Jude Law is set to play Bill Shankly in a new adolescence-adjacent drama from Jack Thorne, the writer of Adolescence. The project puts Liverpool FC’s most consequential manager at the centre of a series that is already being shaped around the club’s rise and its wider culture.
Jack Thorne has written the first two episodes, and talks with broadcasters and streamers have begun. For Liverpool FC supporters, the pitch is clear enough: a long-form drama built around Bill Shankly’s climb, with room to move from football history into the city’s 1960s music and culture scene.
Werner and the Liverpool FC pitch
Tom Werner has said the series could become like The Crown, and he has been speaking about it in terms that go beyond a simple sporting biopic. “It’s a story about family and relationships through the lens of a football club,” he said, adding that the club’s link with its supporters is what makes Liverpool so distinctive.
Werner also pointed to the scale of the story he wants to tell. He said that if the series succeeds, it can move from Shankly into a wider run that touches on Liverpool FC’s history, and he tied that ambition to the club’s reach and its place in popular culture.
Shankly, Liverpool FC, and Anfield
Bill Shankly became Liverpool manager in December 1959, and the series will chart his rise from there. The story line includes Liverpool FC’s promotion from the old Second Division, three First Division Championships, two FA Cups, four Charity Shields and the UEFA Cup, with filming set for Liverpool and Anfield.
Werner has said the first episode could lean on one image above all others. “My feeling is, if you do nothing more in that first episode than show 50,000 people singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ I defy anyone who won’t be moved by that one scene,” he said. Shankly was also responsible for the song becoming Liverpool’s anthem, which gives the series a built-in emotional spine without needing to invent one.
A24 and the project’s shift
Liverpool FC said in 2024 that it was working on the project with A24 and Box To Box Films, but A24 is no longer involved. That leaves the series in a more fluid phase: the creative package is moving forward around Thorne, Law and Werner, while the financing and distribution side still has to land.
Karen Gill is involved in the project, bringing a direct family link through her work as the author of The Real Bill Shankly. Werner has also said that, if the series is successful, a second batch of episodes could reach the Hillsborough disaster, a subject that would move the story from club mythology into one of the most difficult chapters in Liverpool FC history. For now, the immediate question is which broadcaster or streamer decides to take it on.
