CEETV’s Georgi R. Chakarov met with New Pictures producer Willow Grylls and Tcheky Kario, one of the stars of The Missing, during MIPCOM. Grylls talked about the challenges they faced during the production of the new drama, while Kario discussed his role as inspector Julien.

The series premieres tonight on BBC One in the UK. It has been sold in numerous territories by All3Media International.

ceetv: At this MIPCOM you are presenting the new production The Missing. Let’s start with some general information on how this project came together?

Willow Grylls: I picked it up as a speculative script about two and a half years ago. We took it to the BBC and they loved it as much as we did. The writers, Jack and Henry Williams, had never written in this genre before and so they were encouraged to further develop the idea, writing more of the script. The BBC were really happy and wanted us to put it into production and so we started with the casting process. Tcheky was our number one choice for Julien, but it took us a very long time to convince him. We are so happy he finally came on board. We then went through the process of deciding where to film the show. We had filmed something before in Belgium (another show called The White Queen) and so it made sense to us both for financial and creative reasons to look there. Tom Shankland, the director, and I travelled to Brussels and went all around southern Belgium. We felt it suited us and really accurately reflected what we wanted to achieve visually. Then, slowly, once we brought the rest of the cast together we started shooting.

The other thing that’s unique about this show is the decision we made with regards to the key crew; the story is told half in the past and half in the present and so we took the unusual decision to use one director for all eight episodes, which allowed us to shoot the whole of the present in one block, and the whole in the past in another block.

ceetv: How long was the production process? What will attract viewers to this story?

WG: We shot it for 20 weeks: in England, Paris and Brussels. It is a gripping thriller. You come into the heart of this family that has lost a child. It is a familiar story but it is incredibly nightmare-ish. You watch one episode and you don’t want to turn away. And that’s really about what Jack and Harry have done; by structuring the story in a non-linear way the door constantly shuts on you. You follow the story a bit and then the door shuts in front of you, just when you are about to find out something. Then you follow the story in the past and then again the same thing happens.

ceetv: And for you, Tcheky, why did it take so long to take the main role?

Tcheky Karyo: Because I was doing so many things. I had a music album coming out and so I had concerts going on. The Missing was a real engagement, a real involvement for me. It required a lot of energy and work to do this and I also have a child, so I had to consider whether I wanted to deal with this every day with my 3-year old child? But then, when reading the story and meeting with the people involved, I was convinced that we were going to make a great show that will not be too depressing. What’s interesting is that we follow all the characters through what’s happening. What’s happening to those people in light of this child abduction? How do they relate to it in their life? Which decision will they make? That’s interesting to follow and it makes the show exciting for the audience to be able to interact in that way. As Willow said, the door is opening and then closing.

Every character has their journey, it’s incredible. The director also convinced me. I knew he was going to direct every episode and for him it was important and meant something to him, he was not just a hired director coming to shoot two episodes and then another one coming to shoot two episodes. He was really deeply involved and this meant a lot to him. I saw it in his eyes and in the way he looked at me. I could see truth in the words he was saying.

ceetv: What was it like personally for you to be in this role?

TK: Personally, it was fantastic to meet the British people, because I am used to working with Americans and so I learned my English with an American accent. Now I’ve switched to the British way of speaking [Willow laughs]. I mean, it’s very touching for me to see how English language relates to French and vice versa. Lately, there’s a lot of co-production between the French and the English, which is great. There is a will from the English people to work with French people. It’s funny because when I see the British, I know some of them say “It’s difficult to work with the French”. It’s the same way we say: “It’s difficult to work with the Italians”, you know. Italians may complain about working with Bulgarians.

ceetv: Talking about cultural differences, the series will also air in the US on Starz. Did you take this into account while you were doing the production? It also has to appeal to US audiences?

WG: Yes, but I think what’s great is Jack and Harry created scripts that were very strong. So when Starz came on board (negotiated by All3Media International) they were signing on to the same vision of the show that they, Tom and I wanted to make. One of the things that’s unique about the show, that Tom and all the actors communicate, is a really coherent sense of authorship.

ceetv: When will it premiere?

WG: In the UK, from the 28th of October, and then Starz - on November 15th. In France, it will be on from January 2015.

ceetv: Maybe you can tell us also about other projects that you are working on right now?

WG: I work for a company called New Pictures and we are only a year old, so the other project we are working on is called Indian Summers, which is about the British Empire in India. We are presenting some of it through All3Media International – a trailer – but it won’t be transmitted until January next year.

ceetv: And from you, Tcheky, what can we expect?

TK: There is a music album I made, so I am doing concerts to promote that. There is a film called Belle and Sebastian, which was a huge success in France and the most watched movie last year. I recently worked on the sequel, which is more in the adventure genre. There is another movie called La Resistance de l’Air with Reda Kateb and Ludivine Sagnier, directed by Fred Grivois. This movie is sort of a horror story-telling. And there is also a German movie set in Cologne and a project on Jimmie Hendrix for the theater. I’m quite busy, as I said, but I keep my time free for the second season, hopefully.