategic collaboration.

As a location, Ireland takes a lot of beating. You can shoot in the mountains in the morning and on the coast in the afternoon. It has an amazing community of talented filmmakers, many of whom I was lucky enough to work with on Dead and Buried. Vico Films, producer of the wonderfully irreverent BBC comedy The Young Offenders, was brilliant and highly supportive from the start. [The team] brought a wealth of local knowledge and local talent to the table. Their involvement also unlocked healthy tax credits and regional finance; without both we would not have been able to make the show.

TV DRAMA: In that vein, can we dig deeper into the collaboration between BBC Northern Ireland and Virgin Media Television in association with All3Media International? What were some of the benefits of working together, both financially and creatively?
MCGRATH: It’s impossible to pick up a trade paper in 2024 that doesn’t feature at least one article discussing the merits of strategic co-production. Quite simply, it’s the future for many producers, and we’re no different. Dead and Buried is unique. It’s a story written by a Northern Irish writer, set on the border, development funded by Northern Ireland Screen, commissioned by Virgin Media Ireland and BBC Northern Ireland, with further finance from Screen Ireland and Coimisiún na Meán in association with All3Media International. It’s quite the assembly of partners. Despite the obvious financial benefits, it’s been an incredibly rewarding creative collaboration, and the series is stronger for it. I keep being asked if I’d co-produce in this way again, and my answer is: Absolutely. I’m unlikely to produce in any other way. It’s the smartest route to getting stuff made and, arguably, the most fun.

TV DRAMA: What did you pull from your past experience working on titles like HBO’s Trackers? What have you seen consistently work in this genre, and what’s fresh and unique to this series
MCGRATH: Trackers is a multi-narrative South African saga with diamond smuggling and car chases. Dead and Buried is about a schoolteacher who, on a normal Saturday morning, literally bumps into the man who killed her brother. Common to both is a good story and characters who, after spending the briefest amount of time with, you strangely invest in. Consistent across both is great writing, strong performances and talented filmmakers behind the camera, but above all, they’re entertaining.

One of my favorite films is Gladiator. In Ridley Scott’s period epic, Russell Crowe pointedly asks the baying mob of Rome if they’re not entertained. It’s a story set two and a half thousand years ago, but the message is the same. Television must be consistently entertaining, regardless of genre. If it’s not, the audience will switch off and do something else.