Natalie Dormer is taking flight. The “Game of Thrones” alumna is developing a TV series about WWII’s unsung female aviators via her newly launched production banner, Dog Rose Productions. Deadline confirmed the news.
A London-based company, Dog Rose will highlight “new and experienced voices to create a variety of genres that explore stories and themes transcending cultures and unite us as humans.” “Spitfire Sisters” isn’t the only project on their slate. As the source explains, the company has a multi-year first-look deal with Fremantle to “co-develop and distribute projects out of the partnership,” including a previously announced Vivien Leigh drama, “Vivling.” Each episode of the series will focus on a different project Leigh starred in.
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (“The Interrogation of Leo and Lisa”) is signed on to pen “Spitfire Sisters.” The drama will be comprised of eight one-hour episodes.
Set in the throes of WWII, “Spitfire Sisters” is based on a true story and “follows the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), the ‘glamour girls’ of the battle as they take on one of the most dangerous jobs in the war,” Deadline summarizes. “Filled with empowerment, friendships, love, camaraderie, and deep tragedy and loss, the women of ATA were tasked with flying 90 different types of aircraft from base to base ready for the frontline. Female pilots from all over the world traveled to the UK to join the group but the glamour of being in the ATA came with the tragedy of flying during the war. ‘Spitfire Sisters’ is the war through the eyes of the women; the dangers they faced and their fight for acceptance and equality.”
“It’s important to me, as a writer, to tell stories that have been ignored and to shine a light on perspectives that we have lacked for so long,” said Malcolm. “‘Spitfire Sisters’ is all about reframing the classic wartime genre and giving the many women, who were so important to the war effort, a chance to speak and quite literally fly. It’s always exciting to see representation of marginalized stories on our screens and stages and this project will hold so many within it. The heart of it is about joy and freedom and bravery. And these are three of the strongest emotions I have whilst working on it. It’s my dream project.”
Dormer added, “This is a barely known story, a thrilling story; an important story ready to be told by such a passionate voice as Morgan’s.”
Dormer will exec produce “Spitfire Sisters” and Dog Rose’s Danielle Glaze-Adams is locked in to serve as the development executive on the project.
Best known for her roles as Margaery Tyrell in “Game of Thrones” and Cressida in the “Hunger Games” franchise, Dormer’s other credits include “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “The Forest,” and “The Tudors.” She’s signed on to co-star in Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful” sequel series, “City of Angels.”
