Wolf has sold a project to HBO about a RAND-like think tank on a mission to prevent a nuclear explosion.
Francois Durand/Getty ImagesLONDON – U.K. TV giant ITV said Thursday it has ordered season eight of Law & Order: UK, starring Bradley Walsh, Georgia Taylor, Paterson Joseph and Dominic Rowan.
The show from the Kudos banner of 21st Century Fox’s Elisabeth Murdoch-led Shine Group is based on the U.S. hit franchise from Dick Wolf.
Filming of the latest eight-episode series will begin in London next month and air on ITV next year.
Law & Order has been one of the most successful brands in U.S. primetime TV “and has become a firm favorite with the ITV audience since first broadcasting in 2009,” ITV highlighted.
Season seven aired earlier this year and won its time slot on every occasion. It beat out BBC/Starz period drama The White Queen. The season reached an average audience of 5.4 million viewers and a share of 21.3 percent of the U.K. TV audience watching at the time. That was an increase over the previous season, according to ITV.
Walsh plays Detective Sergeant Ronnie Brooks in the ITV hit, while Rowan plays Chief Prosecutor Jacob Thorne. Taylor (Coronation Street) and Joseph (Peep Show) joined the cast last season as a prosecutor and police officer, respectively.
They will be joined in the new season by new colleague Detective Sergeant Joe Hawkins played by Ben Bailey Smith (Derek).
The new season will be produced by Jane Dauncey (Stella, Casualty), and Alison Jackson and Jane Featherstone will executive produce for Kudos.
Said ITV head of drama series Jane Hudson: “It’s a much loved drama amongst our audience, and they certainly won’t be disappointed by what’s in store for them this series.”
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
