EXCLUSIVE: Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd and Laura Fraser (known for Breaking Bad) have been tapped for BBC drama The Young Team, marking a return to Scottish-set work for both McKidd and director Paul McGuigan.
They join a cast that mixes established names with a slate of fresh young performers who have appeared in projects such as MobLand, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and Half Man.
Directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) and set for distribution by Fox Entertainment Global, The Young Team centers on teenager Azzy Williams and his mates as they prowl the streets of Airdrie, Scotland, on a Friday night with cans of tonic wine and cheap speakers blasting techno. Azzy is eager to drink, take pills, smoke and fight — desperate to be fully accepted by the local gang. When he makes a daring move to prove himself, it sparks a violent gang confrontation with Azzy at the core of the fallout.
McKidd will play Mr McGiver, an inspiring headteacher in Azzy’s life, while Fraser takes on the role of Angela, Azzy’s long-suffering mother.
Leading the younger cast is Jakob James Smith (MobLand) as Azzy, joined by Connor Newall (28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Mint) as Big Kenzie and Scot Greenan (Half Man, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping) as Eck. Additional emerging actors — discovered via an open casting search across North Lanarkshire in Scotland — include Beinn Catchpole as Whytey, David Russell as Broonie, Mick Mack as Wee Kenzie, Caiden Henderson-Brown as Addison, Lewis Ray as Danny and Jack Mooney as Wee Toffey.
McKidd, who hails from Scotland and spent two decades portraying Dr. Owen Hunt on Grey’s Anatomy, recently discussed his indie outfit Ferryman Films and the upcoming The Only Suspect with Deadline. Fraser is widely recognized for her role as Lydia in Breaking Bad and most recently appeared on the BBC drama Mint alongside Newall.
Produced by Synchronicity, the company behind Tattooist of Auschwitz, in association with Screen Scotland, The Young Team serves as a bit of a homecoming for both McKidd and director McGuigan, whose credits include Lucky Number Slevin, Gangster No. 1 and Sherlock. The series was unveiled last year along with two other Scottish productions after the BBC announced the cancellation of long-running soap River City and pledged to invest £100 million ($133 million) in Scottish drama over three years.
Author Graeme Armstrong, one of Scotland’s rising literary voices, praised the casting process and said seeing the project take shape has been remarkable. He highlighted the cast’s authentic use of language and strong sense of place, noting that the young Scottish actors — chosen partly through an open audition route — and working with director Paul McGuigan on his return to Scotland, should create something very special.
McGuigan said that The Young Team marks his first return to directing in Scotland in three decades and called it a fitting way to mark his professional return home. He described it as a privilege to work with the young ensemble, an exciting new wave of working-class talent selected from more than 1,000 applicants, and said he is eager to bring Armstrong’s much-loved novel to the screen.
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