The Capture (series)

The Capture is a British mystery crime-drama created, written and directed by Ben Chanan. It premiered on BBC One on September 3, 2019. It was announced in June 2020 that a second series had been commissioned.

Cast

 * Holliday Grainger as DI Rachel Carey
 * Callum Turner as Lance Corporal Shaun Emery
 * Cavan Clerkin as DS Patrick Flynn
 * Ben Miles as Commander Danny Hart
 * Paul Ritter as Marcus Levy
 * Sophia Brown as Karen
 * Famke Janssen as Jessica Mallory
 * Ginny Holder as DS Nadia Latif
 * Ron Perlman as Frank Napier
 * Lia Williams as DSU Gemma Garland Ralph Ineson as DCI Alec Boyd
 * Barry Ward as Charlie Hall
 * Laura Haddock as Hannah Roberts
 * Nigel Lindsay as DSI Tom Kendricks
 * Daisy Waterstone as Abigail

Production
Production filmed interior scenes at Canterbury Prison, Kent, England doubling as HMP Gladstone, London for episode one. Lead character Sean Emery (Callum Turner) is released from prison wearing a soldier's uniform. He later is rearrested and returns to the prison. Other interior scenes were filmed at the Printworks venue in Rotherhithe, and The Shard.

Comic Con at Home Panel
On Friday July 24th, 2020 The cast of the series reunited for a panel where they discussed the show. The show came about through Ben’s work on documentaries as he realized he worked with the police a lot. He realized that increasingly, people are being convicted through video evidence more and more reliably. He learned about deep fakes and wondered what would happen if those two techniques were combined.

Moreover, Ben stated that he started writing this before the term “deep fake” became a common phrase. But as he was writing, the news started catching up with the story. So he started to factor in the language of the day into the dialogue. He feels strongly that, we’re living through a time where every piece of footage, every piece of news, is being questioned and rightly so. The flip side of that is that it’s being exploited by people as well.

For Holliday, what stood out to her about Rachel that kind of immediately drew her in, was that the character was described as ambitious, eager and someone thrown into the midst of the Shaun Emery case. She went onto explain that something she loved was that  as she started reading the scripts she didn’t know if she really liked Rachel or not. It was sort of because she really doesn’t care - she’s there to do a job. She’s ambitious and wants to do well to prove herself. She’s a people pleaser. Moreover, Rachel seems to have faith in the authorities and the institution of the police. She also has an incredibly strong moral compass, needs to fight and get to the bottom of the truth.

Callum, was asked how as an actor did he approach playing the internal struggle of his character. He answered that he has always seen Shaun as a freedom fighter. He’s questioning how he got to the place of being labeled a murderer. He has been dragged back into this nightmare after being found not guilty of a murder in the first episode.

Next was Ron, who was asked what was appealing to him about Frank and the lengths he goes to complete his mission. Ron mentions that first thing you want to do is find where you fit into the story and the thing was so smart about the way Ben rendered Frank was that all the way to the end you don’t know whether you’re dealing with a good guy or a bad guy. You don’t know whether you’re supposed to feel sympathy for this guy’s plight or how he views his job and his place in life. Or whether he’s a monster and will do anything to justify his agenda. His agenda seems rather to be the tail that’s wagging the dog, and so the whole kind of thing is a mind “I can’t use the word” (fuck). The notion of there not being any relief for the audience having trouble keeping track with who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy in the show.

Famke was then asked about her character of Jess, who doesn’t come into the show until late in the season. Famke goes onto say that one thing that struck her was that when she was in London, by just how many CCTV cameras there are in the city alone. Thus, she recalls feeling like the show was so timely, this notion of not knowing what’s real - of having to fact check and double check what’s real. She felt that it was the story that had to be told. Moreover, what drew her to character was that the audience isn't entirely sure what her motives are and how deep this conspiracy runs.

Holliday mentions that she didn’t really know much about the actual police force. But she did managed to worm her way in and do a week of shadowing in the homicide department. She shadowed several women that were at Rachel’s level, that had transferred freshly to homicide and that was, just to see what actually happens and to pick their brains. It really helped learn the terminology. Ben also set up a few meetings with his counter terror advisor which was completely eye opening and mind blowing.

Callum then asked Holliday if she  ended up on an actual murder investigation. But Holliday said she wasn't, but was surprised by how many investigations they cover at the same time. One was a cold case in her area. She knew the park better than them, so she was able to help.

Callum was shocked to find out while researching just how much fun they have when they’re abroad. How much enjoyment there is and how quickly it becomes their normal. He also did some weapons training and some surveillance stuff as well. He ended up following people around London trying not to get caught.

For Ron, it was deferring a lot to Ben. Right off the bat Ron’s character is being regarded askew. Then you meet him and you realize it’s very justified. People should be suspicious of what America’s interests are and particularly what this guy’s MO includes in the name of keeping people safe. Where does that concept end and where that personal agenda of human rights begin.

All the actors where asked if this show has changed your view on surveillance and if does make them more aware of cameras and make them more protective of your personal privacy.

Famke stated that she definitely is noticing cameras more than she did before. She mentions that she doesn’t do social media just to protect her privacy. But just knowing the ends to which people can go and how incredibly complicated it is in today’s world to protect your privacy is a bit scary. Lastly, the manipulation of existing footage makes it even more frightening for her.

Ron, stated what this show says to him is that they’re listening and they’re watching and can do whatever they want with this information. That we have politicians in high places all around the world telling us "you didn’t see what you just saw". The timing of Ben wanting to tell this story is really just phenomenal.

Rosie piped up by saying how Big Brother’s not just watching you but can do all these things with your information. It’s the digital manipulation element that's really scary. Now, we’re all in an age where we have to accept that documentary evidence ain’t just documentary evidence any more.