Baghdad Central (Channel 4 2018)

Baghdad, 2003. Saddam has fallen and Baghdad lies at the centre of the coalition’s efforts to secure the region. Political insurgents battle, while the occupying forces seek to make the impossible possible – with no plan of how to achieve it. Baghdad Central is a brand new 6-part crime thriller from BAFTA nominated writer Stephen Butchard (The Last Kingdom, House of Saddam) based on the novel by Elliott Colla.

In the midst of the chaos, crime and paranoia, Muhsin al-Khafaji’s an Iraqi ex-policeman has lost his home, his wife and his career and is battling to keep himself and his ailing daughter safe. When his desperate brother in-law asks him to help find his missing niece, Khafaji’s sense of love and duty force him to accept the task. But it quickly becomes clear that his enquiries are not welcome at the university where she studied, or in the occupying force’s Green Zone where she claimed to work as a translator. Khafaji and his daughter, Mrouj, are soon convinced there is more to discover than just a missing person.

Stephen Butchard, writer, says: “For me, this is a story of the strength of ordinary men and women who, in the face of incredible trauma and hardship, keep taking on life one step at a time. Fuelled by love for friends and family the unbearable is not only made bearable, but conquered. It is a story of survival and the quest for hope… told through the universal prism of a fathers’ love for his daughter.”

When Khafaji is arrested and tortured by US forces in a case of mistaken identity, he meets British ex-police officer Frank Citrone who makes an offer he can’t refuse – medical supplies and safety for his daughter – in return for his skills as a police officer in the Green Zone.

In Baghdad Central, Stephen Butchard has created a powerfully authentic and gripping thriller, shot through with warmth and humanity, which not only brings vividly to life the tumult of wartime Iraq but is also an edge-of-the-seat tale of suspense involving murder, deceit, intrigue and political treachery.

Beth Willis, Channel 4 Head of Drama, says: “We are thrilled to be working with Euston Films and Stephen Butchard in this powerful, pertinent and poetic drama – a gripping thriller with contemporary resonance at every turn. Stephen has created the perfect modern reluctant hero in Inspector Khafaji – a stubborn, wry and brilliant policeman whose love of his daughter and sense of humanity knows no bounds.”

Kate Harwood, Managing Director Euston Films and Executive Producer, says: “’We were pleased to find in Elliott Colla’s mesmerising novel a truly original source for the inspirational Stephen Butchard to build a drama set in Baghdad, when it was the pivot of world history. Khafaji, the wry, pragmatic cop who is forced to collaborate with the Coalition forces to save his daughter’s life, becomes a hero for the modern age in a fresh take on this post conflict world.”

key behind the scenes crew
Stephen Butchard as Writer
Elliott Colla as Original Author (Novel)
Kate Harwood as Executive Producer
Jonathan Curling as Producer

show type
Crime thriller

broadcast from
Currently in production for 2018

network and production companies
Channel 4 – Euston Films

country
UK