FX and BBC One Partner on New Adaption of Charles Dickens' Classic "A Christmas Carol"

The Three-Part Adaptation, Written by Steven Knight and Directed by Nick Murphy, Will Be Produced by FX Productions in Association with the BBC, Scott Free, and Hardy Son & Baker

Guy Pearce Stars as Ebenezer Scrooge Alongside an Outstanding Ensemble Cast Featuring Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Charlotte Riley, Joe Alwyn, Vinette Robinson, Rutger Hauer, Kayvan Novak and Lenny Rush

A Christmas Carol Premieres in December and Is the First in a Series of New Adaptions of Dickens' Classic Novels Produced by Scott Free, Hardy Son & Baker, BBC and FXP

LOS ANGELES and LONDON, May 9, 2019 - FX and BBC One are re-teaming with Ridley Scott's Scott Free and Tom Hardy's Hardy Son & Baker on a new three-part special of Charles Dickens' timeless classic A Christmas Carol, it was announced today by Eric Schrier and Nick Grad, Presidents of Original Programming, FX Networks and FX Productions, and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama.

A Christmas Carol features a star-studded ensemble cast including Guy Pearce (Mary Queen of Scots) playing Ebenezer Scrooge; Andy Serkis (Black Panther) as Ghost of Christmas Past; Stephen Graham (This Is England) as Jacob Marley; Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders) as Lottie; Joe Alwyn (The Favourite) as Bob Cratchit; Vinette Robinson (Doctor Who) as Mary Cratchit; Rutger Hauer (True Blood) as the Ghost of Christmas Future; Kayvan Novak (What We Do In The Shadows) as Ali Baba and Lenny Rush (Old Boys) as Tim Cratchit.

Produced by FX Productions, Scott Free, and Hardy Son & Baker for BBC One and FX, A Christmas Carol is a unique and original take on the Charles Dickens' iconic ghost story written by Steven Knight (Taboo, Peaky Blinders) and a haunting, hallucinatory, spine-tingling immersion into Scrooge's dark night of the soul. It will be directed by Nick Murphy (The Awakening).

Knight said, "This production of A Christmas Carol will respectfully present what we believe to be a timely interpretation of a timeless story."

A Christmas Carol is written and executive produced by Steven Knight, executive produced by Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, Kate Crowe and Mona Qureshi for the BBC, and produced by Julian Stevens.

"We are incredibly proud to join the BBC in this latest creative venture, which builds on our expansive programming partnership to bring the best in television to audiences in the U.S. and U.K.," said Schrier. "Charles Dickens' classics, including A Christmas Carol, are timeless tales that have been reimagined generation after generation. We couldn't imagine a better team to undertake this enormous task than Steven Knight, Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, and their formidable production companies."

Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama added, "We're incredibly excited that filming has begun on Steve Knight's brilliant interpretation of A Christmas Carol, with Nick Murphy directing a phenomenal cast in what promises to be an iconic version of the classic tale."

A Christmas Carol is the first in a series of adaptions of Dickens' novels, commissioned by Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, and Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, that will air in the next few years.

A Christmas Carol, slated to air in December on FX in the US, is the latest collaboration between the two broadcasters and the creative team behind the acclaimed drama series Taboo.

ABOUT FX

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable channel of FX Networks. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in 88 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically-acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series including Taboo, Legion, Snowfall, Trust, Pose, Mayans M.C. and the upcoming Y; the critically-acclaimed limited series American Horror Story, Fargo, American Crime Story, FEUD, Fosse/Verdon and the upcoming Devs, Shogun and Mrs. America; acclaimed hit comedy series including Atlanta, Baskets, Better Things, What We Do in the Shadows and the upcoming Breeders; the half-hour series Mr Inbetween; and the upcoming docuseries The Weekly with The New York Times. FX is the former home of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning hit drama series The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, Damages, Sons of Anarchy, Justified and The Americans. The network's library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network.

About Scott Free TV

Scott Free Television is the television production company of acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott. In the 20 years since Scott Free was formed, the company has earned over 100 Emmy nominations with 22 wins, and 28 Golden Globe nominations for its television projects. Current productions include the forthcoming flagship TNT sci-fi series, RAISED BY WOLVES, the first-ever to be helmed by Ridley Scott, a drama about androids raising human children in an outer space colony; Amazon's epic drama, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, concluding its climactic fourth and final season; recently ordered season four of THE GOOD FIGHT, the critically-acclaimed CBS All Access spin-off of THE GOOD WIFE; a second season of the AMC historical anthology series THE TERROR: INFAMY; the second season of the eponymous series adaptation of George Pendle's book STRANGE ANGEL on CBS All Access; the Fox drama THE PASSAGE, based on Justin Cronin's post-apocalyptic trilogy; and the National Geographic limited series THE HOT ZONE, based on the Richard Preston book and starring Julianna Margulies, to premiere over Memorial Day. Other hailed Scott Free productions include the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated, Peabody-winning drama, "The Good Wife," which ran on CBS for seven seasons; two seasons of the esteemed PBS Civil War medical drama, "Mercy Street;" "Numb3rs," which ran for six successful seasons on CBS; and the acclaimed Emmy-nominated National Geographic channel series of "Killing" telefilms: "Killing Jesus" "Killing Kennedy" "Killing Reagan" and the docudrama "Killing Lincoln." Notable long form programs include "Klondike" for Discovery; the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated "The Pillars of the Earth" for Starz; "World Without End" for Reelz; Emmy-nominated "Into the Storm" for HBO; Emmy-nominated "The Andromeda Strain" and "Coma" for A&E; the Golden Globe-nominated "The Company" at TNT; and a feature-length digital series for X-Box/Microsoft, "Halo: Nightfall." Acclaimed non-fiction programs include CNN's "Crimes of the Century;" and longform documentaries such as the Emmy-winning special "Gettysburg" for History Channel; Hulu's "Re: Generation Music Project," directed by Amir Bar-Lev; "I Am Dying," directed by Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin for National Geographic; and Apple's "Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives," directed by Chris Perkel, which opened the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. With offices in Los Angeles and London, Scott Free works closely with RSA Films, one of the world's largest and most successful commercial production houses.

About Hardy Son & Baker

Academy Award(R) nominated actor and producer Tom Hardy formed Hardy Son & Baker with partner Dean Baker in 2012. Since its inception, the company has focused on developing and producing bold, sophisticated, high-quality content for both film and television. HSB most recently produced the Emmy(R)-nominated and BAFTA(R)-winning drama series "Taboo," which debuted in 2017 on BBC One and FX Networks. The series went on to become one of the most successful dramas ever on the BBC iPlayer in the UK and among the highest-rated new cable dramas of 2017 in the US. That same year, Hardy and Baker executive produced the critically-acclaimed documentary film TROPHY, directed by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau. Earlier HSB productions include "Poaching Wars," the 2013 UK documentary series for ITV that explored the devastating effect of wildlife poaching in Africa. The company's feature projects in development include the Bosnian war film MY WAR GONE BY, directed by Gavin O'Connor and based on the 1999 book of the same name by Anthony Lloyd, an English journalist and war correspondent; the highly anticipated screen adaptation of comic series 100 BULLETS for Warner Bros/New Line; an UNTITLED SHACKLETON PROJECT, based on the renowned British explorer Ernest Shackleton who lead multiple expeditions to the Antarctic; and an UNTITLED DON MCCULLIN PROJECT, based on the life of the legendary British war photographer. All projects originated at HSB. On the television front, HSB currently has two projects in development with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions and writer Steven Knight for FX and BBC One: "Taboo," the second season of the award-winning drama series, and "A Christmas Carol," the first in a series of adaptations of Charles Dickens' most iconic novels. The company also has several new scripted series for NBCUniversal in development, including screen adaptations for both Adam Hamdy's crime thriller "Pendulum" and Warren Ellis and Jason Howard's science-fiction graphic novel series "Trees." A number of additional developments are in the works across both film and television with an array of talented filmmakers, writers, and artists.