Baghdad Central is a British crime thriller television series set in Iraq and first broadcast in 2020. It was based on the 2014 novel by Elliott Colla, and adapted by Stephen Butchard. It was directed by Alice Troughton.
Contents
Synopsis
The series is set in Iraq in 2003, shortly after the ousting of Saddam Hussein. It centres on former policeman, Muhsin al-Khafaji (Waleed Zuaiter), as he tries to find his missing daughter, Sawsan (Leem Lubany). He is mistakenly arrested and tortured by United States troops. After that, he is recruited by a former British policeman, Frank Temple (Bertie Carvel), to become a police officer in the Green Zone.
Cast
Waleed Zuaiter as Muhsin al-Khafaji
Bertie Carvel as Frank Temple
Clara Khoury as Professor Zubeida Rashid
Leem Lubany as Sawsan
July Namir as Mrouj
Tawfeek Barhom
Charlotte Spencer
Corey Stoll as John Parodi
Neil Maskell as Douglas Evans
Recurring
Fady Elsayed as Ibrahim Jabani
Production
Filming began in September 2018, and took place in Morocco, including in the cities of Ouarzazate, Rabat, Casablanca and Mohammedia.
Release
Baghdad Central was first broadcast on Channel 4 in February 2020. In the United States, it has been broadcast on Hulu.
Reception
Baghdad Central has received mostly positive reviews according to aggregator websites, scoring 78 on Metacritic and 83% on Rotten Tomatoes as of May 2020.
Accolades
Zuaiter was a nominee for the Best Actor award in the 2021 British Academy Television Awards.