RLJ to Release "Close to the Enemy" on DVD/BD

Following several recent Acorn TV Originals co-production announcements, Acorn Media Enterprises (AME), the development division for the Acorn brand of RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE), has partnered with All3Media International and the BBC as the North American co-producer of the thrilling new period drama CLOSE TO THE ENEMY. From acclaimed filmmaker Stephen Poliakoff (Perfect Strangers, Dancing on the Edge), this Acorn TV Original Series features an impressive ensemble cast, including Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, 21), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds), Lindsay Duncan (The Honourable Woman), Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel), Robert Glenister (Hustle, Prime Suspect), and Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders). Set in a bomb-damaged London hotel in the aftermath of the Second World War, Close to the Enemy follows intelligence officer Captain Callum Ferguson (Sturgess), whose last task for the Army is to ensure that a captured German scientist, Dieter (Diehl), starts working for the British RAF on urgently developing the jet engine. Coinciding with the BBC broadcast, the seven-part series will make its U.S. Premiere on Acorn TV, the premier North American streaming service for world-class TV from Britain and beyond, beginning Monday, November 14, 2016.

President of Acorn Brands at RLJ Entertainment Mark Stevens noted, “After the hugely successful August premiere of Agatha Raisin, our first Acorn TV Original Series, we’re thrilled to offer our subscribers the next Acorn TV Original with the thrilling drama series Close to the Enemy. Award-winning filmmaker Stephen Poliakoff penned the gripping script and directed an incredible cast with a cinematic production set in war-torn Britain.”


With the emerging Cold War, it is clear to all that it’s crucial for British national security that cutting-edge technology is made available to the armed forces as quickly as possible. Callum uses unorthodox methods in his attempt to convince Dieter to work with the British and eventually a friendship develops between the two men, but soon tensions arise, as all is not as it seems.
Over the course of the series, Callum encounters a number of other characters whose stories all intertwine. These characters include Victor (Highmore), Callum’s younger brother, struggling to deal with psychological trauma caused by his combat experience; Harold (Molina), a Foreign Office official who reveals some startling truths about the outbreak of the war; Rachel (Riley), an enchanting Anglophile American engaged to his best friend; and Kathy (Phoebe Fox, The Woman in Black 2), a tough young woman working for the War Crimes Unit, fighting to bring war criminals who escaped prosecution to justice. Each character is trying to rebuild and move forward in the aftermath of a war that scarred them all so deeply.

RLJ Entertainment’s Acorn, named the “chief curators of the best Brit TV” by TIME magazine, holds exclusive United Kingdom, Australian, and North American distribution rights to many of the top British and international programs, which are available for broadcast television, digital download, digital streaming, and in lavishly packaged DVDs/Blu-rays.

The Acorn brand has received an Emmy nomination for the final episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot and an Edgar-Award for George Gently. Acorn also co-produced the BBC mystery series Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime and the final two series of the beloved mystery series Foyle’s War. This year, Acorn TV Original Series co-production announcements included Ashley Jensen’s Agatha Raisin, Agatha Christie’s A Witness for the Prosecution, Irish legal drama Striking Out and British thriller The Level.