A UNIQUE LOOK AT THE U.N. FROM THE INSIDE – Truth is stranger than fiction!
Era
Present, 2010s, 2000s
Locations
New York City, Azerbaijan, Russia, France, Turkey, Middle East
Genre
Drama, Crime Drama, Political Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Crime Thriller, Political Thriller, Spy
Logline
A former Head Weapons Inspector for the United Nations, who experienced a public fall from grace for denying the presence of weapons of mass destruction is reluctantly recruited by the UN to lead a Special Weapons Inspection Team to investigate the proliferation of WMD around the world.
Strengths
The source inspiration and involvement of Scott Ritter lends the project enormous credibility with an insider’s look at terrorism in the Middle East and surrounding countries. The writing is confident, assured, and knowledgeable about the subject matter, with scenes like Todd’slecture, and later, Todd and Kevin extracting soil samples from a believable attack site. Todd is crafted as a sympathetic character, starting with the harrowing teaser and the personal losses he sustained for whistle-blowing (and ultimately being correct). As a protagonist, his self-sacrifice, integrity, and innate desire to do what’s right is heroic, and there’s an effort to set-up the type of moral dilemmas he will face over the course of the series.
Ismail, as the complete opposite, is a worthy Azeri antagonist whose diabolical, evil nature is fascinating, and at times, difficult to watch as he frames up a terrorist attack, brutally kills
all of the witnesses, and is then revealed to be in charge of the rescue and investigation. The parallel storytelling allows the audience to see Ismail’s side and the fallout on Todd’s end, and the plot shows potential when their stories cross. Todd also has contentious dynamics with other characters to explore in future episodes, like his “respect/hate” relationship with the CIA’s Ryan and clashes with Ismail.
TV series potential:
THE WHISTLE-BLOWER could have a HOMELAND type of appeal with its comparable themes, subject matter, and international settings, characters, and storylines. Toned down it could be developed for a broadcast network, but the show’s graphic violence and language speaks more to cable or streaming. The involvement of a real-life figure is a solid piece for a creative package that could garner interest from high-level agents, managers, producers, directors, and buyers.