FX has ordered 10 episodes for the first installment of limited series Trust created by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, it was announced today by Eric Schrier and Nick Grad, Presidents of Original Programming for FX Networks and FX Productions.
Trust takes place in 1973, when the young John Paul Getty II, heir to the Getty oil fortune, is kidnapped in Rome and his mafia captors are banking on a multi-million dollar ransom. After all, what rich family wouldn't pay for the return of a loved one? The season charts the young man's nightmare ordeal at the hands of kidnappers who cannot understand why nobody seems to want their captive back. The Italian police think it's a prank and decline to investigate. Paul's father is lost in a heroin daze in London and refuses to answer the phone. Paul's grandfather - possibly the richest man in the world - is marooned in a Tudor mansion in the English countryside surrounded by five mistresses and a pet lion. He's busy. Only Paul's mother is left to negotiate with increasingly desperate kidnappers. Problem is, she's broke.
Boyle and Beaufoy will write the drama, and executive produce with Christian Colson. FX Productions, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films and Snicket Films Limited will produce.
"Simon, Danny and Christian have done a magnificent job of telling the story of the Getty family empire and its tumultuous history with Trust," said Schrier. "Simon's script wonderfully dramatizes the notorious and bizarre kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's grandson. It's the perfect way to open this limited series, allowing us to see how three generations, including one of the world's richest man, clash when family, fortune and reputation are in jeopardy."
