The Wrong Mans
The award-winning, action-packed comedy thriller The Wrong Mans returns to BBC Two this Christmas and sees our two hapless heroes Sam and Phil in deeper, darker danger than ever before as they embark on a dangerous international quest to prove once again they are The Wrong Mans.
The Wrong Mans is a BBC Production co-produced with Hulu, the new series comprises 2 x 60 minute episodes that will air on BBC Two during Christmas fortnight.
Having earned their status as hometown heroes in the first series, Sam (Mathew Baynton) and Phil (James Corden) are blasted back to zero again. Now 4,000 miles from home, Phil is relishing the chance to reinvent himself but Sam pines for his old life. But some distressing news from back home forces them to make a difficult choice: hide in the shadows and be forgotten forever or brave it in a world that doesn't even know they are alive in order to get home to Bracknell in time for Christmas and reclaim their lives. First there’s just the small issue of busting out of a high-security Texan jail.
The show’s creators and co-stars Mathew Baynton and James Corden are joined by a stellar international cast that includes Anastasia Griffith (Damages) as Miller, an ambitious DEA Special Agent on the trail of Mexican drug kingpin Carlos Espinosa, portrayed by Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto) alongside John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as his unscrupulous attorney Kinsmann. Olivier Award-winner Bertie Carvel (Matilda, Doctor Who, Sherlock) stars in the role of Nathan Cross, an unpredictable White Supremacist with a secret, and Ray Panthaki (EastEnders, 28 Days Later, Kidulthood) portrays Khalil, who enlists Sam and Phil to help him bring down a terrorist gang. Other guest stars include Samantha Spiro (Bad Education, Grandma’s House) and Trevor Cooper (Happy Go Lucky, Holby City).
Returning to the cast are Dawn French (The Vicar Of Dibley, French & Saunders, Roger & Val) as Phil’s fragile mum Linda Bourne, and Rebecca Front (The Thick Of It, Grandma’s House) as Cox, the unrepentant head of MI5. Sarah Solemani (Him & Her, Bad Education) reprises the role of Lizzie Green, Sam’s ex-girlfriend and former boss who is on the hunt for the truth. Other returning cast members include (co-writer of episode 3) Tom Basden (W1A, Plebs) as Sam's former colleague Noel and Alec Utgoff (Jack Ryan) as a strangely familiar Russian agent.
James Corden said: “It is a real treat to be on over Christmas, I love it; it's a privilege and an honour to be on the BBC at Christmas time. After all the thrills and highs of The Wrong Mans series one, you get a greater sense of heart for this series, and I think that comes from the feeling of Christmas and the warm feeling you get when you watch Christmas TV.”
Mathew Baynton added: “We were writing The Wrong Mans before we knew it was going to air over Christmas, it's a homecoming story with the added air of Christmas magic!”
Mark Freeland, Executive Producer and Controller, Fiction & Entertainment, BBC Production said: 'The clock has been ticking under Phil and Sam's car since the end of series one. It's so exciting that at Christmas on BBC Two it's time to find out what happens to our unintentional heroes when the ticking stops. Talk about starting with a bang.
The series was commissioned for BBC Two by Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning, executive produced by Mark Freeland and Myfanwy Moore. The series is produced and directed by Jim Field Smith (Episodes, Butter, She’s Out Of My League).
