Starz Acquires Russell T Davies’s Drama ‘Tip Toe’ for the U.S. and Canada

STARZ has acquired the exclusive U.S. and English Canada rights to Tip Toe, a thriller series from BAFTA award-winning writer Russell T Davies and starring Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming and David Morrissey.

via: Variety

The network has exclusively acquired the LGBTQ+ drama series, which stars Alan Cumming and David Morrissey as warring neighbors.

The five-part series will premiere in North America later this year.

Cumming plays Leo while Morrissey stars as Clive, two men in Manchester who have lived next door to each other for almost 15 years before relations unexpectedly deteriorate.

“Leo runs Spit & Polish, a bar on Canal Street and Clive is an electrician with two teenage sons,” reads the synopsis. “But just as life should be settling down for both, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalized and gradually the two neighbors become deadly enemies in a tense, thrilling drama that spotlights the prejudices that have started to creep back into our lives, in a story that speaks not just to the queer community, but to the world at large.”

Pooky Quesnel, Jackson Connor, Joseph Evans, Elizabeth Berrington, Iz Hesketh, Shakeel Kimotho, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Paul Rhys, Charlie Condou and Denise Welch also star in the show, which was shot on location in Manchester. It is directed by Peter Hoar.

“Russell T Davies has created a gripping and deeply affecting series that speaks directly to the cultural tensions and anxieties shaping modern life,” said Starz Networks president Alison Hoffman. “Anchored by extraordinary performances from Alan Cumming and David Morrissey, ‘Tip Toe’ examines identity, fear, and polarization in our society in a way that is at once funny, devastating and profoundly human. It’s exactly the type of daring and original storytelling that we’re dedicated and proud to champion at Starz.”

Davies said: “It’s my great delight to return to Starz after many years. ‘Tip Toe’s’ launch in the U.K. has shown that audiences are hungry for strong, bold, opinionated material – and that’s a perfect fit for Starz!”

Exec producers are Nicola Shindler, Russell T Davies and Alan Cumming with Phil Collinson producing. Casting is by Andy Pryor. “Tip Toe” was created by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios) for Channel 4. ITV Studios is distributing the show internationally.

Katie Buchanan and Rob Kaplan at ITV Studios brokered the deal.