 | Press ReleasesBBC Acquisitions enjoys Golden Globe success |
BBC Acquisitions enjoyed success at this year's Golden Globe Awards, which were announced at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Among the winners were – Best series (drama): Mad Men Best actor (drama): Jon Hamm, Mad Men Best actress (drama): Glenn Close, Damages Other winners on the night included the BBC/HBO co-production Extras, written by and starring Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, which which was named best series. Damages, the highly anticipated top-rating new series in the United States this season, debuted last week on BBC One and gained an average audience of 3.2 million. This 13-part drama series, starring five-time Oscar nominee and two-time Tony Award winner Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons), combines a compelling legal thriller with a riveting murder mystery. Directed by Allen Coulter (The Sopranos, Sex And The City and BBC Two's Rome), Damages is a powerful drama set in high stakes litigation. The series follows the turbulent lives of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), the nation's most revered and reviled high stakes litigator, and her bright and ambitious protégé Ellen Parsons, played by rising Australian star Rose Byrne (Marie Antoinette), as they become embroiled in a lawsuit with one of the wealthiest and most corrupt CEOs in the country. Mad Men is the new series from Matthew Weiner, Emmy Award-winning writer and executive producer of The Sopranos, and will be broadcast on BBC Four in February. Set on and around Madison Avenue – home of America's ad agencies in Sixties New York and the "Mad" of the title – this sophisticated, high quality, morally ambiguous drama series delves into the lives, loves and professional ambitions of the ruthlessly competitive men and women working at Sterling Cooper advertising agency. Cinematic in its scale and depth of characterisation, Mad Men runs to 13 compelling episodes. George McGhee, Controller, BBC Programme Acquisition, comments: "It is wonderful that both Jon Hamm for Mad Men and Glenn Close for Damages have won Golden Globes – two outstanding performances in extraordinary shows. "The BBC is very proud to have both dramas in our schedules as part of the overall BBC Fiction offering. Congratulations to Jon and Glenn as well as to Matt Wiener the creator of Mad Men and all at AMC. "We're very much looking forward to providing Mad Men with it's UK home on BBC Four." Damages and Mad Men continue the wave of rich offerings from BBC Acquisitions, which have recently included The Tudors, Heroes and Shrek The Halls which gained an audience of 7.3 million on BBC One on Christmas Eve 2007. RB/EF-RI | 
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