Cast announced for new Disney+ drama 'Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes'

The new drama from Jeff Pope focuses on the events surrounding the tragic killing of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, after he is mistaken for a terrorist.

Today, Disney+ has announced the cast for their new original drama Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, including Edison Alcaide, Conleth Hill, Russell Tovey, Max Beesley, Emily Mortimer, Daniel Mays, Laura Aikman and Alex Jennings.

Written and executive produced by Jeff Pope, the four-part drama focuses on the events surrounding the tragic killing of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, after he is mistaken for a terrorist.

Told from multiple perspectives of those involved, it examines how memory - both accurate and distorted - can be turned into fact and shape our understanding of the truth.

Set twenty years ago, as London reels from the devastating suicide bomb attacks of 7 July 2005, the Metropolitan Police launches a large-scale counter terrorism operation to prevent further attacks. Unbeknownst to them, another terrorist cell plots an assault that could equal the devastation of 7/7.

This second set of planned attacks fails, setting off one of the UK’s largest-ever manhunts and sparking a covert surveillance operation.

As tension and uncertainty rises across the nation, a series of extraordinary events unfolds, leading to a critical misidentification. Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent young Brazilian electrician on his way to work, is mistaken for a terrorist and shot dead at Stockwell station.

What follows is a family’s fight for justice and answers, and the long-fought struggle to bring clarity to a situation that is clouded by confusion, and silence.

Newcomer Edison Alcaide plays Jean Charles de Menezes whilst Conleth Hill plays Sir Ian Blair, then Met Police Commissioner, Russell Tovey plays one of Blair’s Deputy Assistant Commissioners, Brian Paddick alongside Max Beesley as Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, leading on the Met’s investigation into the bombings.

Emily Mortimer plays Cressida Dick, then Gold Commander of the surveillance operation pursuing those presumed responsible for the bombings and will be joined by Daniel Mays as Cliff Todd, Principal Forensic Investigator in the aftermath of the events of 7/7, Laura Aikman as Lana Vandenberghe, a secretary at the Independent Police Complaints Commission who plays a pivotal role in the unfolding of events and Alex Jennings as barrister, Michael Mansfield KC, who represents the family of Jean Charles de Menezes at the inquest into his shooting.

Speaking about the new drama, writer and executive producer, Jeff Pope said "This is an incredibly important story to tell, and we’ve got a heavyweight ensemble cast in place that will help us examine the events that led to the tragic shooting of the innocent Jean Charles de Menezes."

"He was just a commuter who was tracked for nearly an hour with surveillance failing to correctly identify him, before he was shot dead on a crowded tube train, leaving his family to try and shine a light on the critical errors that led to this devastating tragedy."

Made by Etta Pictures, Pope’s production label, which is part of ITV Studios, in association with Kwadjo Dajan’s KDJ Productions, Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is written by Jeff Pope, produced by Kwadjo Dajan and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, with Pope, Dajan and Williams also serving as executive producers alongside Lee Mason for Disney+.

Jean Charles de Menezes’ parents and other relatives are serving as consultants for the series.

Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes launches this spring on Disney+