First-look images have been released from a major new BBC legal drama set in Glasgow, featuring former MP Mhairi Black in her first acting role.
Counsels will follow six young lawyers as they attempt to build their careers across Glasgow’s legal world while dealing with friendships, relationships, rivalries and growing professional ambitions.
The eight-part drama, created by Scottish writers Bryan Elsley and Gillian McCormack, is due to arrive on BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC Scotland in early 2027.
New pictures released by the BBC show the central cast together for the first time, alongside Michelle Gomez, Michael Nardone, Derek Riddell, Laura Haddock and Black.
The former Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP will play DI Bridges, marking her acting debut following her departure from Westminster.
At the centre of the series are Jamie, Bav, Nadine, Alasdair, Katie and Karina, a group of twentysomething lawyers reaching the stage where their careers are beginning to become serious.
They work across very different parts of the profession, from public prosecution and major commercial law firms to practices representing people with nowhere else to turn.
The BBC said the characters will find themselves competing for promotion, facing one another across the legal system and trying to maintain relationships as their ambitions accelerate.
The six young lawyers are played by Brandon Grace, Ro Kumar, Eilidh Park, George Prentice, Alyth Ross and Rebecca Bell.
Grace has previously appeared in My Lady Jane and Hamlet Hail to the Thief, while Kumar’s credits include Traces and Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
Ross has appeared in Last Light and Dirty Angels, with Bell recently seen in Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
They are joined by an established supporting cast including Michelle Gomez, known for Doom Patrol and The Flight Attendant; Happy Valley and Industry actor Derek Riddell; The Recruit star Laura Haddock; and Daniela Nardini, who became one of the best-known faces of 1990s television through This Life.
Michael Nardone, Sally Howitt, Stuart Bowman, Neshla Caplan and River City star Stephen Purdon will also appear.
Counsels has been co-created by Bryan Elsley, whose previous work includes Skins and The Crow Road, and Gillian McCormack, a graduate of the BBC Writers Drama Room.
Elsley and McCormack have written the series and serve as executive producers, with additional episodes written by Vigil writer Maryam Hamidi and Red Eye writer Jingan Young.
The series is produced by Brian Kaczynski, whose credits include Lockerbie: A Search for Truth and Mayflies, and directed by Lynsey Miller and Siri Rødnes.
The drama joins BBC productions made in Scotland including Vigil, Shetland, Rebus, The Young Team and Sutherland.
Counsels will consist of eight hour-long episodes and is expected to launch in early 2027.