Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd and Breaking Bad actress Laura Fraser have joined the cast of the BBC’s new Scottish drama The Young Team as filming gets under way in North Lanarkshire.
The six-part series is an adaptation of Graeme Armstrong’s acclaimed novel of the same name and follows a group of teenagers growing up amid gang culture, drugs, violence and territorial rivalries in Airdrie.
McKidd will play Mr McGiver, the inspirational headteacher of central character Alan ‘Azzy’ Williams, while Glasgow-born Fraser will play Azzy’s long-suffering mother Angela.
Jakob James Smith, whose credits include MobLand, has been cast in the lead role of 15-year-old Azzy.
Connor Newall, who has appeared in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and BBC drama Mint, will play Big Kenzie, while Scot Greenan, whose credits include Half Man and T2 Trainspotting, plays Eck.
The production has also uncovered a new generation of young Scottish actors after more than 1,000 people applied through an open casting process.
Beinn Catchpole will play Whytey, David Russell is Broonie, Mick Mack is Wee Kenzie, Caiden Henderson-Brown plays Addison, Lewis Ray is Danny and Jack Mooney will appear as Wee Toffey.
Together they make up the Young Team Posse – the YTP – at the heart of Armstrong’s story.
The drama follows Azzy and his friends as they roam the streets of Airdrie on Friday nights, drinking tonic wine and listening to techno as the teenager attempts to prove himself worthy of becoming a fully initiated member of the local gang.
His attempts to establish himself eventually trigger a brutal gang conflict, placing Azzy at its centre.
The series will explore friendship, identity and belonging alongside addiction, territorial violence and the lives of young people who become trapped in a cycle of gang rivalry.
Armstrong, who grew up in Airdrie and drew heavily on his experiences of North Lanarkshire youth culture for the novel, has created and co-written the television adaptation.
Creator and writer, Graeme Armstrong, says: “The casting process by Synchronicity Films and Des Hamilton has been incredible to see coming alive. With both authenticity of language and a real sense of place at the forefront, they’ve built an amazingly talented group of young Scottish actors who, working with director Paul McGuigan on his homecoming project, will deliver something really special.”
Glasgow-born Paul McGuigan, whose credits include Sherlock, Lucky Number Slevin and Gangster No. 1, is directing the opening three episodes and says The Young Team marks the first time he has directed in Scotland for 30 years.
McGuigan said: “The Young Team has brought me back to direct in Scotland for the first time in 30 years and I can’t think of a more fitting way to mark my professional homecoming.
“It’s a privilege to work with our Young Team cast, an exciting new generation of working-class talent selected from an open audition process that saw over 1,000 young people apply.
“I cannot wait to see our Young Team characters come to life, as we bring Graeme’s iconic novel to the screen.”
Andrew Cumming will direct episodes four to six.
The Young Team is being produced by Glasgow-based Synchronicity Films, the company behind The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Mayflies and The Cry.
Claire Mundell, Founder, Creative Director and executive producer on the series says: “Graeme’s extraordinary novel is raw, fearless and full of heart and we’re incredibly proud to be bringing this unapologetically Scottish story to the screen.
“Seeing such an exciting new generation of Scottish talent emerge alongside established names, and with Paul McGuigan at the helm, is so special. Together with our partners at the BBC and BBC Scotland, Fox Entertainment Global and the invaluable support of Screen Scotland, we’re excited to bring this story to life with the authenticity it deserves.”
The six hour-long episodes are being filmed in North Lanarkshire, keeping the television adaptation in the communities that inspired Armstrong’s original story.
Armstrong is writing the series alongside Gillian Roger Park, who has written episodes two and four, and Robert Florence, who has written episode five.
The Young Team will be shown on BBC One, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer, with a transmission date still to be announced.