AMC and ITV are partnering on the three-part original drama series Quiz starring Matthew Macfadyen (Succession), Michael Sheen (The Good Fight) and Sian Clifford (Fleabag).
The series tells the story of Charles Ingram, a former British army major, who caused a major scandal in the early 2000s after being caught cheating his way to winning £1 million on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? It tells how Ingram, his wife Diana and an accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, who was sitting in the audience, initially pulled off the on-screen heist before being caught and standing trial.
Macfadyen will play Charles Ingram, with Sheen as Millionaire host Chris Tarrant and Clifford as Diana Ingram.
The cast also features Mark Bonnar as Paul Smith, Helen McCrory as Sonia Woodley, Michael Jibson as Tecwen Whittock, and Aisling Bea as Claudia Rosencrantz.
James Graham (Brexit: An Uncivil War) is writing the series based on his play, with Stephen Frears (A Very English Scandal) set to direct. They will executive produce with Andy Harries, Dan Winch and William Village. Left Bank Pictures produces for AMC and ITV.
"I was gripped by this story over 15 years ago, and I'm still gripped now," said Graham. "It's a very English heist. Putting it onto stage at Chichester and the West End was such a lot of fun, and with a new team we now get to re-imagine the whole story afresh for television. I have to pay credit to the late investigative journalist Bob Woffinden, who along with James Plaskett wrote the book Bad Show that kicked the whole creative process off by asking the question - what if the Major is innocent?"
"If this tale was invented you'd think it too preposterous - the fact that it is true, and told so brilliantly, makes for an unmissable three-part TV event that will entertain and enthrall American audiences every bit as much as their British counterparts," added Sarah Barnett, President of the Entertainment Networks Group at AMC Networks. "Quiz has the most remarkable bunch of talented people attached both in front of and behind the camera, and we, at AMC, are delighted to be part of it."
