ITV Studios will represent the international distribution rights to In Contempt, an ITV commission from Hartswood Films starring Jodie Whittaker as an in-demand barrister.
The series is written by Steve Thompson, with Sue Vertue, CEO of Hartswood Films, as EP, alongside Steven Moffat.
Polly Hill, director of drama at ITV, called it a “high-stakes legal drama,” adding, “There’s always been a voracious appetite for what happens behind the scenes before news stories are published. Steve has created a gripping and thought-provoking series and I’m thrilled Jodie Whittaker has agreed to play ‘hot shot’ lawyer Olivia Savereid. I have no doubt In Contempt will captivate our audience, as it’s a really timely story for ITV to be telling.”
“I’ve been wanting to work with Steve again since Sherlock, but it was never the right time or the right idea,” Vertue said. “Then one day he sat down and said, ‘In the modern world, if you want to kill someone, you don’t use a gun—you destroy their reputation.’ And so began In Contempt. A whirlwind drama of cancellation, online poison, and media law, where there’s less than 12 hours to stop a headline that could detonate someone’s life. This is the story of now, and this is the series for today. I’m delighted to be working with ITV again and to bring to screen Steve Thompson’s most explosive and personal drama yet.”
Thompson added, “In Contempt is a signature piece for me—a story I have been eager to tell. It unpacks the challenging relationship between the media and the law—between the freedom of the press and people’s right to privacy. In a world where all of us are surfing the net, hungry for the latest gossip, this drama takes us behind the curtain and shows us the lawyers who are in the vanguard of that fight.”
Filming begins in London this fall.
