Age of Stupid team making police spies drama

The team behind environmental drama doc Age of Stupid are raising finance for Undercovers, a new project about police spies who infiltrate protest groups.

Spanner Films’ Franny Armstrong and producer Lizzie Gillett raised £900,000 (US$1.5 million) in crowd-funding finance to make Age of Stupid, which went on to top the UK box office. A £150,000 first round of financing for Undercovers is complete and a larger round, seeking £3 million, gets underway in April.

The new drama series is being set up as a four-parter and Slumdog Millionaire and Hunger Games: Catching Fire writer Simon Beaufoy. Franny Armstrong, and Alice Nutter, the former singer with pop band Chumbawumba will also contribute to the script.

The scripted project is especially topical following last week’s news that UK home secretary Theresa May has announced a full judge-led public inquiry into the kind of secret policing operations that form the basis of the plot for Undercovers.

Beaufoy said: “This true story of love, politics and betrayal has more drama, suspense and moral complexity than anything we writers can ever dream up. I think it has the potential to be a smash hit in the UK and abroad.”