Lydia Leonard and Jack Davenport to lead the cast for UK Call My Agent remake
The series is set to begin filming in London next week.
An English language remake of French comedy hit Call My Agent is on the way – and the cast for the UK version has just been revealed.
Tony Award-nominated actor Lydia Leonard leads the cast as Alexa, a version of Andréa Martel from the original series, while Pirates of the Caribbean star Jack Davenport takes on the role of Jonathan – who is based on Mathias Barneville.
Other actors set to appear in leading roles in the series include Maggie Steed (EastEnders), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster), Harry Trevaldwyn (The King) and Hiftu Quasem (The Nest).
And there are some stellar names signed up to the supporting cast as well, with Jim Broadbent, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Rebecca Humphries, Tim McInnerny and Eleanor Arnaud all set to appear.
Meanwhile, Deadline has also reported that a string of big names from the UK and US have already been lined up for cameo appearances, although the identities of those A-listers have not been revealed thus far.
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The series is being written and directed by W1A creator John Morton and will follow a similar pattern to the French version, once again detailing the trials and tribulations of the employees as a fictional struggling talent agency – although with some new storylines thrown in for good measure.
Filming on the series is set to begin in London next week, with the shoot lasting until September and incorporating eight one-hour episodes.
Exec producer Christian Baute told Deadline that he had been hoping to become involved with an English language version of the show since he first saw and fell in love with it back in 2015.
"I immediately thought it would be a slam dunk in English and I went to speak to TF1," he said. "Sometimes people think comedies don’t travel well but when there’s the right mix of comedy and drama and a strong story they absolutely can travel.
"The appeal of the show comes a lot from its very flawed characters who band together as a community to get things done against the odds. The show ultimately expresses humanity in a very sweet way.”
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The original version of the show has already proved a huge hit in the UK, with interest peaking shortly after the fourth series was added to Netflix earlier this year. It had originally been slated to end with its fourth run, but will now return for a fifth series and a movie spin-off.
The UK remake was originally announced back in 2019, with plans to start filming from 2020, but like so many other shows it suffered from delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It will not be the first international remake of the show – there are already versions airing in Turkey and French-Canada, while further remakes are in development in India, China, and Vietnam.
Call My Agent seasons 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix - check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or find something to watch with our TV Guide.
