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Chris Lang

{{Short description|British screenwriter and actor }}

{{About|the British actor, writer and producer|the Australian politician|Chris Lang (politician)|the New Zealand local rally driver|Chris Lange}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox writer

|name = Chris Lang

|image = Chris Lang, publicity photo.png

|caption = Lang in 2014

|birth_date =

|birth_place = Lambeth, London, England

|children = 5

|death_date =

|death_place =

|notableworks = The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (2022)

Amnesia (2004)
Torn (2007)
A Mother's Son (2012)
Undeniable (2014)
Unforgotten (2015– )
Innocent (2018- )

Dark Heart (2018)

|period = 1985–present

|alma_mater =

|occupation = Screenwriter, television producer, actor

}}

Chris Lang is a British screenwriter, producer, and actor. Lang has written many British television series but is best known as the writer, creator, and executive producer of Unforgotten.

Early life and education

Chris Lang was educated at Reigate Grammar School and then at RADA, where he won the Royal Academy award for "A Series of Outstanding Performances in the Vanbrugh Theatre". He graduated in 1983.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Career

= Actor =

In his youth, Lang formed a comedy revue called The Jockeys of Norfolk with Andy Taylor and Hugh Grant.{{cite web |url=http://www.andyjt.co.uk/jockeysofnorfolk.html|title=Andy Taylor - British actor & Voice Over Artist|website= The Jockeys of Norfolk |access-date=9 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006050422/http://www.andyjt.co.uk/jockeysofnorfolk.html|archive-date=6 October 2009|url-status=dead}}

He worked as an actor on such British television series as Shadow of the Noose, Drop the Dead Donkey, Outside Edge, A Dance to the Music of Time, and All Along the Watchtower.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

He stopped acting in the mid nineties in order to fully concentrate on his writing career.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

= Screenwriter =

Lang began his screenwriting career on The Bill, for which he wrote many episodes, and for which he won a Writer's Guild award.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} He went on to write episodes for shows including Casualty, Soldier Soldier, The Knock, POW, Primeval, Hustle, and The Tunnel for Sky Atlantic.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In 2001, he wrote and created his first original drama series The Glass, which starred John Thaw and Sarah Lancashire.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/jun/03/features.review97|title=A touch of Glass|first=Kathryn|last=Flett|date=3 June 2001|website=The Guardian}} Other original work has included Sirens, Unconditional Love,{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} Amnesia (which was nominated for an Edgar Award),{{cite web |url=http://www.sarahweinman.com/confessions/2005/02/the_2005_edgar_.html|title=2005 Edgar Awards nominees|access-date=9 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016042515/http://www.sarahweinman.com/confessions/2005/02/the_2005_edgar_.html|archive-date=16 October 2014|url-status=dead}} Lawless, and The Reckoning{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The first series of Unforgotten, starring Nicola Walker, Trevor Eve, Sir Tom Courtenay, and Sanjeev Bhaskar, was broadcast in autumn 2015.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} Courtenay later won the 2016 BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role.{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/2016/television/supporting-actor|title=2016 Television Supporting Actor |website =BAFTA Awards | access-date=2017-03-13}} The second series aired in January 2017 to an audience of 7.29 million,{{cite web|url=http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-30/|title=Weekly top 30 programmes {{!}} BARB|website=www.barb.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-03-13}} with the Daily Telegraph describing the series as "the detective drama of the decade".{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/02/02/death-serial-killer-thrillers-gently-subversive-unforgotten/|title=Death to serial killer thrillers: why the gently subversive Unforgotten is the best detective drama of the decade|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2017-03-13|language=en-GB}} In November 2017 Mark Bonnar won the 2017 Best Actor BAFTA Scotland for his portrayal of Colin Osborne in the series.{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/british-academy-scotland-awards-2017-winners-announced|title=British Academy Scotland Awards 2017: Winners Announced|website=www.bafta.org|date=5 November 2017|language=en|access-date=2018-02-05}} The third series aired in July 2018 and received universal critical acclaim. The last episode was watched by over 7.5 million viewers, making it the most watched episode of all three series.

In December 2018, The Hook Up Plan, an eight-part romantic comedy starring Zita Hanrot, created and co-written by Lang, aired on Netflix.{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/12/netflix-french-original-romantic-comedy-noemie-saglio-chris-lang-1202219471/|title=Netflix Falls For Paris-Set Romcom; Series To Be Helmed By Noemie Saglio|last=Tartaglione|first=Nancy|date=2017-12-04|work=Deadline|access-date=2018-02-05|language=en-US}} A second series was broadcast in 2020.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In October 2018, a six-part drama called Dark Heart, which Lang wrote and executive produced, and which starred Tom Riley and Charlotte Riley, broadcast in the UK, with the first episode attracting an audience of 6.3 million.{{Cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-recommissions-crime-thriller-dark-heart-starring-tom-riley|title=ITV recommissions crime thriller Dark Heart starring Tom Riley|work=Press Centre|access-date=2018-02-05|language=en}}

In February 2021 Unforgotten returned for a fourth series,{{cite web |url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-greenlights-fourth-series-hit-drama-unforgotten|website = ITV Press Centre|accessdate = 2018-09-20|title = Press Releases}} to universal critical acclaim and an average rating across the series of 9.5 million, up on series 3 by an average of 2.5 million per episode. It was nominated as best drama by both BAFTA and Royal Television Society.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} A few months later series 4 was broadcast in the states on PBS. It returned for a fifth series in February 2023 with Sinead Keenan replacing Nicola Walker's role, starring alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar and aired to a first episode audience of 8.4 million, making it the highest rated ITV programme of the year, and third most watched drama across all channels.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} The 6th series was broadcast in February 2025, to a first night audience of 8.1m and series 7 was announced following broadcast, to shoot in 2026.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In April 2022, he saw the broadcast of The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe starring Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan, the true story of John and Anne Darwin, which Lang wrote and for which he was the executive producer.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} It aired to a first episode audience of 10.01 million, making it the third most watched UK drama of the year.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} The series was selected for competition at the Geneva International Film Festival in November 2022, and was nominated for Best Serial at the Broadcast Awards 2022. It was also nominated as best mini series by BAFTA 2023 and by BPG 2023. It was also nominated as best drama series at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2023.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In February 2024, Lang's new show I, Jack Wright started shooting in the UK. Starring John Simm, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Gemma Jones, Daniel Rigby, James Fleet, and Zoe Tapper, it is scheduled for broadcast in 2025 on Britbox, U&Alibi, and then the BBC. Lang serves as creator, writer and executive producer.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

=TXTV =

In the late 2000s, Lang co-founder TXTV, through which he made much of his work, including Innocent, a four-part thriller starring Lee Ingleby, Hermione Norris, Nigel Lindsay, and Angel Coulby.{{Cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/hermione-norris-and-lee-ingleby-lead-cast-new-itv-drama-innocent|title=Hermione Norris and Lee Ingleby lead the cast of new ITV drama Innocent|work=ITV Press Centre|access-date=2017-03-13|language=en}} broadcast in May 2018. It returned for a second series, which broadcast on Monday 17 May 2021.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Other TXTV shows include Undeniable, starring Peter Firth and Claire Goose,{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a528108/claire-goose-peter-firth-to-star-in-itv-thriller-undeniable.html#~oScrFZSWxDU0C1|title=Goose, Firth for ITV thriller Undeniable|website=Digital Spy|date=1 November 2013}} which aired in April 2014. It was remade in France in February 2017, entitled Quand Je Serai Grande Je Te Tuerai starring Laetitia Milot. Filmed on the Île de Ré it broadcast in France in late 2017 to an audience of seven million.{{Cite news|url=http://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/tf1-adapte-encore-deux-miniseries-etrangeres_a9fd2f10-e6f9-11e6-8011-c672c8f0aad4/|title=TF1 adapte (encore) deux miniséries étrangères|last=lefigaro.fr|date=2017-01-31|work=TVMag|access-date=2017-03-13|language=fr-FR}}

A Mother's Son, starring Hermione Norris, Paul McGann, and Martin Clunes (September 2012) was nominated for a Broadcast Award,{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-awards-shortlist-2013-revealed/5049207.article|title=Broadcast Awards Shortlist 2013 revealed|work=Broadcast}} and adapted as a single film for TF1 in France called Tu Es Mon Fils (April 2015), starring Anne Marivin.{{cite web|url = http://www.tf1.fr/tu-es-mon-fils/|title = Tu Es Mon Fils|date = 23 February 2015|accessdate = 20 April 2015|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150421072918/http://www.tf1.fr/tu-es-mon-fils/|archivedate = 21 April 2015}} Tu Es Mon Fils later won best single film at the Polar de Cognac Film Festival.{{Cite news |url=http://www.jeanmarcmorandini.com/article-344277-la-fiction-de-tf1-tu-es-mon-fils-recompensee-au-festival-du-polar-de-cognac.html|title=La fiction de TF1 "Tu es mon fils" récompensée au Festival du Polar de Cognac|access-date=2017-03-13|language=fr}}

Lang's series Torn, starring Holly Aird and Nicola Walker, was nominated for an RTS award.[http://www.rts.org.uk/winners-rpa?term_node_tid_depth=123 2007 Royal Television Society Awards nominations] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821181544/http://www.rts.org.uk/winners-rpa?term_node_tid_depth=123 |date=21 August 2014 }} and was also remade for French TV as Entre Deux Mères It was shown at the Luchon Film and TV festival{{cite web |url=http://www.festivaldeluchon.tv/fiche-du-film/entre-deux-meres.html|title=Entre Deux Mères - Festival des créations télévisuelles de Luchon - NEW |website=www.festivaldeluchon.tv|language=fr|access-date=2017-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314062846/http://www.festivaldeluchon.tv/fiche-du-film/entre-deux-meres.html|archive-date=14 March 2017|url-status=dead}} and broadcast on TF1 on 27 March 2017.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The French remake of his 2010 TXTV drama The Reckoning starred Odille Vuillemin and Thiery Neuvic and aired in September 2018.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} In January 2021 it was announced that Viaplay/Elisa were remaking A Mother's Son in Finland. Retitled Polanski Joel, it broadcast in mid 2022.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Personal life

Lang's first wife died by suicide in 2007.

{{Cite web |date=2018-10-31 |title=Chris Lang: 'The way women are portrayed on TV has got to change' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/dark-heart-director-chris-lang-interview-itv-a8602791.html |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

{{Cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Ben |date=2018-10-22 |title=Unforgotten creator Chris Lang interview: 'Writing saved me after my wife's death' |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/unforgotten-creator-chris-lang-interviewwriting-saved-wifes/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |issn=0307-1235}} Lang and his second wife share five children.{{Cite web |title=Unforgotten writer Chris Lang: how personal tragedy led to new ITV drama Dark Heart |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/unforgotten-writer-chris-lang-how-personal-tragedy-led-to-new-itv-drama-dark-heart/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}}

He has said that underlying happiness is very little affected by career success.{{Citation |title=Chris Lang on happiness, creativity and the duality of life |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84D3uCSnEp8 |access-date=2023-11-28 |language=en}}

Selected work

Awards and nominations

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{official website |https://www.chrislang.co.uk}}
  • {{IMDb name|0485712}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20121102173755/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/talent/l/lang_chris.shtml Chris Lang] in the BBC Guide to Comedy (archived November 2012)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Chris}}

Category:Living people

Category:English male television actors

Category:English male voice actors

Category:Television producers from London

Category:English male television writers

Category:English television writers

Category:Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)