EXCLUSIVE: Bookish buzz is building. The trailer for the crime drama shows Mark Gatiss’ character, the bookshop owner and sleuth Gabriel Book, speaking to a London police officer as they survey a crime scene. “Leave nothing out, especially if it’s salacious, gory, or vaguely scandalous,” Book tells Scotland Yard’s finest.
Bookish is for UKTV in the UK and PBS in the U.S. A raft of new international deals for the series have been closed by Beta Film, which is across international sales.
Max has snagged Australia rights, and public broadcasters DR, SVT and YLE have taken it for Denmark, Sweden and Finland, respectively. Elsewhere, Filmin has taken Spain and AXN White has Germany. These come after an earlier round of presales, also first reported by Deadline.
The show is cozy crime, but with an edge, Gatiss, told Deadline at a London Screenings preview of Bookish for buyers. Set in post-WW2 London, Gatiss’ Gabriel Book helps the police solve their knottiest cases. He is a gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegal, and in a lavender marriage to childhood friend Trottie, played by Polly Walker (Bridgerton).
Bookish is much anticipated, not least because of Gatiss’ previous work, including Sherlock, Doctor Who and The League Of Gentlemen. He wrote and stars in the show, which Eagle Eye produces in association with Happy Duck Films.
In the trailer we also see Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love), who Book recruits as his assistant, Jack, and other cast including Elliot Levey (Quiz) and Daniel Mays (Rogue One). Guest stars Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) and Paul McGann (Withnail And I) also show up.
The deals and trailer drop come ahead of the show’s premiere this evening at the Italian Global Series Festival in Riccione and Rimini, where it also plays in competition. Gatiss will be in attendance and deliver a storytelling masterclass at the inaugural edition of IGSF.
In the UK the series launches on the UKTV channel U&alibi on July 16.
