BBC America ‘Preys’ for Hit From Across Pond

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BBC Americahas brought British drama Prey stateside. Set in Manchester, the fidgety-camera thriller depicts a grim female detective chasing down a constable colleague charged with the murder of his family. Brit culture doesn’t always play in the States, but creator Chris Lunt says a good man-against-world story will fly anywhere. “Thrillers are kind of a universal language,” he said. “We can all get behind the idea of an innocent man being blamed for a crime he didn’t commit.”

Working in Lunt’s favor, he learned his craft from watching—and studying—American crime dramas such as 24, Boardwalk Empire and The Shield. “I’m told I write more like an American drama writer than a British drama writer,” he says.

The six-episode series previously aired on ITV. A new season is a possibility. “I don’t want to keep doing the same thing,” says Lunt, “but my relationship with ITV is great, and potentially there’s a new take on it, perhaps.”

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.