Sky Atlantic and Showtime team up with Academy Award winning writer John Ridley and Golden Globe winner Idris Elba for Guerrilla

Academy Award winner John Ridley (American Crime, 12 Years a Slave) will write, direct and executive produce Guerrilla, a new 6 x 60’ series set to air on Sky Atlantic that centers on a couple whose passion propels them into making the leap from political activism to radical militancy. Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Idris Elba will co-star and serve as an executive producer through his Green Door Pictures. Ridley will write the majority of the episodes and will direct the first two.

Guerrilla is a love story set against the backdrop of one of the most politically explosive times in UK history. It tells the story of a politically active couple whose relationship and values are tested when they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell in 1970s London.  Their ultimate target becomes the Black Power Desk, a true-life, secretive counter-intelligence unit within Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism.

Whilst the series is set against a background of social and political activism, at its heart Guerrilla is about a relationship under pressure, and the reality that for any couple there comes a point when the choices they make have real and lasting consequences.

Idris Elba said: “It's been a long-time desire of mine to collaborate with Mr Ridley and his work here is nothing short of a masterclass in character building and storytelling. TV is in for a treat.”