Our First Look at 'The Hack' Sees David Tennant and Robert Carlyle on the Case

Sometimes, the truth can be a whole lot stranger than fiction. Such is the case with The Hack, the upcoming ITV series that aims to dramatize a true crime story that's so bizarre, it seems impossible that it's real. And yet, The Hack is inspired by a true story, one whose fallout we're still seeing all around us in the media ecosystem of today

Much like last year's ITV hit Mr Bates vs the Post Office, The Hack aims to tell a story that many (likely most) Americans will be completely unfamiliar with: The News of the World scandal. To sum up a saga that spans decades and multiple lawsuits, it's this: In the early 2000s, an investigation revealed employees of Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct tabloid News of the World regularly engaged in hacking the mobile phones of newsworthy members of the public, listening to private voicemails and turning their contents into stories. (There was also allegedly some police bribery and "exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories".) The hacks reportedly targeted everyone from celebrities, politicians, and members of the British royal family, to relatives of deceased British soldiers, victims of the July 2005 London bombings, and more. (Prince Harry is one of the more famous figures who sued over this.) 

Investigative journalist Nick Davies and several of his Guardian colleagues spent two years investigating Murdoch's tabloid, and the resulting inquiry and court case ultimately led to the closure of News of the World and the imprisonment of its ex-editor Andy Coulson. Davies went on to write an award-winning book on the topic, Hack Attack: How the Truth Caught Up with Rupert Murdoch, and the story grabbed fresh headlines earlier this year when Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) apologizd to Prince Harry, settled with him, and, for the first time, addmited to “unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun". 

The seven-part series will interweave the story of Davies' investigation into News of the World with the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator who was killed with an axe in south London in 1987. David Tennant (Rivals) stars as Davies, opposite Toby Jones (Mr. Burton) as the former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, and Robert Carlyle (Toxic Town) as the former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook.

“This is a strange and deceptive piece of our recent history, one with so many layers to it. I thought, as someone who is interested in politics, I understood everything that happened. I did not." screenwriter Jack Thorne (Adolescence) said when the series was first announced. "It’s a fight for the truth that really shocked me. That is why it matters to tell this story now in an age where the truth seems more in danger than ever.”

Here's the series synopsis.

Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama deftly interweaves two real-life stories: the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies, who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World, and running parallel, the story of the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, led by former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook.
 

Alongside Tennant, Carlyle, and Jones, the series' star-studded ensemble cast also features Rose Leslie (Miss Austen),  Dougray Scott (Sherlock & Daughter), Eve Myles (The Crow Girl), Adrian Lester (The Sandman), Katherine Kelly (In Flight), Kevin Doyle (Sherwood), Neil Maskell (Hijack), Lara Pulver (MobLand), Lee Ingleby (The Serpent Queen), Pip Torrens (Renegade Nell), Lisa McGrillis (Sex Education), Sean Pertwee (Silent Witness), Robert Bathurst (The Larkins), Richard Pepple (Bridgerton), Nadia Albina (A Thousand Blows), Phil Davis (Playing Nice), Ace Bhatti (Protection), Charlie Brooks (With Intent), Paul Kaye (Shardlake), and Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9).

Thorne penned the script with Annalisa Dinnella (Sex Education). Lewis Arnold (The Long Shadow) directs, with Abi Bach producing. Thorne, Arnold, Tennant, are all executive producers, alongside Joe Williams for ITV Studios and Patrick Spence for AC Chapter One. 

The Hack doesn't have a confirmed release date as yet, though it is slated to air this autumn on ITV and stream on ITVX. The series also doesn't have an American distributor, but given the timeliness of the subject matter, as well as the popularity of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, it seems likely some streamer will almost certainly scoop it up sooner rather than later.