Morgan, who penned the script for Suffragette and co-wrote Shame, is one of Britain's most celebrated TV and film writers.
British 50s period drama The Hour was one of the great tragic cancellations of the modern TV drama era. Starring Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai, Dominic West, Peter Capaldi, and a whole host of other talented British actors, it came from the mind of Abi Morgan, who has been behind some of the most celebrated feature scripts of recent cinema — including Suffragette and Shame (which she co-wrote with director Steve McQueen).
Now, three years after Emmy Award-winning The Hour's cancellation after only two seasons (and a year after Morgan's critically-acclaimed River), Morgan will be returning to the TV screen with a new dramatic series for the BBC. According to Deadline, BBC Director of Content Charlotte Moore unveiled a slate of six new series at the Edinburgh Television Festival. Among them? The Split, a divorce-lawyer drama from Morgan and to be executive produced by Broadchurch's Jane Featherstone.
According to Digital Spy, The Split is about three high-powered lawyer sisters who work in competing firms within the field of divorce and family law. Presumably, this will cause some drama between the three sisters: Hannah, Nina, and Rose.
The exploration of women in the workplace is a main theme of Morgan's work, and it sounds like she may be exploring many of the same themes of The Hour, though admittedly in a very different setting. If it's half as good as her previous TV show, then it will be well worth the watch. If Morgan can manage to recruit any of the all-star cast of The Hour, even better.
Here's the official synopsis via Deadline:
From writer Abi Morgan (Suffragette, The Hour) and executive producer Jane Featherstone (Broadchurch, Humans), the London-set drama examines the fast-paced circuit of high-powered female divorce lawyers through the lens of three sisters. Fittingly, Featherstone’s Sister Pictures produces.
Featherstone, who will produce the series under her news company Sister Pictures, has produced such hits as Life on Mars, Humans, Spooks, and The Tunnel. Speaking about Sister Pictures and the new slate of programs that includes The Split, Featherstone said:
This is a great time to be starting again, with such a range of global opportunities in scripted. My passion is working with writers and I am relishing the prospect of establishing Sister Pictures as an independent home where I can continue to collaborate with some of the big names in drama as well as having the opportunity to support the next raft of authors in making some brilliant television.
There is no news yet on when The Split will air in the U.K. or how it might be broadcast in the U.S.
