''The Last Panthers'' is a Franco-British crime drama television series created by

Jack Thorne Jack Thorne FRSL (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and producer. A massive fan of hard science fiction, he is best known for writing the stage play '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', the fil ...

and directed by Johan Renck. It is a fictional story inspired by the notorious Balkan jewel thieves the Pink Panthers. The six-part series premiered on Canal+ on 26 October 2015 in France and on

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

on 12 November 2015 in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria. It first aired in the US on SundanceTV in April 2016.

Premise

The show opens with a diamond heist bearing a resemblance to those of a gang of thieves known as the Pink Panthers, before quickly delving into the dark heart of Europe where a shadowy alliance of gangsters and 'banksters' now rule.

Cast

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...

as Naomi Franckom *

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

as Tom Kendle *

Tahar Rahim Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a French actor. His breakthrough performance was in the 2009 French film '' A Prophet'', for which he won the César Award for Best Actor and Most Promising Actor. He then starred as FBI agent Ali Soufan in t ...

as Khalil Rachedi * Goran Bogdan as Milan Celik * Camélia Jordana as Samira * Corinne Masiero as The Judge * Igor Benčina as Zlatko Mladić

Music

On 6 October 2015, international news media announced that

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

had arranged his new track " Blackstar" as the theme song of the show, as well as introducing the listener to 45 seconds of the intro. The series director, Johan Renck, said of both the artist and the song; "The piece of music he laid before us embodied every aspect of our characters and the series itself: dark, brooding, beautiful and sentimental (in the best possible incarnation of this word). All along, the man inspired and intrigued me and as the process passed, I was overwhelmed with his generosity. I still can’t fathom what actually happened". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's Daniel Krep said that the tune reminded him "of the bleak, haunting instrumentals on the back half of Bowie's 1977 album '' "Heroes"''", and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' suggested the song revealed Bowie 'at his most brooding.' The series is soundtracked by

Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...

artist Clark. It is his debut TV score and director Johan Renck said "Chris's sensibilities and brazen creativity was bang on for a score to deal with everything from the Biblical grandeur of the story, via brooding darkness all the way over to tender sentimentality. He had it covered."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Panthers, The Sky Atlantic original programming 2015 British television series debuts 2015 British television series endings 2010s British crime television series 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries Canal+ original programming British English-language television shows French-language television shows Multilingual television series Serbian-language television shows Television series by StudioCanal Television shows directed by Johan Renck Television shows set in England Television shows set in France Works about the Serbian Mafia