When Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, in December of 1988, it not only killed all 259 people on board but also 11 residents of Lockerbie, which is where the plane’s debris fell. The bombing, which was the result of an explosive planted in a suitcase, was one of the deadliest terror attacks in UK history, and a new five-episode geopolitical thriller from Peacock and Sky is set to revisit both the attack and its aftermath.
Starring Colin Firth as Dr. Jim Swire, who was chosen to be the spokesperson for the UK victims’ families, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth will hit Peacock on Jan. 2, 2025, and looks set to be another standout title from Peacock and Sky (which also made The Day of the Jackal one of 2024’s best TV releases). Many American viewers are no doubt familiar with the broad strokes of the attack, which had a profound and lasting impact on the UK. I suspect that many viewers, however, might not be as familiar with Swire, an outspoken advocate for uncovering the truth about the attack.
He’s also one of the many loved ones who were directly impacted by the bombing, having lost his daughter Flora in the attack. A Libyan national, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was ultimately tried and convicted for his role in the Lockerbie bombing (read more about the tragedy here).
“Traveling across continents and political divides,” Peacock explains about the drama from director Otto Bathurst, “(Swire) embarks on a relentless journey that not only jeopardizes his stability, family and life, but completely overturns his trust in the justice system. As the truth shifts under Jim’s feet, his view of the world is left forever changed. Exploring events from the disaster and its aftermath, Lockerbie: A Search For Truth provides an intimate account of a man, a husband, and a father who risks everything in memory of his daughter and the unflinching pursuit of truth and justice.”
