State of Play (Miniseries)
Stephen Collins is an ambitious politician. Cal McAffrey is a well-respected investigative journalist and Stephen's ex-campaign manager. En route to work one morning, Stephen's research assistant mysteriously falls to her death on the London Underground. It's not long before revelations of their affair hit the headlines. Meanwhile a suspected teenage drug dealer is found shot dead. These (apparently unconnected) events expose a dangerous habit within modern government of dancing too closely with the corporate devil. Friendships are tested and lives are put on the line as an intricate web of lies unfolds.
One of the BBC's best, this six-part thriller wastes no time building intrigue. It begins like an entry in the fast-paced Bourne series with a foot chase through London, followed by two execution-style hits. Moments later, MP Stephen Collins (David Morrissey) finds out his research assistant, Sonia, was killed in an accident. Newspaper editor Cameron Foster (Bill Nighy) and reporters Della (Kelly Macdonald) and Cal (John Simm), Stephen's former campaign manager, intend to establish whether the events are related. When they realize he's following identical leads for a competing paper, Foster drafts his son, Dan (James McAvoy), to join their investigation. Before long, the team discovers Stephen was having an affair with Sonia. When the news becomes public, his wife, Ann (Polly Walker), leaves him. Then Della finds that the murder victim, a 15-year-old "bag snatcher" from the wrong side of the tracks, contacted Sonia the day she died. He swiped her briefcase, hoping for cash, but found incriminating photos instead--Sonia's death may not have been accidental. From that point forward, it's a free-for-all between the politicians, the press, the police, and big business. An ill-timed affair will complicate matters further. State of Play embodies British television at its finest. It's also a particularly pulse-pounding portrayal of the journalistic life, a small-screen successor to fact-based films like All the Presidents Men and Zodiac--but with a lot more tea and biscuits. Writer Paul Abbott (Touching Evil) and director David Yates (The Girl in the Café) provide low-key commentary for the first episode, while Yates, producer Hilary Bevan Jones, and editor Mark Day contribute to the sixth. Like 1989 miniseries Traffik, the basis for Steven Soderbergh's award-winning movie, State of Play would later be adapted for the big screen by The Last King of Scotland's Kevin Macdonald. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
State of Play (Miniseries) Accessories
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State of Play (Miniseries) Reviews
Interesting to see a very young McAvoy in a minor role. A well acted, well crafted, story with lots of twists and turns, will keep you in suspense to the end.
(And it's certainly in the running for the top honors). Excellent. I haven't been this satisfied by a political suspense thriller since I saw "The Lives of Others" (Germany, 2006 - winner of the Oscar for Best Foriegn Language film, 2006). Yes, "State of Play" is that good. "State of Play," is without question one of the best written television thriller, adult-oriented (and I don't mean sexual content) I've ever seen.
Brilliant - TV at its best. You'll be hard pressed to stop watching till you are done and you'll hate that it is over; however, it is one you can watch a number of times. The story and the acting (lots of names/faces you'll know) is top notch. I rate this as some of the BEST television I've ever watched; the other shows being Our Friends in the North and Life on Mars (both also out of the UK). Believe what everyone else has said.
Why is it that somebody can't do a series without such trashy language. Why can't everybody clean up the language. The Series was good.
Certainly worth the time to watch it. most enjoyable. State of Play was suspenseful to the end, It kepted you guessing.
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