Production underway in New Orleans on AMC's TV series The Driver

Production has commenced in New Orleans on AMC's new drama series The Driver, starring Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul).

The Driver is based on a three-episode BBC mini-series of the same name, which premiered on BBC One in 2014. 

Season 1 of the US remake will have a six-episode run. It centres on a taxi driver (Esposito) whose life is turned upside down when he agrees to chauffeur a New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster notorious for exploiting undocumented immigrants at the U.S. southern ports.

Skeet Ulrich (Scream) was recently cast as a lead opposite Esposito. Ulrich will play Colin, an old acquaintance of Vince (Esposito), an iteration of the character played by Ian Hart in the original series. Paula Malcomson and Bonnie Mbuli also star.

The six-episode series is currently scheduled to finish filming on 21 October, 2022. 

When the series was announced earlier in March, Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks said: “Giancarlo is a singular talent who is already beloved by AMC viewers through his standout performances in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

“We are excited to be continuing his relationship with AMC and AMC+ in a series built around him and an unforgettable character who takes what he thinks is a straightforward job opportunity and finds himself confronted with a world that tests him in ways he could never have imagined.”

Sunu Gonera (Class of 09) and Danny Brocklehurst (The Stranger) created the series based on the UK format created by Brocklehurst and Jim Poyser.

Theo Travers (Billions) will serve as showrunner and Gonera will direct the pilot.

The Driver will premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2023.