Baghdad Central (TV series)

Baghdad Central is a British crime thriller television series set in Iraq and first broadcast in 2020. It was based on the 2014 novel by Elliott Colla, and adapted by Stephen Butchard. It was directed by Alice Troughton.^[3] The executive producer was Kate Harwood^[2][4][3]

Baghdad Central
Genre	Crime thriller Neo-noir[1]
Based on	Baghdad Central by Elliott Colla
Written by	Stephen Butchard
Directed by	Alice Troughton
Starring	Waleed Zuaiter Bertie Carvel Clara Khoury Leem Lubany Corey Stoll
Music by	H. Scott Salinas
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original languages	English Arabic
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Kate Harwood[2] Stephen Butchard
Producer	Jonathan Curling
Production company	Euston Films
Original release
Network	Channel 4
Release	3 February (2020-02-03) – 9 March 2020 (2020-03-09)

Plot

The series is set in Iraq in 2003, shortly after the ousting of Saddam Hussein. It centres on a former policeman, Muhsin al-Khafaji (Waleed Zuaiter), as he tries to find his missing daughter, Sawsan (Leem Lubany). He is mistakenly arrested and tortured by United States troops but then recruited by a former British policeman, Frank Temple (Bertie Carvel), to become a police officer in the Green Zone.^[5][6]

Main cast

• Waleed Zuaiter as Muhsin al-Khafaji^[5]
• Bertie Carvel as Frank Temple^[5]
• Clara Khoury as Professor Zubeida Rashid^[7]
• Leem Lubany as Sawsan^[7]
• July Namir as Mrouj^[5]
• Tawfeek Barhom^[8]
• Charlotte Spencer^[8]
• Corey Stoll as John Parodi^[3]
• Neil Maskell as Douglas Evans^[7]

Recurring cast

• Fady Elsayed as Ibrahim Jabani

Production

Filming began in September 2018, and took place in Morocco, including in the cities of Ouarzazate, Rabat, Casablanca and Mohammedia.^[9]

Broadcast

Baghdad Central was first broadcast on Channel 4 in February 2020.^[10] In the United States, it has been broadcast on Hulu.^[11][12]

Reception

Baghdad Central has received mostly positive reviews according to aggregator websites, scoring 78 on Metacritic and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes as of May 2020.^[13][14] Zuaiter was a nominee for the Best Actor award in the 2021 British Academy Television Awards.^[15]

References

1. Morris, Anthony (28 May 2020). "'Baghdad Central' is noir in the desert". SBS. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
2. Jeffery, Morgan. "Baghdad Central series 2 is "very possible" and might explore mystery of missing US billions". Radio Times. Hubert Burda Media. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
3. Jones, Ellen E. (4 February 2020). "Baghdad Central review – more than just a Middle East Morse". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
4. "Baghdad Central: Episodes". Channel 4. Channel Four Television Corporation. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
5. Cremona, Patrick (9 March 2020). "When is Baghdad Central on Channel 4? What is it about?". Radio Times. Hubert Burda Media. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
6. "Baghdad Central". SBS On Demand. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
7. Palmer, Katie (4 February 2020). "Baghdad Central cast: Who is in the cast of Baghdad Central?". Express. Reach plc. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
8. "Episode 1". Baghdad Central. Season 1. Episode 1. Event occurs at 4:16. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
9. White, Peter (6 September 2018). "'Doctor Who' & 'Lore' Director Alice Troughton Set As Lead Director For C4 Drama 'Baghdad Central'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
10. "Baghdad Central: Home". Channel 4. Channel Four Television Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
11. Nickolai, Nate (13 October 2019). "Fremantle, Hulu Bringing 'Baghdad Central' to United States". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
12. "Baghdad Central". Hulu. The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
13. "Baghdad Central: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
14. "Baghdad Central". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
15. "BAFTA TV 2021: The Winners and Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.

External links

• Baghdad Central at IMDb