Waiting For The Out, the “tense” new prison drama from the BBC, has unveiled its first look ahead of a release next year. If you want to know more about this “inspired and nuanced” new project, then look no further.
The upcoming series, which is based on Andy West’s The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Learning to Be Free, sees The Responder star Josh Finan play Dan, a philosopher who teaches a class in prison.
“Each week, Dan leads discussions about dominance, freedom, luck and other topics that gain a new meaning when seen through the prisoners’ eyes,” reads the logline, which also teases the igniting of “passions” and creation of “tension”.
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Through his work, Dan begins to “dig deeper into his own past”, recalling memories of his abusive father and troubled brother. Though he’s walked a “different path” to his family, Dan goes through a personal crisis which threatens his own future.
Adapted by Dennis Kelly, Levi David Addai and Ric Renton, the BBC has released the first-look images for the six-part series, with Finan being pictured as Dan as the character leads his workshop.
BBC
BBC
BBC
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In addition to Finan, the cast for the drama includes Francis Lovehall, Josef Altin, Steven Meo, Ric Renton, Tom Moutchi, Sule Rimi and Charlie Rix, all of whom portray prisoners who participate in Dan’s class.
The supporting cast includes Alex Ferns, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Nima Taleghani, Sophia Brown, Samantha Spiro, Neal Barry, Jude Mack, Gerard Kearns, Stephen Wight and Phil Daniels, with Jeanette Nordahl and Ben Palmer serving as directors.
“It’s not at all unusual for the men in Andy West’s family to end up in prison – but Andy is the only one that chose to be there,” said Kelly upon the project’s announcement in May (via BBC).
“His book is funny, insightful, beautiful, genuinely heartbreaking and nothing like what you’d expect it to be – we’ve tried to take that into the series. God alone knows if we’ve succeeded, but we’ve tried…”
BBC
BBC
BBC
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“Waiting For The Out offers an inspiring and nuanced new take on male identity, forgiveness and self-discovery from one of the UK’s greatest writers,” said Lindsey Salt, Director of BBC Drama.
“I’m so thankful to the writers, directors, producers and everyone involved in adapting The Life Inside,” added West, who serves as an executive producer on the series. “They have brought extraordinary creative and moral imagination to the stories in the book.”
West’s memoir, which was released in 2022, was acclaimed by critics and readers alike, with fellow author Geoff Dyer calling it “tense and intimate” (via Amazon). Lenny Henry was also full of praise, describing it as “enriching, sobering and at times heartrending”.
Waiting For The Out will premiere in 2026.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. Â His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
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