The BBC are launching a crime drama set in Spain.
The broadcaster has announced that it has given the go-ahead for a new 10-part series called ‘The Mallorca Files’, which will focus on the unconventional partnership of warring detectives Briton Miranda Blake and fun-loving German Max Wolf.
Writer Dan Sefton has said his aim of the story is to recapture the vibe of 70s and 80s series ‘The Professionals’, ‘Starsky and Hutch’, and ‘Dempsey and Makepeace’.
Dan – who penned ‘The Good Karma Hospital’ – said: "We’ve subverted the stereotypes. It is very much will they [fall for each other], won’t they – but mostly won’t they. We’re playing that odd couple vibe quite strongly."
Filming for the show is expected to kick off in November but producers are yet to find the two perfect actors to portray Miranda and Max.
Ben Donald, who came up with the idea, said: "Right from the beginning I’ve wanted to make a series like the cop shows I grew up with and loved, with a pair of loveable characters people are drawn back to and want to hang out with; a show that is unashamedly entertaining and quite honestly a fun antidote to the pretty bleak world out there. In its funding, this series represents the very best of what coproduction can do to add value for the UK audience and licence fee payer.
"I’ve always wanted to find a way to bring the Anglo-German relationship on television out of sketch comedy and into the 21st century."
BBC daytime boss Dan McGolpin added: "I’m delighted to be working with Dan Sefton, Clerkenwell Films and Cosmopolitan Pictures on an enjoyable and action-packed series following two very different police officers thrown together in a Mallorcan melting-pot. Viewers on BBC One Daytime and iPlayer are in for a treat."
This isn’t the first time the BBC have set their crime drama abroad as the much-loved detective series ‘Death in Paradise’ is set in Saint-Marie but filmed in Guadeloupe.
The show has been running since 2011 and has had three different actors – Ben Miller, Kris Marshall and Ardal O’Hanlon – portraying the lead detectives .
And it doesn’t look like there is an end in sight for the programme as Ardal – who plays DI Jack Mooney – only joined the series at the beginning of this year, but hopes to continue in the role for at least another two to three decades.
When asked how long he’ll stay on the island for, he replied: "Twenty years at least! Maybe 30. I don’t know. If I can be commissioner for the last ten years I’ll be happy enough, and let someone else take over the detective role…"
BBC launches new crime drama set in Spain
