Luther creator teases the future of his new show The Iris Affair: "I want to go back to Italy"
Neil Cross spoke with us for The Radio Times Writers' Room.
Neil Cross, the writer best known for creating Luther, is back with new Sky thriller series The Iris Affair, which follows a high stakes chase between an entrepreneur, Cameron, played by Tom Hollander, and Niamh Algar's Iris, the woman who stole from him.
Iris stole a journal featuring the activation codes to a powerful machine, which threatens to change the future of humanity. When she realised its deadly potential, she knew she had to get it out of the wrong hands.
Given this seemingly contained storyline, viewers going into the series may be wondering whether it is planned as a one-off series, or a returning show which comes back for future seasons.
Now, speaking with us for our video interview series The Radio Times Writers' Room, in which we get to know what makes screenwriters tick, Cross has given his thoughts on the matter.
"I would love it to continue," he said. "Because I love the characters so much and I've got places for the story to go. And also, I want to go back to Italy."
In his chat with The Radio Times Writers' Room, Cross also spoke about his work on Luther, Doctor Who, Spooks and Hard Sun, and revealed more about how The Iris Affair's structure, which includes dual timelines, was devised.
He said: "It wasn't what I set out to do, and it was a kind of shape that found itself in the editorial process, first of all," Cross explained. "My initial idea was to just do a flashback episode, episode 4. And after the show was commissioned, kind of editorially Sky thought that might be a bit lazy.
"And it's like, 'There might be elements of the story that we need to know up front.' And I'm like, 'Well, I don't want to have people sitting down talking to each other about the magic machine in Slovenia.
"So we're going to have to have, now and again, a kind of dual timeline.'"
Neil Cross's interview for The Radio Times Writers' Room will be available to watch in full on Thursday 16th October.
The Iris Affair will launch on Sky and NOW on Thursday 16th October. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
