Hugh Laurie will lead the cast of The Wanted Man, a new eight-part crime thriller series premiering on Apple TV+ in January 2027. The streaming platform has released the first images and confirmed the broadcast schedule for the upcoming television drama, which Laurie also executive produces.
The plot follows Felix Carmichael, played by Laurie, who serves as the chief mastermind of a major criminal syndicate called The Capital. Carmichael manages to evade law enforcement agencies for two decades before an internal betrayal at the highest level of his empire leads to his arrest and imprisonment in Staplehurst maximum security prison.
While locked away behind bars, Carmichael discovers that the insider who betrayed him is actively working to dismantle his criminal enterprise while posing a direct threat to his family. The escalating danger leaves the imprisoned boss with no choice but to engineer a high-stakes escape plan to protect his relatives and reclaim control of his empire.
Creative team behind the series
The television drama was created and written by British showrunner George Kay, who previously created popular suspense series including Hijack, Lupin, and War. Kay serves as an executive producer on the project alongside Laurie, Willow Grylls, who produced Gone, and Matt Sandford, who worked on The Long Shadow.
Kay has established himself as a prominent writer in international television, having gained widespread acclaim for writing the real-time thriller series Hijack starring Idris Elba for Apple TV+. Apple TV+ is the subscription video-on-demand service operated by Apple Inc, which regularly commissions high-profile British drama series for its global subscriber base.
The series is produced by New Pictures, a British production company operating as a subsidiary of Banijay Entertainment, in association with Kay's production label, Observatory Pictures. David Meanti, whose previous credits include the Star Wars series Andor, serves as producer on the title. Banijay Entertainment is one of the world's largest independent television production and distribution conglomerates.
Belgian filmmaker Jakob Verbruggen has directed all eight episodes of the miniseries. Verbruggen is known for directing tense, atmospheric screen productions, having previously helmed episodes of the BBC crime drama The Fall, the spy thriller London Spy, and the sci-fi drama Dark Matter.
Starring ensemble and production locations
Laurie is one of the most recognisable actors on British and American television. He achieved international fame starring as the title character in the hit medical drama series House, earning two Golden Globe Awards for his performance. He also earned critical acclaim for playing illegal arms dealer Richard Roper in the BBC adaptation of John le Carre's The Night Manager.
The production features an extensive ensemble cast drawn from major film and television productions. The confirmed cast list includes Thandiwe Newton, Fionn Whitehead, Gina McKee, Stephen Dillane, Hazel Doupe, Elliott Heffernan, and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr.
Newton starred as the sentient android Maeve Millay in the HBO science-fiction series Westworld, a role that won her a Primetime Emmy Award. Whitehead played the lead role of Tommy in Christopher Nolan's 2017 historical war film Dunkirk, while McKee appeared in the romantic comedy Notting Hill and the romantic drama My Policeman.
Dillane played Stannis Baratheon in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones, while younger cast members include Doupe, who starred in the drama series Say Nothing, and Heffernan, who appeared in Steve McQueen's feature film Blitz.
Filming history and premiere schedule
Filming for the eight-episode thriller officially began on location across the United Kingdom in May 2025. The production was structured from the outset to prepare for a simultaneous global rollout across all international territories served by Apple TV+.
The global launch will begin on Wednesday, January 6, 2027, when the first two episodes become available to stream concurrently. Following the double-episode premiere, new episodes will drop individually every Wednesday until the series reaches its conclusion on February 17, 2027.
