George Kay (writer)

George Kay is an English television writer, screenwriter, and producer.^[1] He is best known as the creator of the Netflix series Lupin and Criminal, the Apple TV+ thriller Hijack, and ITV's The Long Shadow. He has also worked on the shows Litvinenko, Stag, My Mad Fat Diary, The Hour, The Tunnel, and the first season of Killing Eve.^[2][3]

Early life

Whilst a teenage student at Wellington College, Berkshire, Kay met director Jim Field Smith, with whom he often collaborates.^[4]

Career

Kay began his career in non-scripted entertainment, serving as head of development at Twenty Twenty Television and head of factual at Blast! Films, where he co-created productions such as The Choir, Evacuation, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.^[5]

Kay became a full-time writer in 2009, after he won the Brit List with his feature script Good Luck Anthony Belcher.^[6] He went on to write episodes of The Hour for the BBC, The Tunnel for Sky, and two episodes of the first season of Killing Eve.

Whilst writing the script for Litvinenko, Kay had access to transcripts of Alexander Litvinenko's eighteen hours of deathbed interviews with the London Metropolitan Police.^[7] Litvinenko's widow, Marina, and the Metropolitan Police supported the production of the series.^[8] The show has been sold to over eighty international territories.^[9]

Production on his Apple TV+ series The Wanted Man, starring Hugh Laurie, took place in London in May and June 2025.^[10][11]

Filmography

Year	Title	Writer	Creator	Executive producer	Notes
2012	The Hour	Yes	No	No	Episode "Honey Trap"
2013	The Tunnel	Yes	No	No	Episode 1.6
2014	Our Zoo	Yes	No	No	Episode 1.3
2015	My Mad Fat Diary	Yes	No	No	3 episodes
2016	Stag	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-created and written with Jim Field-Smith
2018	Killing Eve	Yes	No	No	2 episodes
2019–2020	Criminal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-created with Jim Field-Smith
2022	Litvinenko	Yes	No	No
2023	Hijack	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-created with Jim Field-Smith
2021–2023	Lupin	Yes	Yes	Yes
2023	The Long Shadow	Yes	Yes	Yes