Netflix & BBC Team Up for Limited Drama 'Lockerbie' on the 1988 Pan Am 103 Crash

A long time ago, in the 20th century, hijacking flights was not something that typically ended in tragedy. The 1970s and early 80s were littered with stories, which today sound bizarre, where random people hijacked flights, and then either disappeared or were arrested. That "hijacking as nuisance, not dangerous" attitude was one of many reasons the Pan Am bombing of Flight 103 in 1988 was such a shock to the system. Considered the deadliest aviation disaster ever, the crash resulted in 270 fatalities, making it one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of the United Kingdom. Now the BBC and Netflix are teaming up for a Limited Series based on the disaster titled Lockerbie.

Billed as "a factual drama," the series will focus less on the build-up or the explosion and more on the joint investigation that followed, where Scottish and American authorities worked together to try and piece together what happened. For those who don't remember the crash, the investigation took three years before the FBI (in conjunction with the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary) issued arrest warrants for Libyan nationals who were connected with the bombing, though it took nearly another decade for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to hand them over. 

This is the second limited series in the works on the bombing; Sky and Peacock supposedly teamed up to do one a couple of years back (also under the working title of Lockerbie), but that has not yet gotten off the ground.

Here's the general synopsis:

Pan Am Flight 103 was en route from Heathrow to JFK when a bomb exploded in its hold over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people. It was the worst terror attack ever on British soil. It will draw on extensive interviews done by filmmaker Adam Morane-Griffiths, who spoke to Scottish police and U.S. investigative agencies. The series will also examine the bombing’s impact on the people of Lockerbie.

Morane-Griffiths initially brought the six-part series to MGM and Night Train in 2020 with Sara Curran. Line of Duty producer World Productions boarded it in the following months ahead of the BBC and Netflix picking it up. Jonathan Lee (High Dive) will pen the scripts with Scottish screenwriter Gillian Roger Park (The Young Offenders). Michael Keillor (Best Interests) will direct all six installments. The executive producers include Morane-Griffiths, Curran, and Keillor, along with Simon Heath and Roderick Seligman for World; Steve Stark and Stacey Levin for Toluca Pictures; Herbert L. Kloiber; and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC. 

Lockerbie is expected to start filming around the end of 2023 and debut in 2024 or 2025 on Netflix and BBC One.