British drama series to explore Alexander Litvinenko case

British TV firm Company Pictures is set to shoot a mini-series based on the murder of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko.

The project will be based on the 2016 book, A Very Expensive Poison, by the Guardian‘s former Moscow correspondent, Luke Harding.

Head of Company Pictures Judy Counihan compares the book to a James Bond film, suggesting that the real-life drama is ripe for TV adaptation.

“I cannot think of a more contemporary piece of drama. It mixes global power dynamics, dogged British detective work and the importance of democracy, freedom of speech and the rule of law to protect us from the rise of demagogues. This isn’t fiction, however, and that alone is chilling,” she says.

It is expected that the three-part television adaptation will eventually be broadcast on a major UK channel.

Alexander Litvinenko died in London in November 2006, having been poisoned with radioactive polonium. He had been granted asylum in the UK six years before.

Source: Afisha (in Russian) and the Guardian