ITV Commissions The Long Call Adaptation

ITV has commissioned the four-part The Long Call, inspired by the best-selling novel of the same name by Ann Cleeves.

The crime drama from Silverprint Pictures will be penned by Kelly Jones, whose screenwriting credits include Des and Baptiste. In it, Detective Inspector Matthew Venn has returned to live in a small community in North Devon with his husband, Jonathan, where he takes charge of his first major murder investigation.

Polly Hill, ITV’s head of drama, commented, “I’m delighted that ITV is working with Silverprint Pictures to bring another of Ann’s brilliant novels to screen. It’s very different to Vera, but I think audiences will take to DI Matthew Venn and this compelling story in the same way. Kelly has written a wonderful adaptation and this promises to be a really distinctive and original new crime series.”

Silverprint Pictures’ creative director, Kate Bartlett, will executive produce. She commented, “After almost a decade working together, we are thrilled to be continuing our creative partnership with Ann. The Long Call is a rich and deeply engrossing mystery with a whole host of new Cleeves characters led by the inimitable Matthew Venn. Just as the novel feels like a progression of Ann’s writing, this feels like the opportunity to create a unique and ambitious event crime drama with a wholly iconic character at its heart.”