Production News

Bookmark and Share
05/10/2016

The Missing Returns For Series Two

News Image
The Missing returns to BBC One for a second series.

The first series of the drama followed the disappearance of child Oliver Hughes and the frantic search by his father Tony (played by James Nesbitt) to find him.

For the new series, however, writers Harry and Jack Williams decided to explore a different aspect of what happens when a child goes missing. Set mostly on a British military base in Eckhausen, Germany, but reaching as far as the ISIL battlefields in Northern Iraq, the story begins when a young British woman stumbles through the streets and collapses in the town square. It is Christmas 2014. Her name is Alice Webster (Abigail Hardingham) and she has been missing for 11 years.

The series will explore how a family – and wider community – copes with her return. Told over two timelines, with the theme of freedom versus imprisonment, as well as the impact of war running throughout, the story starts in 2014 with the return of Alice, then switches to the present day to see how it has impacted the family.

Harry Williams explained: "We didn't want to recreate the same story, we wanted to do something different. Rather than losing someone, it's about finding someone, and whether that is the happy ending that everyone thinks it is."

Willow Grylls, Executive Producer, said: "The Missing isn't The Missing without its characteristic twists and turns. And quite quickly we find out that there is another girl that has also been missing, who is still out there. The intention is to make the audience lean forward a little bit more. It allows us the ability to tell stories about characters in a non-linear way and allows us to make choices that we wouldn't normally be able to."

It is Alice's possible connection to another missing girl that brings detective Julien Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo) out of retirement and to the Webster family. Her case has been haunting him for years, so he joins the search for Alice's abductor in the hope it will lead him to the girl he couldn't find.

"As Oliver's story was coming to an end, we felt we weren't necessarily done with the character of Julien Baptiste," continued Harry. "It made us sad to say good-bye to him, and there were more stories we had to tell there."

"We knew that a man with a career that long would have skeletons in his closet, a lot of things left remaining to fix," added Jack Williams.

Karyo is joined by a new cast for the second series, including Staff Sergeant Sam Webster (David Morrissey), his wife Gemma (Keeley Hawes) and their youngest son Matthew (Jake Davies) who have coped as well as they can after their daughter disappeared, but their family unit is fractured by Alice's return.

"What's crucial about the show is that it's all about how people have changed, and one of the central questions you ask is, what's happened to them in the meantime? How did they get from there to here?" says Jack. "You look at Sam, Gemma, and Matthew, in the past, and the way they respond to the return of Alice. Then you see them in the present, and they're so fractured and on different trajectories. It just shows the different way they deal with this, in quite a stark way."

Helping to finding Alice's abductor is Military Police Officer Eve Stone (Laura Fraser). She is quick to judge but unprepared to handle the complexity of the case, and her professional involvement soon becomes tangled with her personal life. Her father, Brigadier Adrian Stone (Roger Allam), is in charge of the base, and will do anything to protect his daughter and his reputation.

The production used a variety of devices to help differentiate between the two timelines, including different hair and make-up looks and costumes, to shooting each timeline in a different season – winter for 2014 and summer for 2016 – as well as a different approach to the cinematography by director Ben Chanan.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP)
Solidmate Ltd Memory Card Hire London

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

18/07/2023
Vicon Announces Series Of Senior Appointments
Vicon has announced a series of senior appointments to accelerate growth and expansion. Among them are multiple first-time roles for the business, inc
21/04/2023
Blue Lights To Return For A Second Series
The BBC has announced that Belfast-based drama Blue Lights produced by Two Cities Television will return for a second 6 x 60’ series. Directed by Gill
15/03/2023
MultiDyne Introduces New Format-Flexible NIA9205 Series
MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Solutions has unveiled the new format-flexible NIA9205 Series for broadcast and streaming media workflows. The MultiDyne
05/12/2023
Matrox LUMA Series Graphics Cards With Intel Arc GPUs Now Shipping
Matrox® Video has announced that its Matrox LUMA Series graphics cards with Intel Arc GPUs are now shipping. Previewed at major trade shows throughout
29/11/2023
Matrox Video Launches Single-Channel Maevex 7100 Series AVC/HEVC 4K60 Encoders
Matrox® Video has launched the new Matrox Maevex 7100 Series of single-channel 4K60 AVC/HEVC encoders. These two new lower-cost members of the Maevex
18/10/2023
MSolutions Adds New Model To Its Series Of USB-C Extender Sets
MSolutions has added a new model to its series of USB-C extender sets that is capable of USB 3.2 signal extension over 100 meters (333 feet). Now ship
28/02/2023
Quasar Science Releases New e-book Series
Quasar Science has released its new e-book series: "A guide to Image-Based Lighting for Virtual Production". The four free e-books offer an in-depth e
07/03/2024
Atlona Expands Its Omega Series Of AV Presentation And Collaboration Products
Atlona has continued to grow its Omega Series of AV presentation and collaboration products with two new 3x1 switchers ideally suited for learning and
05/03/2024
Audio-Technica 3000 Series Wireless Delivers Flexible Functionality
In addition to supplying microphones for the broadcast of MotoGP™ race seasons since 2019, Audio-Technica (the series’ official Microphone Services So
01/03/2024
Vinten Releases Series Of Free Technology Guides
Vinten has announced the release of a series of free technology guides aimed at navigating the future of robotic studios through the adoption of AI an
20/11/2023
Series Mania Launches New Competition
Given the tremendous response and success of last year's inaugural launch of 'Series Mania's Creative Campaign Award', Laurence Herszberg, founder and
02/11/2023
STV Studios And NBCUniversal Sign Series Development Deal
STV Studios and NBCUniversal have signed a series development deal for innovative reality format, The Underdog, in the US. The format, created by STV
01/11/2023
Sky Studios Elstree Hosts Series Of Special Events
This October half-term, Sky Studios Elstree welcomed thousands of local residents to a series of special events on site to mark the completion of the
25/10/2023
BBC Acquires Danish DR Drama Series Prisoner
The BBC has acquired award-winning Danish DR Drama series Prisoner, led by Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing), for BBC Four and iPlayer. The series revolves a
21/08/2023
White Tie Productions Acquires 120 Alfalite Litepix Series Panels
White Tie Productions has purchased 120 Alfalite Litepix Series panels, making them the first live event company in the U.S. with Alfalite LED panels.