Preview BBC America’s First Original Drama, “Copper,” Coming This Summer

BBC America is set to debut its first original scripted series this summer, a period crime drama called Copper.

Set in 1860s New York, Copper stars Tom Westen-Jones (MI-5) as Detective Kevin Cororan, who works in the city’s notorious Five Points neighborhood and tries to maintain his moral compass despite the turbulent times the city finds itself in. (Think Gangs of New York, it would seem.) Westen-Jones will be joined by a strong supporting cast comprised of Kevin Ryan (Tripping Tommy), Franka Potente (Run Lola Run), Kyle Schmid (Blood Ties), and Anastasia Griffith (Royal Pains).

Sound interesting? Click through for a bit more background on the series and a look at the extended trailer. Then leave your thoughts in the comments.

Copper is created by the duo of Tom Fontanta (Oz, Homicide) and Will Rokos (Southland). Other notable behind-the-scenes talent includes Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam) and Cineflix Studios president Christina Wayne (a former AMC executive who helped develop Mad Men).

First off, from the shallow end – I’m already into this just because of these outfits!Pictured below are lead detective duo Westen-Jones and Ryan, in really fabulous period dress. (Nice jacket!) While I doubt either of the lads here are going to rival Lady Mary Crawley in the general “outfits I wish  I actually owned” competition, I love the attention to detail going on here.

Take a look at the new extended trailer for the series below. Have to admit, now that we are finally getting a look at something with a bit more actual footage in it (previous trailers were very text-heavy and light on basically everything else), this looks quite promising.

Copper is set to premiere on August 19. I’m really curious to see BBC America’s first foray into original scripted drama, so I’m planning on tuning in.  As I said, it does sound a bit like a TV version of Gangs of New York, but it’s certainly very different from almost everything else that’s on right now, and I’ve always got a weakness for period drama of any stripe. That all seems reason enough for me to at least try it out a few times and see how it is. I’m hoping for good things.

What about you? Would you watch Copper? Or would you rather see BBC America stick to bringing its viewers British imports?