Matthew Rhys Stars as Harry Evans in BBC Drama 'Dragon Slayers,' Filming in Manchester September 2026

One of the most compelling true stories in British journalism history is heading to BBC One, and the production mounting it is the kind of prestige limited series that working professionals in the UK and beyond will want to get in front of now. Dragon Slayers, a six-part drama chronicling the legendary Sunday Times editor Sir Harry Evans and his celebrated Insight investigative team, is moving into pre-production with principal photography scheduled to begin in Manchester this September 2026. With a BAFTA-winning writer, a critically acclaimed lead actor who is also an executive producer, and the full weight of Universal International Studios behind it, this is shaping up to be one of the most significant British drama productions of next year.

Matthew Rhys takes the lead as Sir Harry Evans, and it is a casting decision that carries real creative logic. Rhys, the Welsh actor best known stateside for his Emmy-winning turn as Philip Jennings in The Americans and his acclaimed performance in Perry Mason on HBO, has long demonstrated a gift for playing principled, complicated men operating under sustained pressure. That sensibility fits Evans almost perfectly. Rhys also serves as an executive producer on the series, which signals genuine creative investment in the material rather than a straightforward acting job. The screenplay comes from Peter Bowker, a writer with serious form in British prestige drama. Bowker won a BAFTA for his work on Marvellous and has written for high-profile productions including The A Word and Flesh and Blood, and he serves here as both writer and executive producer alongside co-writer Annalisa Dinnella. The directing reins are held by Al Mackay, whose credits include the well-regarded BBC series The Tower. Additional executive producers include Patrick Spence and Joe Williams, with Natasha Romaniuk producing. Casting is in the hands of Shaheen Baig, one of the most respected casting directors working in British drama today, whose previous credits include Normal People, The Outlaws, and We Are Lady Parts. Agents representing talent for period ensemble drama roles should be paying close attention.

The production sits at the intersection of two well-resourced companies. AC Chapter One, the production banner behind the project, is producing alongside NBCUniversal International Television, the international arm of one of the largest studio and streaming operations in the world. The BBC One and iPlayer attachment places this firmly in prestige primetime territory, the kind of commission the BBC reserves for projects it expects to travel internationally and generate awards attention. That combination of a major American studio partner and a flagship BBC berth strongly suggests this is a well-capitalised production operating at the upper tier of British television drama budgets. Crew can reasonably expect a full union-standard shoot with proper departmental resources.

Manchester is the confirmed filming location, and that is good news for the North of England crew base. Manchester has grown into one of the UK's most active production hubs, anchored by the massive MediaCityUK complex in Salford, which houses BBC Studios facilities, dock10 stage spaces, and a well-established infrastructure of production support companies. The city and the broader Greater Manchester region also benefit from a strong local crew pool across most departments, developed over years of sustained production activity from series including Happy Valley, Last Night in Soho, and numerous BBC and ITV commissions. Productions do sometimes import London-based department heads for prestige projects, but Manchester's talent base at every level has matured considerably. Crew based in the North West should be actively making contact with the production now.

The format deserves attention from a logistics standpoint. Dragon Slayers runs to six episodes structured as one 90-minute opener and five 60-minute episodes, a format that typically signals a longer shoot window than a straight six-by-60 order and usually requires a more expansive production design footprint. The 1970s period setting is a significant detail for department heads: costume, hair and makeup, and the art department will all be building a world from scratch, and the subject matter spans multiple high-profile real-world stories including the Thalidomide scandal, the DC-10 crash investigation, and the exposure of Kim Philby as a Soviet spy. That breadth of storytelling, across institutional and legal settings, newsroom environments, and period locations, points to a locations department with real work ahead of it. The production has also drawn on interviews with people who knew Evans personally, including his widow Tina Brown, which suggests a research-intensive approach and the possibility of technical advisers in journalism and legal procedure being brought on board.

With a September 2026 principal photography start confirmed and pre-production now underway, the hiring window for department heads and key crew is opening. Productions of this scale and pedigree typically lock their heads of department three to four months ahead of cameras rolling, which means decisions on production designer, director of photography, costume designer, and locations manager could come as soon as spring 2026. The full production listing for Dragon Slayers, including production office contacts, crew list updates, and scheduling details as they are confirmed, is available now on ProductionList.com. If this is the kind of high-calibre British drama you want to be part of, this is the moment to get your name in front of the right people.

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