Masterpiece and Paramount’s UK network 5 are returning to the Scottish Highlands that entered British audiences at the turn of this millennium.
They are behind a reimaging of Monarch of the Glen, the gentle BBC comedy-drama that ran between 2000 and 2005, starring Alastair Mackenzie as a young restaurateur trying to restore his childhood home.
The new version is made by the original producer, Ecosse Films, and Masterpiece PBS in association with Northern Ireland Screen and Banijay Rights, which is distributing the six-part series internationally. Production will take place in Scotland and Northern Ireland later this year. Development assistance came from The National Lottery through Screen Scotland.
The reboot will follow high-flying London lawyer Isla Campbell, who finds herself back at her family’s crumbling Highland estate for her estranged father’s funeral and discovers she has inherited a million-pound debt, a bank closing in, and a brother who refuses to let go of their ancestral home. Under the same roof for the first time in years, they have to find a way to save the struggling estate before time runs out. No word on casting right now.
Jeremy Brock (A Very Royal Scandal, The Last King of Scotland) has written and created the series, alongside writer Stephen Greenhorn (Sunshine on Leith, Dept. Q). Brock is executive producer alongside Tom Vaughan (Doctor Foster, Victoria), who is also director. Alex Boyd, Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae are the producers, with Rob Darnell and Adam Duncan the exec producers for Ecosse and Susanne Simpson is the same for Masterpiece.
Simpson, Head of Scripted Content at Masterpiece said: “I know the warmth, humor and romance in this new version of Monarch of the Glen is just what our American audience looks for in a Masterpiece series. I’m so delighted to bring Jeremy Brock’s excellent work and the beauty of the Highlands to U.S. television screens.”
“When I was offered the chance to re-imagine Monarch of the Glen, I leapt at it,” said Brock. “I’m hugely excited by the opportunity to tell a story of family life and finding your place in our hectic world – one that celebrates the warmth, humour and eccentricities of a special community, with both optimism and authenticity. Hope and joy are a currency in short supply right now, and the Highlands – one of the most magical places on Earth – felt like exactly the right home for them.”
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