Fans of shows such as The Split or Showtrial should keep an eye out for a "punchy" new Scotland-set legal drama from the BBC.
Counsels, which has been teased as a "high-stakes" legal series, follows the lives and careers of a group of young lawyers in Glasgow, who once trained together but now face each other in courts across the city, locking horns and navigating changing friendships.
The series comes from Bryan Elsley – who co-created classic teen drama Skins and has also written for Crow Road, Dates and Kiss Me First – and Gillian McCormack, who was part of the BBC Writers' Drama Room.
It also features writing by Vigil and Lockerbie: A Search for Truth's Maryam Hamidi and Red Eye's Jingan Young, with Gaynor Holmes, Gavin Smith and Daniel Donnelly on board as executive producers alongside Elsley and McCormack.
Company Balloon Scotland is producing the eight-part series, having previously worked on shows such as Newark, Newark, Clique, Eden and Champion, while filming is due to take place around Glasgow.
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Elsley said he was "delighted to be creating a show with BBC Scotland", where he began his career as a writer.
"We have had unique access to the lawyers of Glasgow, and their experiences which will translate into a punchy, fast-moving show, based on their incredible and characterful stories," he continued in a statement.
McCormack added: "I'm super excited to be working with the incredible team at Balloon to bring my hometown of Glasgow to life on the BBC and show off a city as dynamic, gritty and humorous as the characters we’ve created."
BBC Scotland's head of commissioning Louise Thornton said the series will showcase Scotland in "a new style" that will "delve in to the glossy, high-octane world of Glasgow lawyers".
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"We’re delighted to see this new creative partnership of Scottish writers flourish and we hope audiences will enjoy the gripping dramatic cases and the tricky toxic relationships the characters have to face as they battle the system from within," she said.
Thornton called Counsels "a fast-paced ensemble drama", with "personal dramas outside of the courtroom [that] are just as big as what happens inside it," according to director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt.
"Counsels is the legal drama reinvented for today, mixing brilliantly drawn characters with edge-of-your-seat stories that we know will keep BBC viewers hooked," the latter added.
Salt also revealed that the two creators "immersed" themselves in Glasgow's legal profession in order to research the series.
What is Counsels about?
Counsels focuses on the story of five young lawyers who trained together at an elite Scottish law school, though are "now scattered across the profession and find themselves facing each other in the courts of Glasgow".
"Some will rise to the top, while others risk losing everything as their careers teeter on the edge when they lock horns in their biggest cases yet," the synopsis adds.
"The ambitious lawyers must navigate a legal battlefield where their friendships begin to fracture, love affairs crumble, and the fight for justice threatens to tear them all apart."
Who is in Counsels?
No casting has been announced as of yet – but watch this space for additions when they're confirmed.
When will Counsels be released?
A release date for Counsels is yet to be confirmed, though the show will eventually air on BBC One, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer.
Counsels is yet to confirm a release date, but will air on BBC One, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
