Idris Elba and ‘American Crime’ Creator John Ridley Launch Showtime Miniseries About Activism in 1970’s London
Actor Idris Elba has kept himself very busy in the last year. Apart from his starring role in the British crime drama “Luther,” he has had impressive turns in a diverse array of films like “Beasts of No Nation,” “Zootopia,” and most recently “The Jungle Book.” Now, Showtime has announced a new six-episode miniseries “Guerrilla” starring Elba and with “American Crime” creator John Ridley at the helm. “Guerrilla” will follow a 1970’s London couple who liberates a political prisoner and joins a radical underground cell that targets the Special Branch’s Black Power Desk, a counter-intelligence unit dedicated to eliminating all forms of black activism. The series will be broadcast on Showtime in the U.S. and on Sky Atlantic in the U.K.
Though John Ridley’s most recent work has been with his critically-acclaimed ABC anthology crime drama “American Crime,” he garnered quite a bit of acclaim for his screenplay for “12 Years A Slave,” for which he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the David O. Russell film “Three Kings” and the George Lucas-produced “Red Tails,” about the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.
Idris Elba first came to prominence with his performance as drug kingpin Stringer Bell in the HBO series “The Wire” and has gone on to have a very successful career in film and TV, including prominent roles in “28 Weeks Later,” “Prometheus,” “Pacific Rim,” and the “Thor” movies.
Production is set to begin on “Guerrilla” in London late this summer.
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