'Nightsleeper': First Look at BBC Real-Time Thriller

The longer streaming becomes the new norm, the more it seems that Fox’s 24 was ahead of its time. For those too young, too liberal, or too British to remember the post-9-11 American TV hit, the Kiefer Sutherland-starrer was your typical “white government hero stops brown terrorists from murdering innocent civilians” claptrap that was super popular during those years, but with a twist. Someone noticed the typical broadcast TV season ran 24 episodes, the same number of hours in a day; therefore, 24 was a “real-time” day in the character’s life in which he never stopped running to save people.

The conceit got tired after a few years, as did the suspension of disbelief that Sutherland could go 24 hours without stopping to eat or pee. However, as typical TV seasons are no longer 24 hours, but 6-8, and binge-watching makes the concept of watching a “real-time” show far more practical (at least far more than 24 ever was), the idea has gotten a refresh. Apple TV+ recently released Hijack, in which Idris Elba tried his hand at doing real-time terrorism management on an airplane. Now the BBC has Joe Cole (The Ipcress File) star in Nightsleeper, where he does terrorism management overnight on a train.

Cole plays Joe Roag, an off-duty cop onboard hoping for a quiet night when he boards the Heart of Britain sleeper train from Glasgow to London. He co-stars with Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall) as Abby Aysgarth, the Acting Technical Director at the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, who (naturally) is about to finally take a well-earned holiday herself when she receives a call that the train is under attack, and Roag is the only one on board with training who she managed to reach.

Here's the series synopsis:

Nightsleeper is a real-time thriller set on a sleeper train traveling from Glasgow to London, while a government agency desperately tries to intervene in the rapidly-escalating events onboard. Can two people who’ve never met, one on the train and one not, work together to save the lives of its disparate group of passengers as the Heart of Britain service hurtles towards what might quite literally be its final destination?

Cole and Roach are joined by a plethora of co-stars, starting with Alex Ferns (The Devil’s Hour), Katie Leung (Annika), Sharon Small (The Bay), Ruth Madeley (Doctor Who), James Cosmo (His Dark Materials), David Threlfall (Funny Woman), Lois Chimimba (Vigil), Gabriel Howell (Bodies), and Parth Thakerar (Gangs of London). The cast also includes Leah MacRae (Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything), Daniel Cahill (The Control Room), Adam Mitchell (Mother’s Day), Pamela Nomvete (Andor), Scott Reid (Maxine), and Sharon Rooney (Barbie).

Nick Leather is credited with writing all six episodes, with director Jamie Magnus Stone helming the project. “Nightsleeper” is produced by Fremantle label Euston Films. Leather executive produces, along with Euston Films’ managing directors Kate Harwood and Noemi Spanos, and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC. 

Nightsleeper will premiere on the BBC in early 2024. It does not yet have an American distributor.