Channel 4 will be going behind the lens of surveillance cameras with its new dramatic psychological thriller, The Watchman. With Stephen Graham in the lead role and a dark, almost Black Mirror-like plot, it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting standalone dramas on Channel 4’s books this year.
The gritty British actor will be getting yet another meaty role to showcase the intensity of his acting skills, having starred in This Is England ’86, ’88 and ’90 over the years, along with his portrayal of Al Capone in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. This time he’ll be playing father of two, Carl, a CCTV surveillance operator who’s backseat view gets transformed into a dangerous reality.
The story for the drama takes place during a single night shift for Carl behind the Big Brother lookout of his CCTV workstation. Through the screens that make up his working life he starts to become deluded that he’s the “all seeing eye” for his patch, but when he becomes disenfranchised by a lack of police intervention he takes matters into his own hands with chilling consequences.
A group of local drug dealers become his main target in his power-crazed haze and his decision to tackle them triggers a series of terrifying events during the ill-fated night on the job. It makes for a nervy ‘what if’ psychological thriller that should tap into Stephen Graham’s intense acting style.
The Watchman has been written and directed by Dave Nath, who’s previous work has been largely in documentaries, including Bedlam in 2013, which tackled mental health, and The Murder Detectives in 2015, which went behind the scenes of police murder investigation. While his latest project is a work of fiction, his documentary work should work well to give the thriller the touch of voyeuristic reality that will tap into the themes of surveillance, police response and human psychosis.
There’s no word as of yet about when the one-off TV film will be airing on Channel 4, but as soon as the details are announced we’ll update things here.
Stephen Graham is up for a BAFTA Award for his efforts last year in This Is England ’90, which will be announced at the ceremony tonight (8th May 2016), which only adds even more weight behind the prospect of his next drama outing in The Watchman. It sounds like it’s going to be a gripping, thrill ride with a lot of questions about modern society, so we’re looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.
