BBC Announces Beatles' Hamburg Drama Series

The BBC has announced a new six-part drama series titled Hamburg Days, chronicling the formative years of The Beatles in the early 1960s as the band honed its craft in the gritty clubs of Hamburg, Germany.

Set in the smoke-filled venues of Hamburg's St. Pauli red-light district, the series draws from the 1999 autobiography by German musician Klaus Voormann and photographer Astrid Kirchherr. It depicts an inexperienced rock 'n' roll band from Liverpool—comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best—arriving in the city and encountering Voormann and Kirchherr. Their interactions, the synopsis states, ignite a transformation that elevates the group of teenagers into one of the world's most influential music acts.

"Hamburg Days is the fascinating story of how, in the space of two short years, a raw young band from Liverpool honed their music skills in Hamburg, before returning home to become an overnight worldwide success," said Sue Deeks, the BBC's head of scripted prebuy acquisitions. "It is an incredible story, accompanied of course by an amazing soundtrack."

The project has been acquired by the BBC from UK-based Turbine Studios for airing...