In bemusing news to your writer, who lives in Lincoln, ITV has confirmed that its new police series Wild Bill will star erstwhile Brat Pack member Rob Lowe (The West Wing, Code Black) and be set in Boston, Lincolnshire.
The new 6-episode series has yet to cast its other roles, but Lowe has been revealed as its lead. It’s set to be somewhat of a ‘fish out of water’ tale as Lowe’s crime-fighting US police chief gets Doc Hollywood-ed and ends up on the East coast of England for much longer than he planned.
Here’s a synopsis, courtesy of ITV:
“With a first class degree in Criminology, a Masters in Psychopathology and a Doctorate in Statistical Mapping, Bill Hixon is impressively qualified to tackle the county’s crime figures with his graphs, charts, algorithms and a tapestry of digits. Whip-smart, acerbic and unstoppable, Bill is very good at what he does. America’s Top Metropolitan Police Chief three years running is the ideal candidate to make his mark on the East Lincolnshire Force, not least by driving through drastic cuts. From the outset Bill isn’t about making friends. He’s here to get the job done and get the hell out as quick as his spin-class-toned legs will carry him.
“But Bill discovers the people of Boston are just as smart-mouthed, cynical and difficult to impress as he is. They don’t suffer fools, authority or algorithms gladly. And the man who’s spent his life keeping the messiness of human intimacy at arm’s length is reluctantly propelled into frontline policing and forced to reconsider his relationship with those closest to him. It’s funny and dangerous in equal measure.”
Before you ask, yes, Brexit will loom large in the new drama, as confirmed by Wild Bill‘s showrunners, but Boston certainly isn’t the sleepy Lincolnshire town of a faded postcard. In 2016, it was revealed that it had become the murder capital of the UK, and the worst rated for migrant integration, so Lowe will likely have enough to keep him busy there.
“Wild Bill gives us an chance to write about modern Britain and modern crime through unique eyes. We wrote this for Rob Lowe, for his smart-talking, anarchic, soulful voice”, said co-creators Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton. “Displacing Rob in Brexit Britain and specifically in Boston, Lincolnshire allows us to tell stories that are leftfield and unexpected. We wanted to write something that couldn’t take place anywhere else, or at any other time.”
The good folks over at TVWise have speculated that Lowe’s character could potentially be a ‘stand-in’ for Boston Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who also had a unique amount of success bringing the CompStat systen to the New York Police Department. Former Home Secretary Theresa May notoriously nixed him as Met Commissioner back in 2011.
Filming on Wild Bill will get underway in London and in Boston, Lincolnshire in November. It looks like one to watch.
More as we get it.