Greed and 24 Hour Party People director Michael Winterbottom will helm the new series…

A new drama series is set to tackle the story of the UK’s unfolding coronavirus crisis, with prime minister Boris Johnson at the centre of the narrative. The Trip‘s Michael Winterbottom has signed up to direct the project, which is being created with Fremantle and True Detective executive producer Richard Brown’s company, Passenger, along with Winterbottom’s own Revolution Films.

Per Deadline, the series “will follow Johnson’s story from his appointment as prime minister, through to the arrival of COVID-19 in the UK, the British leader falling critically ill and the birth of his son. It also promises to explore how Britain ended up with the second-worst coronavirus death toll in the world.”

“Michael Winterbottom is the ideal filmmaker to tell the story of the extraordinary events surrounding Boris Johnson’s new government and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has captured the attention of the world,” said Brown. “We’re excited to join forces with Michael and Revolution Films on this project, a story which appears to demonstrate that fact is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction.”

“There are rare moments in history when leaders find their private lives uniquely connected to national events, where personal experience and official role collide in an unusual way,” added Andrea Scrosati, global COO at Fremantle. “The last few months in the life of the UK Prime Minister clearly mark one of these moments.”