Netflix fans have gone wild over a new drama that they have hailed as “absolutely brilliant.”
Scoop launched today in the UK and chronicles Emily Maitlis’ infamous interview with Prince Andrew, which caused the Royal Family to announce that the duke would retire from public duties just days after it was broadcast in 2019.
Well-known British names starring in the biographical drama include Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper as Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis and Sam McAlister, the BBC television producer who scored the interview about the car crash.
The disgraced prince is played by Rufus Sewell, famous for his portrayal of Count Adhemar of Anjou in the 2001 box office hit A Knight’s Tale.
Directed by Philip Martin, the Netflix film is an adaptation of then-Newsnight editor Sam McAlister’s tell-all 2022 book, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.
Brits were quick to gush about the film on X, formerly known as Twitter, praising its stellar performance and putting powerful women in charge, and were surprised by a shocking cameo.
Netflix’s Scoop launched in the UK today and chronicles Emily Maitlis’ infamous interview with Prince Andrew, which prompted the royal to announce that the disgraced duke would be stepping back from public duties just days after it aired in 2019.
Emily Maitlis is played by Gillian Anderson, who looks almost identical to the famous broadcaster.
A double-chinned Rufus Sewell plays Andrew and if you squint really hard, you can almost believe it’s him!
Less than five years after Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis grilled Prince Andrew, Netflix dramatized the infamous interview.
Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew photographed during the 2019 royal interview
Many were captivated by the directors’ powerful narrative that focused on Prince Andrew.relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, in addition to his own accusations of sexual assault.
And loyal EastEnders fans may be surprised to see Christopher Fairbank, who plays Eddie Knight, briefly star in the film, as a dog owner who chats to Maitlis in one scene.
One said: “Spent the morning watching Scoop on Netflix, based on @SamMcAlister1’s book documenting how that famous interview with Prince Andrew came to fruition – it’s absolutely brilliant and a really intriguing watch.” Highly recommended!’
Another enthralled X user added: ‘Just watched #Scoop and was spellbound, glued to my seat. But God, did we really need to see him naked?
More viewers were impressed by the star-studded cast: ‘Well, Scoop is absolutely brilliant. Fantastic acting from everyone.’
The same user was also happy to see the Prince held accountable: “It’s very satisfying to see how Andrew was defeated by some fantastic women.” I hope someone asks in the palace if he has seen it.”
While others were simply there for ‘Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper’, who they felt stole the show.
Another added: “Great job by everyone at #Scoop, that interview is still amazing.”
Netflix viewers fell in love with Scoop, a dramatized version of Emily Maitlis’ powerful 2019 BBC Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, known as the “car crash interview.”
And one of them wrote: ‘I spent the morning watching Scoop on Netflix, based on the book by @SamMcAlister1 which documents how that famous interview with Prince Andrew came to be. It’s absolutely brilliant and a really intriguing watch. Highly recommended!’
But others were perplexed that Netflix was chosen to broadcast the story: “It seems strange that #Scoop, which is about a BBC achievement, is on Netflix and not the BBC.”
“You would have thought the BBC would want to brag about something they did right for once.”
Rufus Sewell spoke openly while appearing on Good Morning Britain, where he detailed “obsessively watching the Newsnight interview for hours.”
Speaking about her thoughts after landing the role, she said: “I felt like I could get behind it and then when I got the role I thought, ‘God, what have I done?’ I’m not a natural imitator.’
“I watched the interview obsessively. I saw it at that moment like everyone else, I was a little paralyzed for various reasons. Like most people, I had my own judgments.