Lesley Sharp says Before We Die shares “the bones” of Swedish original and reveals which aspects they left out
The star of Channel 4's upcoming drama Before We Die revealed how the new series differs from the Swedish original.
Before We Die star Lesley Sharp has revealed the upcoming Channel 4 drama shares "the bones" of the Swedish original it's based on but is otherwise a completely different show.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press, Sharp, who plays detective Hannah Laing in Before We Die, said she enjoyed watching the 2018 Swedish crime drama of the same name prior to filming.
"I thought it was really great. I think that what Matt [Baker], our writer, has come up with is slightly different, but I think the bones of the show, of the original show, were fantastic and all of the actors in the original were superb.
"I think we're doing something that's got the bones but the flesh is different; it's a different show – the same but different."
Her co-star Patrick Gibson, who plays Hannah's troubled son Christian, added that it was "comforting" to work off a "blueprint".
"The actual plot is so exciting and so strong and you know that it's worked before," he said. "That was really comforting and a nice thing to work with, and then to be able to add, like Lesley said, flesh onto that, was exciting to do."
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Vincent Regan, who plays Hannah's colleague Billy Murdoch in the series, said many of the plot points in the Swedish original would not have translated to the upcoming drama due to differences between Sweden and the UK's police work.
"Matt as well has been very aware that the main difference between the two shows is the procedural work the police do, in Sweden and the UK, is very different.
"What you can get away with in Sweden, you can't get away with in the UK, which would have meant that much of what we as police investigators are trying to do, we wouldn't have been able to do it if we followed the same narrative template as the Swedish drama.
"So we've had to reevaluate that and it does help with my character being a former spy, and [that he] works kind of in a slightly murky way, should we say, we're able to use Billy's role to legitimise everything we are trying to do in our investigation.
"I think that's one of the major differences between the two dramas, but like Lesley says, we've got the same bones, it's just the muscles are different."
The series follows Hannah Laing, a Bristol-based detective who finds herself conflicted when her son becomes involved in an investigation into the brutal murder of a colleague.
Before We Die will debut on Wednesday 26th May at 9pm on Channel 4. If you’re looking for more to watch, take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage, or check out our TV Guide.
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