Starz, in partnership with the BBC, will produce and air the original limited drama series The Missing. Filming has begun on the eight-episode run in Brussels, Belguim. Written by Harry and Jack Williams and directed by Tom Shankland, The Missing will be produced by New Pictures and Company Pictures with Two Brothers Pictures and Playground. It will air on Starz in the U.S. in fall of 2014.
The Missing follows Tony (James Nesbitt, The Hobbit) as a man devastated by the abduction of his young son, Oliver, during a family vacation in France. He becomes a man obsessed, unable to accept that his child may be dead and spends years searching for him. Tony's exhaustive search fractures his marriage to Emily (Frances O'Connor, Mr. Selfridge) and threatens to destroy his life. Tcheky Karyo (Goldeneye) plays Julien, the French police detective who launched the initial search for the child. Even though he is retired in present day, he too cannot shake the small belief that the child may still be alive. Told using a fascinating narrative puzzle, The Missing explores the impact of a child's abduction, the emotional cost of obsession, hope and finding when to let go. This gripping thriller is told simultaneously over multiple time frames and set in France and London.
The cast also includes Jason Flemyng, Ken Stott, Arsher Ali, Said Taghmaoui, Emile Dequenne, Anamaria Marinca, Eric Godon, Anastasia Hille and Johan Leysen.
Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director of Starz, said, "The Missing is a powerful and poignant story about a father's determination to find his missing child, and that is something any viewer can understand. The Williams' scripts gripped us on every page, and we are glad to be working in partnership again with the BBC, Charlie Pattinson and Colin Callender on this very special project."
Executive producers are Harry Williams, Jack Williams, Charlie Pattinson, Willow Grylls, Elaine Pyke, John Yorke, Polly Hill, Colin Callender and Eurydice Gysel. Chris Clough serves as a producer.
