The Hack

The Hack is an upcoming British true-crime ITVX television series detailing the News International phone hacking scandal, starring David Tennant, Toby Jones and Robert Carlyle alongside an ensemble cast featuring Steve Pemberton, Eve Myles, Dougray Scott, Lisa McGrillis and Adrian Lester, amongst others.

The Hack
Genre	True crime drama
Screenplay by	Jack Thorne Annalisa Dinnella
Directed by	Lewis Arnold
Starring	David Tennant Toby Jones Robert Carlyle
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producers	Jack Thorne Joe Williams Lewis Arnold David Tennant Patrick Spence
Producer	Abi Bach
Running time	47 minutes
Production companies	ITV Studios AC Chapter One One Shoe Films
Original release
Network	ITVX Stan

Premise

Set between 2002 and 2012, the series examines two real life stories, the work of Nick Davies, a journalist who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World, a now defunct British newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch, as well as the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator.^[1]

Cast

• David Tennant as Nick Davies
• Toby Jones as Alan Rusbridger
• Robert Carlyle as DCS Dave Cook
• Cara Theobold as Amelia Hill
• Rose Leslie
• Dougray Scott
• Eve Myles
• Adrian Lester
• Katherine Kelly
• Kevin Doyle
• Neil Maskell
• Lara Pulver
• Lee Ingleby
• Pip Torrens
• Lisa McGrillis
• Sean Pertwee
• Robert Bathurst
• Richard Pepple
• Nadia Albina
• Phil Davis
• Ace Bhatti
• Charlie Brooks
• Steve Pemberton

Production

The seven-part series was commissioned by ITVX and Australian streamer Stan. It is written by Bafta-winning screenwriter Jack Thorne and Annalisa Dinnella. It is directed by Lewis Arnold. The series is produced by ITV Studios with AC Chapter One and One Shoe Films.^[2][1] Executive producers include Patrick Spence and Jack Thorne alongside Joe Williams for ITV Studios, Lewis Arnold and David Tennant. Abi Bach is the series producer.^[3]

Initially reported under the working title Mandrake,^[4][1][5] filming locations included Hemel Hempstead, Muswell Hill and Kilburn, London in February and March 2024.^[6][7][8]

The ensemble cast is led by David Tennant, and Toby Jones as Guardian journalist Nick Davies and Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, Robert Carlyle playing DCS Dave Cook and Cara Theobold as Guardian journalist Amelia Hill.^[9] The cast also includes Rose Leslie, Steve Pemberton, Eve Myles, Dougray Scott, Lisa McGrillis, Katherine Kelly, Kevin Doyle, Neil Maskell, Lara Pulver, Lee Ingleby, Pip Torrens, and Adrian Lester.^[1]

Broadcast

In January 2025 it was reported that the seven-part series will air later in 2025 on ITV and STV.^[10]