Netflix Picks Up Drug Gang Drama ‘Legends’ From Writer Neil Forsyth

Netflix has greenlit a new British drama from ‘The Gold’ showrunner Neil Forsyth, based on a stunning true story about a pair of customs officers who went undercover to infiltrate some of Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.

The six-part series, titled “Legends,” follows a thrilling criminal investigation based on Forsyth’s extensive research and interviews with those involved.

“In the early 1990s, at the height of the international war on drugs, the government agency responsible for Britain’s borders, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, realised they were losing the battle against drug smuggling. Their solution was extraordinary,” the logline reads. “In a top-secret operation, a small team of British Customs officers were sent undercover. Their job: to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drugs gangs.”

“They weren’t trained spies, they had no undercover experience. These were ordinary men and women, plucked from ordinary lives in the UK, who had undergone a basic training regime and then been told to create new identities in the criminal underworld. These identities were called Legends.

Forsyth’s banner Tannadice Pictures will produce the project. Forsyth will executive produce alongside Ben Farrell (“The Gold”) and Lion Television’s Richard Bradley. Charlie Leech (“The Gold”) will produce.

“I’m really excited to be able to tell this incredible story, along with everyone at Tannadice Pictures,” said Forsyth. “I think ‘Legends’ is a fascinating, moving, untold British story that deserves to be told in its entirety. I’m delighted that Netflix has agreed.”

Mona Qureshi, Netflix’s UK content director, added: “As fans of Neil’s ‘The Gold’, we were immediately excited at the prospect of Legends’ extraordinary story in his hands. Neil’s scripts transport us back to 1990s Britain, where the government was losing its battle in what was a global war on drugs, and introduce us to a compelling ensemble of characters whose unexpected journeys into the dangerous labyrinth of undercover operations promise a riveting, action-packed series in the best tradition of British crime storytelling. We can’t wait for ‘Legends’ to come to life on Netflix.”