''Traffik'' is a 1989 British television serial about an

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...

. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i growers, dealers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. It was nominated for six

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

s, winning four, including for Best Drama Series or Serial. It also won an

International Emmy Award The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York City, New York–based International Academy of Televisi ...

for best drama. The 2000 crime drama film ''

Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

'', directed by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

, was based on the miniseries. In turn, the 2004 American television miniseries ''

'' was based on both versions.

Background

The six-part serial was produced by Britain's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, written by Simon Moore and directed by

Alastair Reid Alastair Reid may refer to: * Alastair Reid (poet) (1926–2014), Scottish poet and scholar of South American literature * Alastair Reid (director) Alastair Reid (21 July 1939 – 17 August 2011) was a Scottish television and film director, ...

. In the United States, it first aired on ''

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these ...

'' in 1990.

Cast

* Bill Paterson as Jack Lithgow, a Scottish

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

minister engaged in combating heroin importation from Pakistan. *

Julia Ormond Julia Karin Ormond (born 4 January 1965) is an English film and television actress. She rose to prominence by appearing in '' The Baby of Mâcon'' (1993), '' Legends of the Fall'' (1994), '' First Knight'' (1995), '' Sabrina'' (1995), '' Smilla ...

as his drug addicted daughter Caroline. *

Juraj Kukura Juraj Kukura (born 15 March 1947, in Prešov) is a Slovak actor. Kukura studied acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). In 1985, when he emigrated to West Germany, his films were banned in the Czechoslovak Socialist Re ...

as Karl Rosshalde, a German drug smuggler. *

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. She is the recipient of three BAFTA nominations and one Scottish BAFTA nomination, as well as two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her work on stage. She has starred in sever ...

as Rosshalde's English wife Helen. *Fritz Müller-Scherz and

Tilo Prückner Tilo Prückner (26 October 1940 – 2 July 2020Jamal Shah Jamal Shah (Pashto: جمال شاہ) is a Pakistani actor, director, musician, writer, sculptor, painter, and social activist. He has also served as the Federal Minister of Culture in Kakar cabinet. Early life and education Shah was born int ...

as Pakistani

opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable orname ...

grower Fazal, who is evicted from his land as a result of policies encouraged by the British government. * Talat Hussain as Pakistani drug lord Tariq Butt, the supplier of Rosshalde's European heroin network. *

Faryal Gohar Faryal Gohar (born 18 December 1959) is a Pakistani actress, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Uraan'', '' Chaandni Raatain'', ''Chand Grehan'', ''Wisal'' and '' Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayai ...

as Roomana, daughter of the Pakistani magistrate; she later shows Lithgow the extent of the deception Tariq Butt has foisted upon customs officials. * Ismat Shahjahan as Sabira, Fazal's wife.

Episode list

Reception

The miniseries currently has an average rating of 83% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. Writer Suan C. Boyd acknowledges the miniseries for giving different perspectives of the global war on drug trade, going as far as to claim that ''Traffik'' is the ''only'' film sample that includes the poppy grower in depth.

Awards and nominations

Home media

The miniseries was released on DVD on 26 June 2001 by Acorn Media.

References

External links

* {{InternationalEmmyAward Drama 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series Channel 4 television dramas International Emmy Award for Drama winners British English-language television shows Films directed by Alastair Reid