Idris Elba to star in his own Netflix series

CAIRO – 19 April 2018: English star Idris Elba is getting his very own Netflix series, "Turn Up Charlie", where he is set to star in the lead role, while also serving as co-executive producer.

With an order of eight episodes each a half-hour, the series puts Elba in the role of a struggling single DJ named Charlie, who finds one last shot at fame when he gets hired in the role of a male nanny, or "manny" to his celebrity best friend's trouble-making daughter. No release date has been confirmed, and production will begin in May in the United Kingdom.

The series is a particular fitting role for Elba, given his origins as a DJ in the clubs of East London, before going on to become an actor, where he now enjoys international fame. "Turn Up Charlie" isn't even the only TV series he's created, with Elba also being the lead for Sky One's "In The Long Run", a show set in 1985 London and is loosely based off Elba's own family. It follows an immigrant family from Sierra Leone adapting to their new home in England. Nor is this series even his first time on Netflix; Elba also starred in Netflix feature film "Beasts of No Nation", the brutal tale of a child soldier fighting for an unnamed African country.

The role that really got him big was as crime boss Stringer Bell in the critically acclaimed HBO series "The Wire". More recently on the TV front, Elba is the lead for the British detective series "Luther", which has earned him high praise.


Among his diverse acting career, Elba is renowned for his diverse range of roles on the big screen. In 2011, he was part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for "Thor", and in 2013 he joined the Guillermo Del Toro action blockbuster "Pacific Rim". Beyond action films however, Elba has proven he has quite the knack for various other genres, starring in the biopic "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom" in 2013, and more recently starring alongside Kate Winslet in the 2017 romantic adventure "The Mountain Between Us", which screened in Egypt as part of the Cairo International Film Festival.



Beyond acting, Elba has even taken up a seat on the director's chair, producing the 2018 crime drama "Yardie", which screened during the Sundance Film Festival in January.