Russell T. Davies says he did not expect his latest series to reach American audiences, and he is crediting Starz for making it happen.
The three-time BAFTA winner praised Starz for picking up Tip Toe, a Channel 4 limited series, for distribution in the United States and Canada. According to Deadline, Davies said the network showed "nerve" in acquiring the show given the current political climate.
"It's very good news that it's been picked up in the US by Starz, because a lot of the arguments in Tip Toe address many of the problems that come when the President of the free world talks with hatred, bile and anger about minorities," Davies told Attitude magazine.
He added that such rhetoric has "given permission – this is said on screen in Tip Toe – given permission to the whole world, or certainly the whole manifestation, to rise up in arms." Davies said the series was made without American financing and was not originally expected to air in the United States. "The fact it will be shown is really exciting and says a lot about Starz," he said.
Davies also commended the network for showing "nerve in a world where everyone, well governments are trying to censor broadcasters."
Tip Toe centers on Manchester gay bar owner Leo Struthers, played by Alan Cumming, and his electrician neighbor Clive Goss, played by David Morrissey. The two men's feud escalates when online conspiracy theories and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric enter the picture.
Starz acquired the North American rights to the series last month. Network president Alison Hoffman praised Davies for creating a "gripping and deeply affecting series that speaks directly to the cultural tensions and anxieties shaping modern life."
No U.S. premiere date has been announced.
