BBC Two has set the UK premiere date for Trust, a 10-episode drama chronicling the abduction of John Paul Getty III in 1973. The series, which the Beeb has imported from the American TV channel FX, will debut on British screens at 9pm on September 12th.
Trust was created by screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire). The director of Slumdog and 127 Hours, Danny Boyle, served as an executive producer on Trust and directed the first three episodes.
When the Beeb acquired this intriguing series, the official press bumf told us that “Trust examines the corrosive power of money and explores the complexities at the heart of every family, rich or poor.”
This trailer for Trust has also been doing the rounds:
Additionally, the BBC announcement provided this summation of the cast and the core plot:
“Trust stars Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games) as J. Paul Getty Senior, the oil tycoon and art collector at the head of the Getty family, alongside a stellar cast that includes Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Brendan Fraser (The Mummy), Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats), Anna Chancellor (Ordeal By Innocence), Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders), Amanda Drew (Broadchurch) and Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show).
“Trust opens in 1973 with the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III (Dickinson), heir to the Getty fortune, in Rome. His captors bank on a multi-million dollar ransom, but back in England Paul’s wealthy grandfather (Sutherland) refuses to pay up. With Paul’s father (Michael Esper) lost in a drug-induced daze, it is left to Paul’s mother – the penniless Gail Getty (Swank) – to negotiate with both the increasingly desperate kidnappers and her stubborn former father-in-law to save her son.
Trust sounds like a highly interesting show, then, with an impressive cast and some lofty themes. We’ll be sure to tune in on September 12th at 9pm when it debuts on BBC Two.