First of all, no, the Golden Globe-nominated "Bodyguard" is not a reboot of the 1992 drama starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. That was "The Bodyguard," and what a difference a definite article (and a sweeping cover of "I Will Always Love You") makes.
In fact, "Bodyguard" is the six-episode British television drama that first aired on BBC One in August, earning more than 10 million viewers for its premiere, which was the largest number for a U.K. series in 10 years. Netflix, which was a producing partner for the series along with ITV Studios, brought the series to U.S. viewers through its streaming platform in October. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. clearly took notice, nominating the show in best drama and its star, Richard Madden.
Madden, better known to American audiences as the late Robb Stark from "Game of Thrones," plays David Budd, a PTSD-afflicted veteran of the war in Afghanistan who is assigned to protect a hawkish Home Secretary (Keeley Hawes, disappointingly not nominated). She, of course, was instrumental in sending troops to that region.
"I was pitched on this first concept of this bodyguard guy and not knowing if he was bad or good," Madden told The Times in November. "That's something I tried to hold on to as much as I could through the show, because it gives an ambiguity to him."
The series features some electric moments of tension with its multiple terror plots and web of governmental conspiracies, and features a 98 percent rating on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Still, not all critics were entirely convinced; The Times' critic Robert Lloyd wrote, "Some elements of the series struck me as odd, including what seems an endorsement of the surveillance state, and certain climactic revelations had me talking to the screen."
"Bodyguard" is the second show with U.K. roots in the Globes' drama category alongside the hit BBC America series "Killing Eve." Whether this will prove to be an advantage in a category that also includes the U.S.-produced "Homecoming," "The Americans" and "Pose" will be revealed when the awards are announced in January.
