Drama series inspired by true events surrounding the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, and the remarkable story that followed.
The series covers the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which £26 million (equivalent to £93.3 million in 2021[4]) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, and the widespread events that followed over the following decade. At the time it was the biggest robbery in history, and led to a number of international criminal investigations.[5]
Paramount+ had high hopes pinned to The Gold when it launched in September 2023. The streaming service had good reason to believe that, of the 50+ international dramas it had commissioned in the year since July 2022 when it announced it was aiming to appeal to a global market, this one was a winner. It had done gangbusters in the U.K., where it aired on the BBC and streaming on iPlayer. It starred Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville, Sanditon's Charlotte Spencer, Guilt's Emun Elliot, and Jack Lowden from Apple TV+'s sleeper hit Slow Horses. And it had a true crime hook: the most significant gold robbery in U.K. history. It had done so well the BBC was already looking to commission Season 2, which has just been announced.
However, Paramount+ did not consider that most Americans don't subscribe to Paramount+ year-round unless they are hardcore Star Trekfans. Nor did it seem to occur to anyone that perhaps marketing it might help (an issue admittedly exacerbated by the strike). But perhaps the most significant issue was one highlighted in our podcast: the series assumed the viewer already knew a lot about the Brinks-Mat heist the series is based on. In the U.K., that's true; it was a cultural moment, primarily because the gold in question was never found. However, for an American viewer who doesn't know much about it, the opening two episodes were downright puzzling when they weren't straight-up offputting.
The BBC Renews 'The Gold' as Paramount+ Drops the Series
The Gold review – a 24-carat drama about one of the UK’s most shocking robberies
2022 Country Reports on Terrorism
“The Department of State issued the 2022 Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT). Each year, the CRT provides insight on important issues in the fight against terrorism and helps the United States make informed decisions about policies, programs, and resource allocations as we seek to build counterterrorism capacity and resilience around the globe.
As the United States confronts a diverse and dynamic range of national security challenges, the U.S. government is deploying the full range of CT tools to ensure a sustainable whole-of-government and whole-of-society CT approach with allies and partners around the world…Following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States established a strong and sophisticated counterterrorism enterprise to reduce the threat of large-scale terrorist attacks on the homeland. More than 20 years later, the terrorist threats we currently face are more ideologically and geographically diffuse.
At the same time, the United States is confronting a diverse and dynamic range of other national security challenges, including strategic competition, cybersecurity threats, and climate change. To tackle evolving and emerging terrorist threats within the context of broader national security priorities, the United States inaugurated a new counterterrorism policy, shifting from a U.S.-led, military-centric approach to one that prioritizes diplomacy, partner capacity building, and prevention. Striking a new balance between military and civilian counterterrorism efforts recognizes the need to deploy the full range of counterterrorism (CT) tools and ensures a more sustainable whole-of-government and whole-of-society CT approach with allies and partners around the world…”
HowHateSleeps
“A study on the banality of evil. Peer into the private spaces of violent far-right actors. A First Vigil project. Racist, white supremacist, and far-right violence is on the rise.
But while far-right actors often try to maintain a public image of normalcy, it is sometimes useful to look into their private spaces in an attempt to understand how their hate festers, evolves, and breeds when no one is looking. HowHateSleeps seeks to peek behind the curtain to look into these private sanctums. All images have been pulled from public court records except where otherwise indicated. This project is part of the First Vigilinitiative.”