Jed Mercurio Explained

Jed Mercurio
Honorific Suffix:OBE
Birth Name:Gerald Gary Mercurio[1] [2] [3] [4]
Birth Date:September
Birth Place:Nelson, Lancashire, England
Education:University of Birmingham Medical School
Occupation:Television writer, producer, director and novelist
Known For:Bodies (2004–2006)
Line of Duty (2012–2021)
Bodyguard (2018)
Partner:Elaine Cameron
Children:2

Gerald Gary Mercurio (born September 1966) is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor[5] and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers.[6] [7] In 2017, Mercurio was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Television Society[8] and the Baird Medal by RTS Midlands.[9]

His works for television include the series Line of Duty, Bodyguard, Bodies (based on his 2002 novel), The Grimleys, and Cardiac Arrest. His books are Bodies (2002), Ascent (2007), American Adulterer (2009) and, for children, The Penguin Expedition (2003).

Early life

Mercurio was born in Nelson, Lancashire, but grew up in Cannock, Staffordshire. His parents were Italian immigrants, with his father working as a coal miner.[10] He studied at the University of Birmingham Medical School. During his third year, in August 1988, he was commissioned as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force Medical Branch. He received flying training with the University Air Squadron, with the intention of specialising in aviation medicine.[11] [12] He was promoted to flying officer in June 1991, but resigned his commission in February 1992.

During practice as a hospital physician, Mercurio answered an advertisement in the British Medical Journal and, despite little writing experience,[5] scripted the BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest under the pseudonym John MacUre. Subsequently he retired from medicine to pursue a writing career under his own name.

Career

1990s

Mercurio's writing debut, Cardiac Arrest (1994–96), caused controversy due to its realistic depiction of hospital life.[13] [14] The series was twice nominated in the Best Original Drama category by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain[15] and topped a poll of UK medical professionals as the most realistic medical drama of all time.[16] Mercurio served as medical adviser on the second series of Cardiac Arrest, which he cites as his apprenticeship in producing/directing.[11]

Mercurio wrote and produced the science fiction drama series Invasion: Earth which ran for six episodes on BBC1 in 1998.[17] [18]

Jed Mercurio entered a new genre when he created The Grimleys, a comedy series set in the Black Country, which ran for three series (1999–2001) on ITV.[19]

2000s

Mercurio adapted his first novel, Bodies (2002),[20] into an award-winning television series. Mercurio assumed the producer/showrunner position for the first time on Bodies (2004–06), a role he has fulfilled on all his subsequent original series.[11] The Times ranked Bodies in "Shows of the Decade" and The Guardian placed it in "The Greatest TV Dramas of All Time."[21] The series won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series, was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series and Mercurio was also twice nominated as Best Drama Writer by the Royal Television Society.[22]

His critically acclaimed second novel, Ascent (2007),[23] was ranked among the 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read.[24]

2010s

Mercurio's next original drama series, Line of Duty (first broadcast 26 June 2012), premiered as BBC2's then best-performing drama series in 10 years with 4.1 million viewers.[25] A well-received second series (first broadcast 12 February 2014) resulted in the BBC commissioning two further series for production in 2015 and 2016.[26] The first series was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series and earned Mercurio his third nomination as Best Drama Writer by the Royal Television Society and The Writers' Guild of Great Britain.[27] In 2014, Line of Duty was named in the Top 50 BBC2 Shows of All-Time,[28] and named best television drama of the year by The Observer,[29] and in 2016 ranked among the best BBC shows of all time[30] and among the best police series of all time.[31] In 2015, the second series won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series.[32] and was nominated for four BAFTA Awards.[33] [34] Series 3 of Line of Duty became the most watched drama series broadcast on BBC2 in the multichannel era.[35] Series 4 transferred to BBC One, consisting of six episodes broadcast from 26 March 2017.[36]

Mercurio's third medical drama series, Critical, ran for 13 episodes on Sky1 from 24 February 2015 to predominantly positive reviews,[37] [38] [39] [40] but was cancelled on 15 July 2015 after one season.[41]

Mercurio created and wrote Bodyguard, serving as showrunner on the six-part series starring Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes.[42] The series began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 August 2018,[43] achieving the highest viewing figures for a new BBC drama in the multichannel era.[44]

2020s

In 2021 Mercurio and Jimmy Mulville, via HTM Television, inked a first-look deal with 20th Television in an effort to expand into the US.[45]

In 2023, HTM created the six-part drama Payback, starring Morven Christie opposite Peter Mullan, which aired on ITV and internationally.[46] The series is written by Debbie O'Malley, and Mercurio and Mulville are credited as executive producers, along with several others.[47]

Honours

Mercurio was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to television drama.

Personal life

Mercurio's long-time partner is Elaine Cameron, a producer and script editor, and they have two children; Jack and Molly Mercurio.[48]

Filmography

Bibliography

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category ResultWork(s)
1994 Writers' Guild of Great Britain AwardsBest Original Drama Serial Cardiac Arrest
1996 Best Original Drama Series
2003 Sheffield Children's Book Awards Shorter Novel The Penguin Expedition
2004 Best Drama Series Bodies
Best Drama Writer
Best Drama Series
2005 Best Drama Series
Best Drama Writer
Best Drama Series
2012 The TV Dagger Line of Duty
Royal Television Society Midlands Awards Best Drama/Fictional Programme
2013 Broadcast Awards Best Drama Series or Serial
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest TV Drama
TV Drama
Best Drama Series
Best Drama Writer
2014 Freesat Awards Best TV Drama
The TV Dagger
Writers' Guild of Great Britain AwardsTV Drama – Long Form
2015 Broadcast Awards Best Drama Series or Serial
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama Series
Best Drama Writer
2015 Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama Series
BAFTA Television Craft AwardsWriter: Drama
BAFTA Television AwardsBest Drama Series
TV Drama
Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Awards Best Drama
2016TV Choice AwardsBest Drama Series
Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Awards Best Drama
2017Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or Serial
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Best TV Drama Series
Royal Television Society AwardsDrama Series
Royal Television Society AwardsDrama – Writer
Celtic Media Festival AwardsBest Drama Series
TV Choice AwardsBest Drama
British Screenwriters' AwardsBest Crime Writing on Television
Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Awards Best Drama
2018TV Drama – Long Form
National Television AwardsCrime Drama
Drama
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Best Drama Series
Writer's Award
Voice of the Listener & Viewer Awards for Excellence in BroadcastingBest TV Drama Programme
Best Drama Series
Televisual Bulldog Awards Best Drama Series
South Bank Sky Arts Awards TV Drama
Best UK Drama
2019Golden Globe AwardsBest Television Series – Drama Bodyguard
Best Drama Series
Gold Derby AwardsBest Drama Series
Best Drama Episode of the Year
Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
2020Edgar Allan Poe Award[49] Best Television Episode TeleplayLine of Duty

Notes and References

  1. News: Dowell . Ben . Jed Day . 12 May 2019 . . 14 May 1998 . 35 . ...the fact that his very cool first name, Jed, is in fact short for Gerald.... subscription.
  2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007
  3. Web site: HTM Television Limited – Filing history (free information from Companies House) . companieshouse.gov.uk . 12 May 2019 . en.
  4. Web site: HTM Television . HTM Television . 12 May 2019 . en . Hat Trick Mercurio Television Ltd (HTM Television) is a UK production company co-owned by Jed Mercurio and Hat Trick Productions..
  5. Web site: Albiston. Isabel. The world of .... 24 February 2007. The Telegraph.
  6. Web site: Broadcast Hot 100 2013. 5 December 2013. broadcastnow.co.uk.
  7. Web site: Lazarus. Susannah. Radio Times TV 100. 18 September 2017. Radio Times.
  8. Web site: Harding. Laura. Russell T. Davies among RTS fellowship recipients. 13 September 2017. Irish Independent.
  9. Web site: Royal Television Society Midlands Awards 2017 – Winners Announced. 1 December 2017. Film Birmingham. 17 February 2018. 28 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180828035528/http://www.filmbirmingham.co.uk/news/royal-television-society-midlands-awards-2017-winn/. dead.
  10. Web site: Laws. Roz. Who is the man behind gripping TV drama Line of Duty?. Birmingham Mail. 24 March 2017.
  11. Web site: Brown. Maggie. Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio. The Guardian. 10 February 2014.
  12. Web site: Llewellyn-Smith. Julia. Line of Duty:'Sometimes justice is not done in the real world'. Telegraph. 23 March 2014.
  13. Dillner . Louise . Frightening realism . 23 April 1994 . The British Medical Journal. 308 . 6936 . 1108 . 10.1136/bmj.308.6936.1108 .
  14. Web site: Revill. Jo. Nurse! Let's put this medical drama back on the screens. 10 September 2006. The Guardian.
  15. Web site: Cardiac Arrest at the International Movie Data Base. .
  16. News: Top of the TV Medics. BBC Online. 9 November 1999.
  17. News: Meet BBC Bodyguard writer Jed Mercurio - who used to work as a Birmingham doctor . . Annette Belcher . James Rodger . 18 September 2018 . 11 June 2023.
  18. Web site: Jed Mercurio: Line of Duty creator worked as a doctor before TV career . Entertainment Daily . Helen Fear . 25 February 2021 . 11 June 2023.
  19. News: Rampton. James. Still Crazee Now – Arts & Entertainment . The Independent . 6 March 1999 . 24 November 2013.
  20. Web site: Myerson . Julie . Close to the Bone. The Guardian. 6 April 2002.
  21. Web site: Tim. Lusher. The Top 50 TV Dramas of All Time. 12 January 2010. The Guardian.
  22. Web site: Bodies at the International Movie Data Base. .
  23. Web site: Faber. Michel. Rocket Man. The Guardian. 10 March 2007.
  24. Web site: 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. The Guardian. 22 January 2009.
  25. Web site: Curtis. Chris. Jed Mercurio: taking aim at the target culture. 20 September 2012. Broadcastnow.co.uk. 6 October 2013.
  26. Web site: Sweeney. Mark. Line of Duty set to return for third and fourth series. Guardian. 8 April 2014.
  27. Web site: Sandwell. Ian. Writers' Guild shortlist unveiled. Screen International. 5 December 2014.
  28. Web site: Hogan. Michael. The Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time. The Telegraph. 18 April 2014. etal.
  29. Web site: Ferguson. Euan. The best British TV Dramas of 2014. The Observer. 7 December 2014.
  30. Web site: Tate. Gabriel. etal. The 80 Best BBC Shows of All Time. The Telegraph. 2 November 2016.
  31. Web site: Ross. Graeme. The 20 Greatest TV Cop Shows of All Time. The Independent. 12 November 2016.
  32. Web site: Klompus. Jack. Casualty, Harry & Paul, Line of Duty win at RTS Programme awards. Digital Spy. 18 March 2015.
  33. Web site: Bafta TV Awards 2015: Winners in full. BBC News. 10 May 2015.
  34. Web site: BAFTA TV Craft Awards 2015.
  35. Web site: Plunkett. John. Line of Duty outranks Wolf Hall to take BBC2 ratings crown. The Guardian. 28 April 2016.
  36. Web site: Line of Duty to move to BBC1 for two more series. Radiotimes.com. 15 July 2016.
  37. Web site: Billen. Andrew. TV Review: Critical; Immigration Street. The Times. 25 February 2015.
  38. Web site: Jones. Ellen E.. Critical, Sky1 – TV Review. The Independent. 25 February 2015.
  39. Web site: Wollaston. Sam. Last Night's TV. The Guardian. 25 February 2015.
  40. Web site: Hogan. Michael. Critical episode 1 review. The Telegraph. 25 February 2015.
  41. Web site: Jeffrey . Morgan . 15 July 2015 . Sky1 calls time on Critical: No second series for medical thriller . . 15 July 2015.
  42. Web site: Meet the cast of Bodyguard on BBC1.
  43. Web site: Jed Mercurio on Bodyguard, jeopardy … and the next Line of Duty. Sarah. Hughes. 12 August 2018. The Guardian.
  44. Web site: Bodyguard is the biggest drama on British TV in over a decade. Corrodus. Corrine. 4 September 2018. The Telegraph.
  45. Web site: Goldberg. Lesley. 4 November 2021. Jed Mercurio and Jimmy Mulville Ink 20th TV First-Look Deal . 5 November 2021. The Hollywood Reporter. en-US.
  46. Web site: Crosby . Eve . Line of Duty creator teams up with Morven Christie for new thriller - and we can't wait . hellomagazine.com . 1 September 2022 .
  47. Web site: Payback (TV Series 2023–) . IMDb . 23 November 2023 . 23 November 2023.
  48. News: Lawrence . Ben . From the RAF to Bodyguard: the dramatic life of Jed Mercurio . 4 November 2018 . The Daily Telegraph . 25 September 2018.
  49. Web site: Edgar Award Nominees. www.theedgars.com. 5 May 2020. 7 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120307172053/http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html. dead.

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