Scoop on Netflix: Release date, trailer and latest news for Prince Andrew drama
The Netflix film is "inspired" by the well-known 2019 Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew.
Scoop, a feature film telling the behind-the-scenes story of how Prince Andrew's infamous 2019 Newsnight interview came about, has landed on Netflix.
The movie isn’t the only project dramatising the interview – Prime Video’s upcoming miniseries A Very Royal Scandal will also tackle the topic – and many have been quick to question whether the events are still too fresh in our memories.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com on the red carpet at the film's world premiere on Wednesday 27th March, producer Sanjay Singhal explained why now is the right time to re-create the real-life story: “I think there's such a big appetite for factually based dramas now, factual based stories.
"There's so many of them, you look at Mr Bates vs The Post Office and many, many others that are connecting with audiences."
He continued: "And I think probably the feeling is, as that appetite grows, why not try and tell those stories more quickly? Because sometimes if they're great stories, they can still connect with you at the moment and I think that appetite is driving a need to tell those stories probably faster than we used to do before."
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Meanwhile Singhal's fellow producer Hilary Salmon said that there isn't necessarily an "ideal time" to re-create real-life stories.
"I mean, one of the dramas that went before us and inspired us was A Very English Scandal, which was the Jeremy Thorpe affair, which was decades and decades before," she said. "And it still felt extremely relevant for them to dramatise that case.
"There was a reason to tell the story now, and I think that's probably more important than how many years have passed, how many decades have passed – why are you retelling it for a contemporary audience?"
The streamer previously released a trailer, giving fans a first look at the formidable cast in action, including Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat) as Prince Andrew, Gillian Anderson (Sex Education) as journalist and former newsreader Emily Maitlis, Billie Piper as Newsnight guest booker Sam McAlister, who stopped at nothing to secure the noteworthy interview, and Keeley Hawes as Prince Andrew's private secretary.
Not to be confused with the Hindi-language Netflix series of the same name, the film delves into the behind-the-scenes of the interview, and its repercussions.
With that, read on for everything you need to know about Scoop.
Scoop release date: When is it coming out on Netflix?
Scoop was released on Netflix on Friday 5th April 2024 at 8am GMT, meaning it's available to watch now!
Casting for the film was announced back in 2023, with the adaptation based on the memoir of Newsnight guest booker Sam McAlister.
Speaking on the announcement of the adaptation, McAlister said admitted that the project was "beyond [her] wildest dreams" as a first time writer to be working with the "extraordinary cast", and that being portrayed by Billie Piper is a "pinch myself moment".
Who stars in Scoop alongside Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper?
The cast for Scoop is led by Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, the Newsnight presenter who conducted the notable 2019 interview, while Rufus Sewell stars as Prince Andrew.
In preparation for the roles, according to The Telegraph, Sewell spent three hours a day in the make-up chair to resemble Prince Andrew and Anderson is said to have studied the interview in question, while also watching episodes of Newsnight to capture Maitlis’s mannerisms.
Aside from the two in front of the interview camera, the film will also focus on the behind-the-scenes process of having the Duke of York on the programme, having been secured by Newsnight guest booker Sam McAlister.
Speaking about Anderson's transformation as Maitlis on set for the film, McAlister told The Telegraph: “It felt like being there with Emily. Everything about her physicality and her performance is on the money. They have a similar intellect as well.
"Emily is very methodical. She worked very hard on every interview; she trains, she studies. And my impression of Gillian was exactly the same. She was studying the material, she was studying Emily, and she was working on that project in an intellectual way as well as a dramatic way.”
The rest of the cast includes Keeley Hawes (Stonehouse) as Prince Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk, while Sex Education's Connor Swindells will star as Jae Donnelly, the photographer who captured the image of Prince Andrew and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein walking in Central Park.
Vigil's Romola Garai will also star as Newsnight editor at the time of the interview, Esme Wren.
The full cast list for Scoop is as follows:
- Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis
- Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew
- Billie Piper as Sam McAlister
- Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk
- Connor Swindells as Jae Donnelly
- Romola Garai as Esme Wren
- Charity Wakefield as Princess Beatrice
- Lia Williams as Fran Unsworth
- Theresa Godly as BBC US News Reporter
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Scoop plot: What is the Netflix film about?
Based on McAlister's memoir Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews, the film will give us a look into the Newsnight interview like we haven't seen before.
According to the synopsis: "Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earth-shattering interview – Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight appearance.
"From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis’s jaw dropping, forensic showdown with the Prince, Scoop takes us inside the story, with the women who would stop at nothing to get it. To get an interview this big, you have to be bold."
The interview in question saw the Duke speak candidly about his friendship with sex offender Epstein, also stating that he had "no recollection" of meeting Virginia Giuffre, who accused the Duke of sexual assault on three occasions.
The Duke has denied all of Giuffre's allegations and insisted in the Newsnight interview that he "cannot sweat", contrary to claims made by Giuffre and a segment of the interview that garnered media attention worldwide.
The pair reached a settlement out of court in February 2022, reportedly amounting to several millions of dollars.
Is there a trailer for Scoop?
Yes, a full trailer has now been released for Scoop. Find it below.
Scoop is available to watch on Netflix now. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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