West Wing star and 80s heart throb Rob Lowe has been cast in Wild Bill, a new ITV drama about a high-flying US cop who is appointed Chief Constable of the East Lincolnshire Police Force.
When high-flying US police chief Bill Hixon lands in Boston, Lincolnshire, with his 14 year-old daughter Kelsey in tow, he’s hoping they can flee their painful recent past. But this unfamiliar, unimpressed community will force Bill to question everything about himself and leave him asking whether it’s Boston that needs Bill, or Bill that needs Boston?
With a first class degree in Criminology, a Masters in Psychopathology and a Doctorate in Statistical Mapping, Bill Hixon is impressively qualified to tackle the county’s crime figures with his graphs, charts, algorithms and a tapestry of digits.
Whip-smart, acerbic and unstoppable, Bill is very good at what he does. America’s Top Metropolitan Police Chief three years running is the ideal candidate to make his mark on the East Lincolnshire Force, not least by driving through drastic cuts. From the outset Bill isn’t about making friends.
He’s here to get the job done and get the hell out as quick as his spin-class-toned legs will carry him. But Bill discovers the people of Boston are just as smart-mouthed, cynical and difficult to impress as he is.
They don’t suffer fools, authority or algorithms gladly. And the man who’s spent his life keeping the messiness of human intimacy at arm’s length is reluctantly propelled into frontline policing and forced to reconsider his relationship with those closest to him. It’s funny and dangerous in equal measure.
The series has been created by David Griffiths (The Hunted, Collateral Damage), Kyle Killen (Halo, Awake) and Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble (Silent Witness, Thorne: Sleepyhead & Scaredycat, Trial & Retribution), and will be written by Keeble and Appleton.
Lowe will act as an Executive Producer on the show which is being produced by 42 (Traitors, Ironbark, Watership Down), Anonymous Content (13 Reasons Why, Maniac, Mr. Robot) and ITV Studios label, Shiver.
He commented: “As an actor, Wild Bill is a larger than life character who’s outrageously articulate, has nothing to lose and revels in being an American fish out of water.
“As an Executive Producer, I’m excited to work with such talented partners and to come back to work in the UK, which I always love.”
Writers and creators Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton said: “Wild Bill gives us an chance to write about modern Britain and modern crime through unique eyes.
“We wrote this for Rob Lowe, for his smart-talking, anarchic, soulful voice.
“Displacing Rob in Brexit Britain and specifically in Boston, Lincolnshire allows us to tell stories that are leftfield and unexpected. We wanted to write something that couldn’t take place anywhere else, or at any other time.”
ITV drama boss Polly Hill added: “I’m delighted to have Wild Bill on ITV, as it’s a really fresh take on police procedure and introduces a brilliant new cop to be played by the wonderful Rob Lowe. It’s a fantastic team and an exciting new drama for next year.”
Filming will take place around London and in Lincolnshire from next month and further casting details will be announced soon.
