TL;DR:
- Netflix is making an original film about Prince Andrew’s 2019 BBC Newsnight interview.
- Gillian Anderson has been cast as interviewer Emily Maitlis while Rufus Sewell is set to play Prince Andrew.
- The film, titled SCOOP, is adapted from TV producer Sam McAlister’s book, Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.
The cast for Netflix’s Prince Andrew Newsnight movie is coming together. In the wake of an initial 2022 announcement, the streamer has shared who will portray the Duke of York, and other key characters, in a drama about the now-63-year-old’s infamous 2019 interview.
‘SCOOP’ offers an inside look at Prince Andrew’s ‘Newsnight’ interview
Netflix describes Scoop as an “insider account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, twin bastions of the British Establishment, spotlighting the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings – and into the inner sanctum and calculations of a man with everything to lose,” (via Variety).
The film is an adaptation of the details in Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, the book by TV producer Sam McAlister’s book. In it, McAlister describes how the Andrew Newsnight interview happened.
SCOOP examines the “inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘Favourite son.’”
Viewers can expect everything from “navigating Palace vetoes” to “breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle,” “high stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal,” and, finally, the interview itself.
After Andrew’s Newsnight interview, he was stripped of his royal patronages and forced out of the royal spotlight. No longer is Andrew referred to as “His Royal Highness.” Today, he seldom appears at public events with the royal family.
‘SCOOP’ cast features Gillian Anderson as ‘Newsnight’ interviewer and Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew
SCOOP‘s star-studded cast includes Sex Education’s Gillian Anderson, Kaleidoscope’s Rufus Sewell, and more. Anderson will play Emily Maitlis, the journalist who sat down with Andrew for Newsnight in 2019. As for Sewell, he’ll play Andrew.
I Hate Suzie’s Billie Piper joins the SCOOP cast as McAlister, the producer who negotiated and landed the interview with Andrew. Meanwhile, Keeley Hawes takes on the roll of the Duke of York’s former private secretary, Amanda Thirsk.
Directing SCOOP is Emmy winner Philip Martin.
‘SCOOP’ is currently in production with no official release date
Ready to see Netflix’s movie about Andrew and Newsnight? It’s going to be a while before it hits Netflix. Why? Because SCOOP is currently in production. That means a 2023 release date is highly unlikely, with no official word on when it will premiere from the streamer.
In the meantime, fans of TV shows and movies about the royal family can check out The Crown. Also a Netflix original, the award-winning drama features a season 4 appearance by Anderson as British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The latest episodes, which debuted in November 2022, comprise season 5, with Elizabeth Debicki playing Princess Diana.
Prince Andrew Netflix ‘Newsnight’ Movie ‘SCOOP’ Taking Shape With Major Roles Cast