Bodies: Creator thought show was “too strange” to get made

Netflix is get to air a crime thriller series like never before, thanks to director Paul Tomalin’s onscreen adaptation of Bodies.

Based on a graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer, the story follows four detectives who each find the same body across a timeline ranging from the late 1800s to the mid 2000s.

Though Spencer passed away before the series was officially greenlit, Tomalin says that he hopes he “would be proud” of the direction that the show has taken.

Streaming on Netflix in October, Tomalin also delved into his feelings on why his idea for Bodies seemed like a no-go from the start.

Bodies director “never thought” show would actually get made

During a preview Q&A of the series, Paul Tomalin explained why he “never thought” the show would get picked up to stream on Netflix.

“It [Bodies] was a graphic novel originally by Si Spencer. He did this kind of utterly insane brilliant book that had a cult following. There’s four different cops, one murder that’s the same body over four different timelines. And I was like, ‘No, this is gonna be a nightmare.’

“I knew that the Jack the Ripper stuff, the Blitz stuff, the Line of Duty stuff, the future dystopian Utopia stuff were the ingredients were too unique not to be bound together. I believed it was too strange to actually get made. But I thought, I’d love to throw myself into to existing in these timelines and really absorb everything I possibly can put it on the page.

“It was just this challenge that I couldn’t ultimately turn down. I couldn’t have lived with myself.”

If Bodies didn’t already have enough elements on its plate to play with, each timeline tackles a different element of bigotry, from antisemitism to homophobia.

“It’s baked into Spencer’s kind of concept,” Tomalin explains. “The truth is Whitechapel and that definitive diaspora is more a ‘London’ kind of Britain because of the way it’s evolved as a kind of melting pot over the 20th century. It’s fascinating.

“In 1890 it was the Irish immigration coming in, and then in 1941 from Jewish population – and then there was all these antagonisms because of that. It’s just this fascinating place where the lens of the world is placed on all the conflicts play out. It’s one of the most alive thrilling places in Britain.”

Story timeline needs “purpose,” says cast

Because of the merging timelines and moral narratives, cast members Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (DS Whiteman) and Amaka Okafor (DS Hasan) stress that “teamwork” has been essential to making Bodies work.

“It feels like a team sport,” Okafor says. “You feel like you’re sharing responsibility and everyone’s bringing such a different flavour. That’s what I’m really looking forward to seeing, what everyone’s been up to.”

“At times, it feels like the making it just like you’re in your own world, and it’s the only story,” Fortune-Lloyd continues. “What intents and purposes feels like doing it? But then you have this wild knowledge that it’s a whole bigger world around you.

“So you haven’t seen the series and its entirety yet. You’ve got no idea what it might look like.”

Bodies will stream on Netflix from October 19, 2023. Find everything we know about the series here and find more Netflix updates below:

The Gentlemen | Will there be Firefly Lane Season 3? | Sex Education Season 4 | Monster Season 2 | All the Light We Cannot See | Stranger Things Season 5 | Florida Man Season 2