Dundee writer Neil Forsyth has written a drama for streaming giant Netflix.
Forsyth – the man behind hit shows including Guilt and Bob Servant – has penned Legends.
The six-part series is based on a true story about customs workers who went undercover to infiltrate some of Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.
According to US magazine Variety, a synopsis for the show says: “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, realised that they were losing the battle against drug smuggling.
Story of ‘ordinary men and women’ who targeted criminal underworld
“Their solution was extraordinary.
“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. These were ordinary men and women, plucked from ordinary lives around the UK.
“They are put through a basic training regime then told to build new identities in the criminal underworld.
“These identities were called Legends.”
New Neil Forsyth drama to stream on Netflix
The series will be produced by Forsyth’s company, Tannadice Pictures – named after his beloved Dundee United.
Forsyth told Variety: “I’m very excited to be able to tell this incredible story, along with everyone at Tannadice Pictures.
“I think Legends is a fascinating, gripping, unknown British story that deserves to be told in full. I’m delighted that Netflix agreed.”
Forsyth will act as an executive producer for the show alongside Ben Farrell. Richard Bradley and Charlie Leech will serve as producers.
The four worked together on Forsyth’s last show, BBC series The Gold.
Mona Qureshi, director of UK content at Netflix, said: “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 UK crime stories.
“We can’t wait for Legends to come to life on Netflix.”
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