Netflix has greenlit a new U.K. drama from “The Gold” showrunner Neil Forsyth based on a jaw-dropping true story about a bunch of Customs employees who went undercover to infiltrate some of Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.
Titled “Legends,” the six-part series follows a thrilling criminal investigation based on Forsyth’s extensive research and interviews with those involved.
“In the early 1990s, at the height of the international war on drugs, the government agency in charge of Britain’s borders, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, realized that they were losing the battle against drug smuggling. Their solution was extraordinary,” reads the logline. “In a top-secret operation, a small team of British Customs employees were sent undercover. Their task – to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.”
“They were not trained spies, they had no undercover experience. These were ordinary men and women, plucked from ordinary lives around the U.K, put through a basic training regime then told to build new identities in the criminal underworld. These identities were called Legends.
Forsyth’s banner Tannadice Pictures will produce the project. Forsyth will exec produce alongside Ben Farrell (“The Gold”) and Lion Television’s Richard Bradley. Charlie Leech (“The Gold”) produces.
“I’m very excited to be able to tell this incredible story, along with everyone at Tannadice Pictures,” said Forsyth. “I think ‘Legends’ is a fascinating, gripping, unknown British story that deserves to be told in full. I’m delighted that Netflix agreed.”
Mona Qureshi, director of U.K. content at Netflix, added: “As such fans of Neil’s ‘The Gold,’ we were immediately excited by the prospect of the extraordinary story of Legends in his hands. Transporting us back to 1990s Britain, where the government was losing its battle in what was a global war on drugs, Neil’s scripts introduce us to a compelling ensemble of characters, whose unexpected journeys into the dangerous labyrinth of undercover operations promise a gripping, action-filled series that sits in the best tradition of U.K. crime stories. We can’t wait for ‘Legends’ to come to life on Netflix.”
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