Netflix's 'Scoop' Trailer Brings the Dish on Prince Andrew

When Netflix greenlit six seasons of The Crown sight unseen in 2014, the initial plan was to film and air the seasons back-to-back with no gap years, a feat that wound up impossible due to the planned cast turnover. Part of the reason for that initial six-year straight-through plan was to try to beat Elizabeth's eventual demise, the thought being if the show was completed by 2020 or 2021, the series would be safe. (Had the streaming service pulled off its initial plan, it would have been, too.) However, reality had other plans, and by the time Season 5 was filming, it was evident the show would be caught in the crossfire of real-time events.

However, Netflix has no such excuse for Scoop, a film made at nearly breakneck speed attempting to capitalize on the collapse of Price Andrew's position in the monarchy. The streaming service seems to have wanted the film to arrive timed to some real-time event to be relevant, even if it was just the film itself reminding everyone that one of Elizabeth II's final acts was to buy off her son's accusers. 

However, it is doubtful Netflix producers would have imagined their luck that the movie would land on streaming in the middle of a near constitutional crisis, where the current ruler of the British Isles, King Charles III, has cancer; the heir apparent, William, Prince of Wales, has publicly misplaced his wife; and the spare, Harry, is happily chilling in exile in California. Reminding everyone that Harry's decamping for Cali was partly due to the family choosing Andrew's deeply incompetant idiocy over him and Meghan is just about as timely as it gets.

And oh, does this trailer ever make him look like an idiot.

Here's the film's synopsis:

Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earthshattering interview - Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight appearance. From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis’ jaw dropping, forensic showdown with the Prince, SCOOP takes us inside the story, with the women who would stop at nothing to get it.

To get an interview this big, you have to be bold.

Scoop stars a murderer's row of British talent, many of whom are, ironically, Crown alumni. Gillian Anderson (Sex Education) plays Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis; Romola Garai (Vigil) plays Newsnight editor Esme Wren; Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie) plays BBC producer Sam McAlister; Keeley Hawes (Miss Austen) plays Amanda Thirsk, Andrew's private secretary; Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat) plays Prince Andrew; Charity Wakefield (The Great) plays Princess Beatrice. Other co-stars include Amanda Redman (Sexy Beast), Connor Swindells (Rogue Heroes), Paul Popplewell (The Salisbury Poisonings), Lia Williams (The Capture), and Theresa Godly (Bridgerton).

The film was written by Peter Moffat (The Night Of), based on McAlister's memoir Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews, and directed by The Crown's Philip Martin. It is produced by Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville for The Lighthouse Film & Television, with Sanjay Singhal for Voltage TV.

Scoop will premiere on Netflix on Friday, April 5, 2024.