'' is a
British Television drama serial, first broadcast on
BBC One in
2003 . Produced in-house by the
BBC , in association with independent production company
Endor Productions , it was written by
Paul Abbott , directed by
David Yates and starred
David Morrissey ,
John Simm ,
Polly Walker , and
Bill Nighy . It tells the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a young woman, and centres around the relationship between the leading journalist and his old friend, the woman's employer.
The serial begins with the assassination of a young man, apparently a drugs killing, and the at first coincidental death of Sonia Baker, the young researcher for
Member Of Parliament Stephen Collins (Morrissey). As the deaths are investigated by journalist Cal McAffrey of ''The Herald'' (Simm) and his colleagues (including
Kelly Macdonald as Della Smith and Nighy as editor Cameron Foster) it appears that not only were the deaths connected, but that a conspiracy links them with oil industry-backed corruption of high-ranking British government ministers.
as beleagured MP Stephen Collins.]]
However, the investigation takes another turn when McAffrey discovers that his friend Collins may be even more directly implicated in the death of Baker, with whom he was having an affair.
The serial was Paul Abbott's first attempt to write a political thriller, and he initially made the majority of the plot up as he went along. He was prompted to write the serial after BBC
Head Of Drama Jane Tranter asked whether he would rather write something "bigger" than he had usually written so far in his career. The serial was Abbott's third major writing project for the BBC, following ''
Clocking Off '' (2000-2003) and ''
Linda Green '' (2001-2002).
as reporter Cal McAffrey.]]
Transmitted on BBC One on Sunday evenings at 9pm, ''State of Play'' consisted of six one-hour episodes and ran from
May 18 to
June 22 2003 . Episodes two to five were actually premiered on the
Digital Television station
BBC Four at 10pm on the nights of the preceding episodes' BBC One showings – episode six was held back for a BBC One premiere so as not to allow the final twists to be spoiled for those who did not have access to digital television. In 2004, the serial ran in the
United States on the BBC's
BBC America cable channel.
In 2005 the serial was released on
DVD by
BBC Worldwide , in a two-disc set. Episode one features an
Audio Commentary from Abbott and Yates, and episode six a commentary from Yates, producer
Hilary Bevan-Jones and editor
Mark Day .
The success of the production led to Abbott being commissioned to write a sequel, which as of September 2005 is currently in production – it was commissioned before the first had even been transmitted, so impressed were BBC executives with the original. The second ''State of Play'' is believed to focus more on the popular newspaper characters of the first serial, particularly Bill Nighy's Cameron Foster. One of the reasons for the long gap between the first and second serials is due to actors such as Nighy being in high demand for other
Film and television work.
The first ''State of Play'' is currently being adapted into a feature film in the United States, with a condensed version of the original plotline, and the location changed to the US.
as newspaper editor Cameron Foster.]]
Reviewing the first episode for ''
The Guardian '' newspaper the day after it had aired,
Gareth McLean wrote that "...it's bloody magic. The story is gripping, the acting is ace and Paul Abbott's script is outstanding. His ear for dialogue, and for different voices, is exceptional. The exposition is swift, nifty and joyously unclunky. The characters are credible and rounded. If you can count the best dramas of recent years on the fingers of both hands, it's time to grow a new finger."
Other newspaper critics were similarly impressed with the opening instalment. In ''
The Times '',
Paul Hoggart wrote that "Two excellent performances
Morrissey and Simm ensure that the relationship has a turbulent dynamism that is credible and engaging."
James Walton in ''
The Daily Telegraph '' was more cautious, feeling that the opening episode had been promising but the serial as a whole still had the potential to go wrong. "At this stage however, the programme is certainly good enough to make me hope not and to ensure that I'll be back next week to find out."
The consensus appeared to be that the serial did maintain its quality to the end. Previewing episode four,
Jonathan Wright of ''The Guide'' section in ''The Guardian'' described it as "A political conspiracy thriller that's as buttock-clenchingly tense as ''
Edge Of Darkness '', as cynical about the British political system as ''
House Of Cards '', and stands comparisons to both." The television critic of ''
The Independent '',
Thomas Sutcliffe , wrote of the final episode: "I'm not sure that a thriller can end in anything other than anti- climax. If it has been good you're sad it's over, and if it ends badly you're quite likely to feel that you've been duped. Paul Abbott's ''State of Play'', which has had me swallowing double doses on a Sunday evening whenever the schedules allowed, left us with the first kind of let-down rather than the second."
Bill Nighy won the
British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role. The series also won BAFTAs for Best Sound (Fiction/Entertainment) and Best Editing (Fiction/Entertainment). It was nominated, but did not win, in the Best Actor category again, for Morrissey; in the Best Drama Serial category; Best Original Television Music and Best Photography and Lighting. It also won major awards from the
Royal Television Society ,
Banff Television Festival ,
Broadcasting Press Guild ,
Cologne Conference ,
Directors Guild Of Great Britain ,
Edgar Allan Poe Awards , and the
Monte Carlo TV Festival .
