"State of Play" (2003) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes you have to read between the lines

Plot:

A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage drug dealer is shot dead.

Plot Keywords:

Politician | Corruption | Murder | Investigative Reporter | Newspaper

Awards:

14 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

John Simm	...	Cal McCaffrey (6 episodes, 2003)
David Morrissey	...	Stephen Collins (6 episodes, 2003)
Kelly Macdonald	...	Della Smith (6 episodes, 2003)
Bill Nighy	...	Cameron Foster (6 episodes, 2003)
Amelia Bullmore	...	Helen Preger (6 episodes, 2003)
Benedict Wong	...	Pete Cheng (6 episodes, 2003)
Rebekah Staton	...	Liz (6 episodes, 2003)
Philip Glenister	...	DCI William Bell (6 episodes, 2003)
Polly Walker	...	Anne Collins (6 episodes, 2003)
James McAvoy	...	Dan Foster (5 episodes, 2003)
Marc Warren	...	Dominic Foy (5 episodes, 2003)
Michael Feast	...	Andrew Wilson (5 episodes, 2003)
Johann Myers	...	Sonny Stagg (5 episodes, 2003)
Tom Burke	...	Syd (4 episodes, 2003)
Deborah Findlay	...	Greer Thornton (4 episodes, 2003)
James Laurenson	...	George Fergus (4 episodes, 2003)
Christopher Simpson	...	Adam Greene (4 episodes, 2003)
Maureen Hibbert	...	Olicia Stagg (4 episodes, 2003)
Sean Gilder	...	Sergeant 'Chewy' Cheweski / ... (3 episodes, 2003)
Shauna Macdonald	...	Sonia Baker (3 episodes, 2003)
Stuart Goodwin	...	Robert Bingham (3 episodes, 2003)
Charlie Ryan	...	Louis Collins (3 episodes, 2003)
Rebecca Ryan	...	Karen Collins (3 episodes, 2003)
Patrick Brennan	...	Neil Woods (3 episodes, 2003)

Runtime:

57 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | UK:15 (5 episodes) | UK:12 (1 episode) | Australia:MA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The set of the House of Commons chamber is the same one that was a part of Granada Studios Tour. It was purchased personally by the scriptwriter Paul Abbott so it could used in the drama otherwise it would have been destroyed when the Tour closed and he feared it would take too long to get the necessary money from the BBC. It is currently kept in storage in Oxford.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Top Gear: (2006-05-21)" (2006)

Perhaps the best political suspense series I have seen.

It is not often that really good series based on politics, suspense and a bit of romance + comedy hit our idiot boxes. However, State of Play manages to do all this with such finesse that I was left spellbound. What starts of as a simple murder case becomes so huge that it really boggles the mind. And at all time, it does not seem one bit over-stretched or silly. Add to this three subplots and what you have is a series that is of immense viewing pleasure. All in a runtime of just 300 minutes.

If you want your TV series to be intelligent, do yourself a favour and watch this series. Now.