The BBC has secured Hamburg Days, a new six-part drama that dives into the raw, chaotic and transformational early days of The Beatles. Produced by W&B Television (a LEONINE Company) and Turbine Studios for ZDF, the BBC and AGC Television, the series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Inspired by the autobiography of German artist Klaus Voormann – who also serves as a consultant – Hamburg Daystransports viewers to the early 1960s and the neon-soaked clubs of Hamburg’s St Pauli district. It’s here, in the smoke and noise of the red-light quarter, that a young, unpolished rock ’n’ roll band from Liverpool cross paths with Voormann and photographer Astrid Kirchherr. Their unlikely creative connection becomes a catalyst for one of the greatest musical evolutions of the 20th century, transforming a scruffy teenage group into the global phenomenon we now know as The Beatles.
The series has been developed by Benjamin Benedict (Generation War), with Jamie Carragher (Succession) leading the writing team. Acclaimed German filmmaker Christian Schwochow (The Crown) acts as showrunner, while director Mat Whitecross – known for his celebrated music documentaries Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams and Oasis: Supersonic – will bring the story to life on screen.
Music for the production will be curated by BAFTA-winning producer David Holmes (Killing Eve, Ocean’s franchise), ensuring the soundtrack captures the spirit, grit and innovation of those formative Hamburg years.
Hamburg Days will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with release details to be announced in due course.
Sue Deeks, Head of Scripted Pre-buy Acquisitions at the BBC, says:
“Hamburg Days is the fascinating story of how, in the space of two short years, a raw young band from Liverpool honed their music skills in Hamburg, before returning home to become an overnight worldwide success. It is an incredible story, accompanied (of course) by an amazing soundtrack!”
Benjamin Benedict, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann of W&B Television, Andrew Eaton and Justin Thomson of Turbine Studios and AGC’s Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz and Miguel A. Palos Jr. are Executive Producers. Isabel Haug of W&B Television serves as a creative producer. At ZDF, the project is overseen by Frank Zervos, Caroline von Senden, and Alexandra Staib. Hamburg Days (6×50’) is supported by MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein.
AGC International will handle worldwide sales excluding the UK (BBC) and Germany (ZDF).
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