‘Hamburg Days’: BBC Orders Beatles Biopic Series Spotlighting the Fab Four’s Early Career
Beatles documentaries have been made in abundance for over 50 years (starting with 1970’s “Let It Be”), but biopics on this most influential of bands are much sparser. Come April of 2028, however, there will be a star-studded “Four-Film Cinematic Event” (one film for each band member) that ought to satiate the most voracious of Fab Four enthusiasts. And if you can’t stand the wait between then and now… Well, there’s a good chance that BBC will be able to split the difference with “Hamburg Days.”
The Dawn of the Beatles, Told in Six Episodes
The title “Hamburg Days” should ring a bell for anyone familiar with the Beatles’ history: in 1960, at the start of their career, the band’s manager set up residence and employment for them in the West German city of Hamburg, which was famous at that time for its nightlife and especially for its many music clubs. (At this time, only John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were in the band, along with original guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best; they hadn’t yet hired their permanent drummer, Ringo Starr). The band members spent this time living in threadbare, often sordid conditions while they played for audiences who didn’t know their language.
Such a pivotal and trying period in the Fab Five’s history is perfect fodder for any biopic, and “Hamburg Days,” which has been acquired by the BBC, should have ample time to dramatize the story’s particularities: it will be a miniseries consisting of six episodes. The BBC’s own announcement, released on December 3, emphasizes how this miniseries will depict the nascent group’s fateful crossing of paths with German photographer Astrid Kirchherr and musical/graphic artist Klaus Voormann. (Voormann is a series consultant and wrote the autobiography on which it’s based.) “Together,” the announcement proclaims, “they help spark a transformation that turns a scrappy group of teenagers into the greatest music phenomenon the world has ever known.”
Production Breakdown – What We Know
As yet, no casting decisions have been announced for “Hamburg Days.” The showrunner is Christian Schwochow, a German director responsible for numerous historical dramas, including several episodes of Netflix’s “The Crown.” The director of this miniseries will be British docudrama and biopic veteran Mat Whitecross (“The Road to Guantánamo,” “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”), and its head writer will be Jamie Carragher, a former staff writer on the HBO dramedy series “Succession.”
The miniseries’s score will come courtesy of David Holmes, the BAFTA-winning composer of “Killing Eve” and Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s” trilogy. For obvious reasons, Sue Deeks, BBC’s Head of Scripted Pre-Buy Acquisitions, emphasized the music as a standout virtue of “Hamburg Days,” saying that its “incredible story” would be “accompanied (of course) by an amazing soundtrack!”
Conclusion
At this early stage, nothing can yet be said of the release date of “Hamburg Days,” but with the cast yet to be determined (or at least announced), it will probably be some while yet. Then again, so is two years and four months – the time between now and the release of “The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.” Will “Hamburg Days” come out in time to satisfy latter-day Beatlemania during this interim?
