GLENN CLOSE - BBC GETS DAMAGES

BBC GETS DAMAGES

The BBC has acquired the rights to show the highly-rated US drama Damages on BBC1 next year.

Starring five-time academy award-nominated actress Glenn Close, Damages is a highly successful drama which blends a legal thriller with a murder mystery.

The show is directed by Allen Coulter, who worked on The Sopranos, Sex and the City and BBC2's Rome.

Close plays Patty Hewes, a famous litigator embroiled in a lawsuit with a wealthy and corrupt chief executive along with her lawyer protégé Ellen Parsons, played by Rose Byrne.

The cast includes Ted Danson, Tate Donovan from the OC, Zelijko Ivanek from Black Hawk Down and Noah Bean.

Sue Deeks, the BBC's head of series programme acquisition, brokered the deal to secure the rights from Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI).

"BBC1 is the home of high quality, exciting drama and the perfect place for such a taut and intelligent series," she said.

"Think of John Grisham's The Firm crossed with Murder One and you'll get the idea of just how good Damages is."

The show's executive producer, Todd Kessler, also worked on The Sopranos.