Jodie Whittaker to lead ITV legal drama In Contempt as hotshot media lawyer
Deadline reports Jodie Whittaker will star as barrister Olivia Savareid in In Contempt, a high-stakes ITV drama about media law, reputation and the collision between the press and privacy.
Deadline reports exclusively that Jodie Whittaker will star as a top-tier media lawyer in In Contempt, a new high-stakes legal drama for ITV from Hartswood Films in association with ITV Studios. Written by Steve Thompson, the series centres on barrister Olivia Savareid, whose career defending reputations against damaging headlines is threatened when a workplace explosion forces a crucial misjudgement that places her own name at risk. The show will air on ITV and STV, and be available on ITVX and STV Player, with ITV handling international distribution.
Whittaker cast as barrister Olivia Savareid
According to Deadline, Whittaker will play Olivia Savareid, a hotshot media lawyer whose advocacy has made her a specialist in protecting clientsā reputations and fighting multi-million-pound litigation to stop damaging stories circulating on social media. The series flips that dynamic when an explosive situation at work leads Olivia to a serious misjudgment, and her standing is suddenly on the line. The character is also the mother of a 15āyearāold daughter, a personal strand the series will explore alongside the legal action.
Hartswood and ITV Studios back the series; filming set for London this autumn
Deadline says Sherlock and Dracula maker Hartswood Films is producing In Contempt in association with parent company ITV Studios, which holds international distribution rights. Steve Thompson (Sherlock) is the writer, with Sue Vertue and Steven Moffat as executive producers. Ed Bazalgette (The Last Kingdom) is directing, and Lawrence Till (Douglas is Cancelled) is producing. ITVās Director of Drama Polly Hill commissioned the series and will oversee production for the broadcaster. Filming is due to begin in London in the autumn, with further casting to be announced closer to production.
A drama about reputation, the press and the law
In Contempt pits Olivia against Greg Dalman, a veteran news director who edits a London daily and is described by Deadline as prone to pushing the boundaries of what can be published. As his legal counsel, Olivia must use all her skills to keep him out of libel court while confronting the ethical and legal tensions between press freedom and personal privacy. ITVās Polly Hill said, āThereās always been a voracious appetite for what happens behind the scenes before news stories are published.ā Producer Sue Vertue framed the show as a contemporary story of ācancellation, online poison and media law,ā and Thompson said it examines the fraught relationship between the media and the law.