The Last Panthers
| The Last Panthers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Panthers |
| Genre | Action, Drama |
| Created by | Jack Thorne |
| Written by | Jack Thorne |
| Directed by | Johan Renck |
| Starring |
Samantha Morton Tahar Rahim Goran Bogdan John Hurt |
| Theme music composer | David Bowie |
| Opening theme | "Blackstar" by David Bowie |
| Composer(s) | Clark |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language(s) |
English French Serbian |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
London Marseille Belgrade Montenegro |
| Cinematography | Laurent Tangy |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Warp Films |
| Distributor |
British Sky Broadcasting (UK) Canal+ (France) SundanceTV (US) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
Sky Atlantic (UK) Canal+ (France) |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 12 November 2015 |
The Last Panthers is a European crime drama television series created by Jack Thorne and directed by Johan Renck.[1] It is a fictional story inspired by the notorious Balkan jewel thieves the Pink Panthers. The six-part series premiered on Canal+ on 26 October 2015 in France and on Sky Atlantic on 12 November 2015 in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria. Its US premiere is scheduled for spring 2016 on SundanceTV.[2][3]
Premise
The show opens with a diamond heist bearing a resemblance to those of a gang of thieves known as the Pink Panthers, before quickly delving into the dark heart of Europe where a shadowy alliance of gangsters and 'banksters' now rules.
Cast
- Samantha Morton as Naomi Franckom, a British loss adjuster charged with recovering the stolen diamonds whatever the cost.
- John Hurt as Tom Kendle, Naomi's nefarious boss.
- Tahar Rahim as Khalil Rachedi, a French-Algerian policeman in pursuit of the thieves.
- Goran Bogdan as Milan Celik, a Balkan jewel thief and criminal.
- Igor Bencina as Zlatko Mladic.
- Corinne Masiero as Corinne
Music
On 6 October 2015, international news media announced that David Bowie has arranged his new track "Blackstar" as the theme song of the show, as well as introducing the listener to 45 seconds of the intro. The series director, Johan Renck, said of both the artist and the song; "The piece of music he laid before us embodied every aspect of our characters and the series itself: dark, brooding, beautiful and sentimental (in the best possible incarnation of this word). All along, the man inspired and intrigued me and as the process passed, I was overwhelmed with his generosity. I still can’t fathom what actually happened".[4]
Rolling Stone magazine's Daniel Krep said that the tune reminded him 'of the bleak, haunting instrumentals on the back half of Bowie's 1977 album Heroes',[5] and The Guardian suggested the song revealed Bowie 'at his most brooding.'
The series is soundtracked by Warp Records artist Clark. It is his debut TV score and director Johan Renck said "Chris's sensibilities and brazen creativity was bang on for a score to deal with everything from the Biblical grandeur of the story, via brooding darkness all the way over to tender sentimentality. He had it covered."[6]
References
- ↑ "The Last Panthers". Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "Exclusive trailer: The Last Panthers". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "The Last Panthers – exclusive trailer for the Samantha Morton thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ↑ "David Bowie's theme song for The Last Panthers – listen here". The Guardian. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ↑ Kreps, Daniel (6 October 2015). "Hear David Bowie's Haunting 'Blackstar' Theme From 'Last Panthers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ↑ "Clark scores new crime thriller The Last Panthers". Resident Advisor. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.