HAMBURG DAYS: BBC ACQUIRES UPCOMING BEATLES DRAMA, CASTING ANNOUNCED

The BBC has acquired Hamburg Days, a forthcoming drama series recounting The Beatles’ early days as a band for BBC iPlayer and BBC One from Turbine Studios. The six-part series is a W&B Television (a LEONINE Company) and Turbine Studios production for ZDF, the BBC and AGC Television.

Based on the autobiography by Klaus Voormann, who is also a consultant on the series, Hamburg Days is set in the early 1960s. In the smoke-filled clubs of Hamburg’s St. Pauli’s red-light district, an inexperienced young rock ‘n’ roll band from Liverpool collide with two young artists, Klaus Voormann and Astrid Kirchherr.

Together they help spark a transformation that turns a scrappy group of teenagers into the greatest music phenomenon the world has ever known: The Beatles.

Hamburg Days was developed by Benjamin Benedict (Generation War) and Jamie Carragher (Succession) serves as head writer. Renowned German director Christian Schwochow (The Crown) is the showrunner, whilst Mat Whitecross – known for his acclaimed collaborations with Coldplay (Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams) and Oasis (Oasis: Supersonic) will direct. The music in the series will be curated by producer and BAFTA-winner David Holmes (Killing Eve, Ocean’s franchise).

Sue Deeks, Head of Scripted Pre-buy Acquisitions at the BBC, says: “Hamburg Days is the fascinating story of how, in the space of two short years, a raw young band from Liverpool honed their music skills in Hamburg, before returning home to become an overnight worldwide success. It is an incredible story, accompanied (of course) by an amazing soundtrack!”

Benjamin Benedict, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann of W&B Television, Andrew Eaton and Justin Thomson of Turbine Studios and AGC’s Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz and Miguel A. Palos Jr. are Executive Producers. Isabel Haug of W&B Television serves as a creative producer. At ZDF, the project is overseen by Frank Zervos, Caroline von Senden, and Alexandra Staib. Hamburg Days (6x50’) is supported by MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein.

AGC International will handle worldwide sales excluding the UK (BBC) and Germany (ZDF).