Neill and Brown Bring Wonderful Wit to Crime Caper

Sam Neill, the Irish born New Zealand actor, joins Australian Bryan Brown on television in “classy new crime caper” Old School.

The TV drama is described as “a kind of buddy series crossed with hard-nosed thriller, and with just a touch of New Tricks tossed in”, according to the Australian’s Graeme Blundell.

“There’s also the slightest whiff of that late-60s television series starring Robert Wagner, It Takes a Thief, itself inspired by the 1955 Cary Grant movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, inspired by the notion that it takes a crook to catch one.

“Neill’s ted McCabe, a retired cop, and Brown’s Lennie Cahill, a retired safecracker, get together to solve crimes and unravel scams, chasing around the fringes of society to make some much-needed cash while avoiding the ire of both the underworld and the police.

“Directed by Gregor Jordan, with all the required action thriller tropes in place, his two stars bring a wonderful laconic humour to the frantic shenanigans.”

Neill also stars in the BBC series Peaky Blinders as Chief Inspector Chester Campbell. Series two is expected to air later this year.

Original article by Graeme Blundell, The Australian, May 23, 2013.