Nemesis (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Nemesis is an upcoming British espionage
series by the independent production company Kudos
, in association with Big Light Productions
for BBC One
and American premium cable broadcaster, HBO (for Cinemax
).
Australian actress Melissa George
(Grey's Anatomy
, Alias
, The Slap
) stars as Samantha, an espionage operative for a private intelligence agency. After an attempt on her life she realizes that it probably had been orchestrated by members of her own squad. After recovering and back in active duty, she must perform her secret missions without knowing who to trust and who wants her dead.
George
has said Nemesis is the "role of a lifetime". It will require the New York
-based actress to move to London
for six months of the year.
English actor Adam Rayner
(Hawthorne
, Mistresses) will portray Adian, Sam’s colleague at the firm and love interest.
Additional cast includes Stephen Dillane
(Game Of Thrones
), Morven Christie
(The Sinking of the Laconia
) Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
(Lost
, Strike Back
), Lex Shrapnel
(Captain America: The First Avenger
), Uriel Emil (Criminal Justice
), Patrick Malahide
(Five Days
, Game Of Thrones
), Stephen Campbell Moore
(Johnny English Reborn
, History Boys) and Oscar Kennedy (Toast
).
The series was created by Frank Spotnitz
(best known as Executive Producer and head writer for X-Files) who will write the eight episodes that will serve a season 1. Spotnitz is executive producing Nemesis with Kudos’ Stephen Garrett (executive producer of Law & Order: UK, Spooks/MI5
plus feature films Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
and Eastern Promises), Jane Featherstone (producer behind Spooks/MI5
, The Hour, Life on Mars
), Alison Jackson (Ashes to Ashes
, Eternal Law) and for BBC's
Christopher Aird (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
, Spooks/MI5
).
S.J. Clarkson will direct the series. Clarkson has worked on many British television series such as Life on Mars
, Whitechapel
and Hustle
as well as some episodes of US shows (Dexter
, Heroes
and House M.D.).
Filming has started on location in Scotland
, London
and Morocco
.
. They asked him to come to England
and work with British
television. Spotnitz had lived in Europe
before and was interested in returning. He claims the ideas was appealing but it simply never happened. The years passed and Spotnitz was talking to talking with X-Files star Gillian Anderson
who was visiting Los Angeles
from London
, were she lives and she said 'Would you ever consider doing a show (in England)?' Spotnitz started talking to her about doing a spy series and then the first call he made was to Stephen Garrett since the two lost touch. 'You know the idea of doing a show in England
? I think I may finally have it.'
On January 13, 2011 the BBC announced the show, then called Morton. Gillian Anderson
is no longer attached to the show. It took Spotnitz and Kudos
longer than estimated to get a “yes” from BBC
and by then, Anderson was too busy with other projects.
Spotnitz relocated to London
with his family. While trying to get Nemesis/Morton off the ground, he served as co-producer and head writer for Strike Back: Project Dawn
(or just Strike Back in the United States), a co-production between British
broadcaster, BSkyB (for Sky1) and American premium cable broadcaster, HBO (for Cinemax
).
On September 22, 2011 reports confirmed that HBO/Cinemax
would come on board as co-producers and that the name Morton had been scrapped and the new name was Nemesis.
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
series by the independent production company Kudos
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
, in association with Big Light Productions
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz is an award-winning American television writer and producer, best known for his work on The X-Files television series.-Biography:...
for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and American premium cable broadcaster, HBO (for Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
).
Australian actress Melissa George
Melissa George
Melissa Suzanne George is an Australian film and television actress who has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Melissa is perhaps best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away...
(Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
, The Slap
The Slap (TV series)
The Slap is an Australian television drama series produced by Matchbox Pictures for ABC1, screening each Thursday night at 8:30pm in October and November 2011 - repeats air the following night each week on ABC2...
) stars as Samantha, an espionage operative for a private intelligence agency. After an attempt on her life she realizes that it probably had been orchestrated by members of her own squad. After recovering and back in active duty, she must perform her secret missions without knowing who to trust and who wants her dead.
George
Melissa George
Melissa Suzanne George is an Australian film and television actress who has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Melissa is perhaps best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away...
has said Nemesis is the "role of a lifetime". It will require the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based actress to move to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for six months of the year.
English actor Adam Rayner
Adam Rayner
Adam Rayner is an English actor, who has appeared on television in Mistresses, At Home with the Braithwaites and Making Waves. He has also appeared on stage in The Rivals , Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing .-Filmography:* Making Waves, TV Series, 2004* The Line of Beauty...
(Hawthorne
Hawthorne (TV series)
Hawthorne is an hour-long medical drama on the TNT television network starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Vartan. It premiered on June 16, 2009. On Thursday, September 16, 2010 it was announced that Hawthorne has been renewed for a third season consisting of 10 episodes...
, Mistresses) will portray Adian, Sam’s colleague at the firm and love interest.
Additional cast includes Stephen Dillane
Stephen Dillane
Stephen J. Dillane is an English actor. He won a Tony Award for his lead performance in Tom Stoppard's play The Real Thing.-Early life:...
(Game Of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
), Morven Christie
Morven Christie
-Life and career:Morven Christie grew up in Glasgow and Aviemore. She studied acting at the Drama Centre London, under Reuven Adiv, an associate of Lee Strasberg. She graduated in 2003. Christie has worked on stage, film and television drama since...
(The Sinking of the Laconia
The Sinking of the Laconia
The Sinking of the Laconia is a two-part TV film, first aired on 6 and 7 January 2011 on BBC Two, about the Laconia incident; the sinking of the former British ocean liner RMS Laconia during World War II by a German U-boat, which then, together with three other U-boats and an Italian submarine,...
) Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
(Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, Strike Back
Strike Back: Project Dawn
Strike Back: Project Dawn, as it is known in the United Kingdom is a ten-part British-American action television serial, and is the second series of Strike Back. However the only cast member to return from the original series was Richard Armitage in the first episode...
), Lex Shrapnel
Lex Shrapnel
-Early life:Shrapnel was born in London, the son of Francesca Ann and actor John Shrapnel. He is the brother of actor/producer Tom Shrapnel and writer Joe Shrapnel and the grandson of Academy Award-nominated Scottish actress Deborah Kerr...
(Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
), Uriel Emil (Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice (TV series)
Criminal Justice is a British television drama series produced by the BBC and first shown in 2008. Written by Peter Moffat, each five-episode series follows the journey of an individual through the justice system and was first broadcast over five successive nights on BBC One.The first series, first...
), Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...
(Five Days
Five Days
Five Days is a British dramatic television series produced by the BBC in association with Home Box Office . The first series was first broadcast on BBC One from 23 January to 1 February 2007, and repeated on BBC Four from 9 April to 13 April 2007....
, Game Of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
), Stephen Campbell Moore
Stephen Campbell Moore
Stephen Campbell Moore is an English actor, best known for his roles in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys and its subsequent film.-Career:...
(Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 British spy comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre and film franchise reboots. The film is the sequel to Johnny English , and stars Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker. The film has a slightly...
, History Boys) and Oscar Kennedy (Toast
Toast (film)
Toast is a British TV film directed by S.J. Clarkson, and based on cookery writer Nigel Slater's autobiographical novel of the same name....
).
The series was created by Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz is an award-winning American television writer and producer, best known for his work on The X-Files television series.-Biography:...
(best known as Executive Producer and head writer for X-Files) who will write the eight episodes that will serve a season 1. Spotnitz is executive producing Nemesis with Kudos’ Stephen Garrett (executive producer of Law & Order: UK, Spooks/MI5
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
plus feature films Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is an upcoming British comedy film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor and Kristin Scott Thomas. The screenplay is by Simon Beaufoy, based on a novel of the same name by Paul Torday. Principal photography began on August 6, 2010 and was...
and Eastern Promises), Jane Featherstone (producer behind Spooks/MI5
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, The Hour, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
), Alison Jackson (Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
, Eternal Law) and for BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Christopher Aird (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers...
, Spooks/MI5
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
).
S.J. Clarkson will direct the series. Clarkson has worked on many British television series such as Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, Whitechapel
Whitechapel (TV series)
Whitechapel is a three-part British television drama series produced by Carnival Films, which first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and which dealt with the murders of Jack the Ripper....
and Hustle
Hustle (TV series)
Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
as well as some episodes of US shows (Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
and House M.D.).
Filming has started on location in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
Development
When Spotnitz had wrapped up X-Files he met Stephen Garrett and Jane Featherstone of Kudos Film and TelevisionKudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
. They asked him to come to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and work with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television. Spotnitz had lived in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
before and was interested in returning. He claims the ideas was appealing but it simply never happened. The years passed and Spotnitz was talking to talking with X-Files star Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
who was visiting Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, were she lives and she said 'Would you ever consider doing a show (in England)?' Spotnitz started talking to her about doing a spy series and then the first call he made was to Stephen Garrett since the two lost touch. 'You know the idea of doing a show in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
? I think I may finally have it.'
On January 13, 2011 the BBC announced the show, then called Morton. Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
is no longer attached to the show. It took Spotnitz and Kudos
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
longer than estimated to get a “yes” from BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and by then, Anderson was too busy with other projects.
Spotnitz relocated to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his family. While trying to get Nemesis/Morton off the ground, he served as co-producer and head writer for Strike Back: Project Dawn
Strike Back: Project Dawn
Strike Back: Project Dawn, as it is known in the United Kingdom is a ten-part British-American action television serial, and is the second series of Strike Back. However the only cast member to return from the original series was Richard Armitage in the first episode...
(or just Strike Back in the United States), a co-production between British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
broadcaster, BSkyB (for Sky1) and American premium cable broadcaster, HBO (for Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
).
On September 22, 2011 reports confirmed that HBO/Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
would come on board as co-producers and that the name Morton had been scrapped and the new name was Nemesis.