The Bombing of Pan Am 103
2025 British television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is a British television drama in six parts starring Connor Swindells, Merritt Wever and Patrick J. Adams. It is about the 1988 disaster of Pan Am Flight 103, which was the deadliest terrorist attack in British history. The series premiered on 18 May 2025 on BBC One.
- Jonathan Lee
- Gillian Roger Park
| The Bombing of Pan Am 103 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Jonathan Lee |
| Developed by | Adam Morane-Griffiths |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Michael Keillor |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Julia Stannard |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 18 May – 2 June 2025 |
Premise
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 focuses on the two investigations by the British and American governments into the bombing on Pan Am Flight 103 after the explosion over the town of Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988.[1]
Cast and characters
- Connor Swindells as DS Ed McCusker
- Eddie Marsan as Tom Thurman
- Peter Mullan as DCS John Orr
- Lauren Lyle as June McCusker
- Phyllis Logan as Moira Shearer
- Tony Curran as DCI Harry Bell
- Patrick J. Adams as FBI Special Agent Dick Marquise
- Merritt Wever as Kathryn Turman
- James Harkness as DS Sandy Gay
- Amanda Drew as Linda Burman
- Molly Geddes as WPC Lauren Aitken
- Nicholas Gleaves as Allen Feraday
- Douglas Hodge as DCS Stuart Henderson
- Alastair Mackenzie as Alastair Campbell QC
- Kevin McKidd as DCS Tom McCulloch
- Dominik Tiefenthaler as Edwin Bollier
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [2] | U.S. airdate | UK viewers (millions) [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Michael Keillor | Jonathan Lee | 18 May 2025 | TBA | 3.10 |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Michael Keillor | Jonathan Lee | 19 May 2025 | TBA | 2.65 |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Michael Keillor | Jonathan Lee | 25 May 2025 | TBA | 2.66 |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Michael Keillor | Gillian Roger Park | 26 May 2025 | TBA | 2.44 |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Michael Keillor | Gillian Roger Park | 1 June 2025 | TBA | 2.67 |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Michael Keillor | Jonathan Lee | 2 June 2025 | TBA | 2.57 |
Production
Development
The series was commissioned in July 2023 by BBC One and Netflix.[4] It was developed by MGM Television and Night Train Media alongside filmmaker Adam Morane-Griffiths, who had brought the project to them, and Sara Curran, in 2020.[5] It is written by Jonathan Lee and Gillian Roger Park, while Michael Keillor directs.[6] Park was born on the west coast of Scotland four days after the disaster, and she told Deadline Hollywood: "The Lockerbie bombing hangs over Scottish culture very heavily. I felt the weight of that. This was a job that I really wanted to do and it’s a real honor to be asked. It's a precious story."[7]
The series is produced by World Productions, in association with MGM Television and Night Train Media with Julia Stannard as producer.
Casting
In March 2024, Patrick J. Adams, Connor Swindells and Merritt Wever were confirmed in the lead cast as well as Eddie Marsan, Lauren Lyle, Phyllis Logan and Peter Mullan.[8]
Filming
Principal photography started in Scotland in early 2024, with filming locations also including Malta and Canada.[9]
Marketing
First-look images from filming and the confirmed series title, The Bombing of Pan Am 103, were provided to the media in March 2025.[10]
Music
Broadcast
The six-part series began on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2025 before heading to Netflix globally.[2]