Fleabag‘s ‘Hot Priest’, Andrew Scott, has been confirmed to star opposite The Affair‘s Ruth Wilson in the HBO TV adaption of Oslo.
The series is based on the Tony award-winning play of the same name by J.T. Rogers which recounts the real-life story of the secret negotiations that took place while developing the Oslo Peace Accords throughout the 1990s—negotiations that ultimately established peace between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
Steven Spielberg is already set to executive produce the adaption, which is currently still being filmed in Prague after facing delays due to the pandemic.
The actors, who will play husband and wife, are currently starring alongside each other in the HBO fantasy series His Dark Materials.
They will play real-life husband and wife Norwegian diplomats, Mona Juul and Terje Rød-Larsen, who were instrumental in facilitating breakthrough agreements that saw peace restored in the Middle East.
The couple’s work went largely unrecognised until a chance meeting between Rød-Larsen and Rogers ultimately led to him being inspired to write the play.
A spokesperson from HBO shared the network’s excitement. “Recounting the remarkable feat of two diametrically opposed sides coming together to find common ground, Oslo’s themes are especially pertinent, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have so many revered artisans on both sides of the camera working together to bring this to life,” she wrote.
The show’s executive producer Kristie Macosko Krieger added: “My memory of seeing Oslo on the stage for the first time is still so vivid. I felt then what I feel now—this is a powerful and necessary story for our times. I’m excited to be working with Steven, Marc, HBO and Bold Films, along with our incredible cast and creatives, to bring this story to an expanded global audience.”
