The sprawling universe of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, a comic fantasy series of novels that has long since reached classic status, is getting a television adaptation treatment courtesy of BBC America in the form of a new original scripted series, The Watch, but the show will necessarily narrow its focus to the misfit cops that inhabit a subset of stories in the beloved series. BBC America will co-produce with Narrativia, and Simon Allen (The Musketeers) will pen the series with Hilary Salmon (Luther) at the helm.
The Watch will follow the legendary City Watch along with recognisable characters such as Captain Sam Vimes, the last scion of nobility Lady Sybil Ramkin, the naïve but heroic Carrot, the mysterious Angua, the ingenious non-binary forensics expert Cheery, and Pratchett’s iconic characterisation of Death. The series is described as a character-drive, punk rock thriller which will follow the City Watch “as they fight to save a ramshackle city of normalised wrongness, from both the past and future in a perilous quest.”
“The Watch has been startlingly reimagined for television by writer Simon Allen, while still cleaving to the humour, heart and ingenuity of Terry Pratchett’s incomparably original work,” said BBC America President, Sarah Barnett. “BBC America embraces what’s fresh and exhilarating in TV; we believe The Watch will astonish audiences.”
“With events in our own world making the insanity of Discworld seem outrageously familiar, there couldn’t be a better time to bring Terry’s fun, fire, and fury back to the small screen or a better place than BBC America,” said Allen. “I’m grateful to them, BBC Studios and especially Rob Wilkins at Narrativia who has been a constant source of inspiration on this epic and emotional journey.”
“The Watch is a distinctly British but defiantly global exhilarating thriller that is disruptive in its approach to the fantasy genre and also big on the themes of mortality, inclusion, alternative facts and justice,” Allen said of the series. “It’s a dizzying riot of hope, joy, suspense and audaciously dark humour. We can’t wait to work with BBC America to bring it all to life for existing fans and brand new audiences.”
“Many years ago Terry made the brave decision to allow brand new Watch stories to be told with his existing characters,” Rob Wilkins, who will executive produce The Watch on behalf of Narrativia, said. “It’s taken a long time for anything to happen because we guard these characters with our very lives! So many of Terry’s biggest ideas seem more vital and urgent now than ever before and I am thrilled to be working with Simon and such a talented team, who understand the unique genius of their creator. They have really keyed into the subversive qualities of Terry’s voice and they clearly adore Discworld as much as I and millions of fans around the world do.”
The Watch joins the string of successful original scripted programming at BBC America including the Emmy-nominated Killing Eve starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer.