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Sundance Channel unites with BBC for all-star Restless

Hayley Atwell in Brideshead Revisited

Story by Jack Foley

THE Sundance Channel has united with the BBC to co-produce star-studded new spy drama Restless.

A TV adaptation of the acclaimed novel by William Boyd, the two-part series boasts an all-star cast including Hayley Atwell (pictured), Rufus Sewell (Pillars of the Earth, Abraham Lincoln), Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter) and Downton Abbey‘s Michelle Dockery.

Set during the early days of the Second World War II, the plot follows a Russian spy who tries to infiltrate the British Secret Service in the hope of influencing US power brokers and swinging American public opinion in favour of fighting the Nazis.

Atwell will play the spy, Eva, with Rampling playing the same character in 1976.

Sewell will play British Secret Sevice agent Lucas Romer, who becomes Eva’s lover while training her to become a spy, while Dockery plays Eva’s daughter, Ruth, who discovers her mother’s secret years later.

Edward Hall will direct when shooting begins in South Africa and the UK later this summer.

Commenting on Sundance’s involvement, Sarah Barnett, general manager of the Sundance Channel, described Restless as “a perfect addition” to its slate of original scripted programming, which has already included co-productions such as Olivier Assayas’ Golden Globe-winning Carlos and the BAFTA-winning Appropriate Adult, featuring Emily Watson and Dominic West.

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