David Farnor | On 15, Apr 2020

Brian Cox and Claes Bang are among the stars teaming up for a new lockdown project, The Agoraphobics Detective Society.

The whodunnit series, which was created by UK producer Maggie Monteith (Swimming With Men), is planned as an episode episode show that will be filmed in the houses of its star-studded cast. Aiming to raising money for TV and film freelancers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the charitable mystery thriller will see a group of patients join together to find a missing psychiatrist.

The pilot, which is written and directed by Dolly Wells (Doll and Em), Suzi Ewing (10×10) and Heidi Greensmith (Winter), has assembled an impressive list of names, with presenter Mariella Frostrup joining Cox and Bang, alongside Ian Harvie (Transparent), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits), Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Kelly + Victor), Grace Van Patten (The Meyerowitz Stories), Nicole Ansari-Cox (Remember Me), Simon Kunz (The Parent Trap) and Josephine Butler (Doctors).

“The logistics of filming where people are sheltering in place was the toughest logistics problem to solve outside the mystery of international time zones,” Monteith told Deadline. “A bespoke solution was found for each actor, according to their phones, laptops and computers. A combination of downloadable apps and enhancements, and help delivered in the form of props, wardrobe, hair and makeup products and tech items, made it possible to get usable takes.”

The pilot will be released online at the Pinpoint Presents website later this month, with viewers asked to donate what they can afford – funds will then go to the Film and TV Charity in the UK, and to the Motion Picture and TV Fund in the USA.

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