Jude Law has signed on to play Bill Shankly, the legendary manager who turned Liverpool FC from a second-division side into the most famous club in English football, in a new TV series from Adolescence writer Jack Thorne. The casting, first reported by Deadline, ends nearly two years of silence on a project Liverpool itself announced back in 2024. Here is everything confirmed so far, and why the people making it keep comparing it to The Crown.
Jude Law as Bill Shankly: quick answers
The role: Law will play Bill Shankly, Liverpool FC manager from 1959 to 1974 and the most revered figure in the club’s history.
Who is making it: written by Jack Thorne, the BAFTA-winning Adolescence writer and a lifelong Liverpool fan, who has already finished the first two episodes, per Empire. Liverpool FC is producing with Box To Box Films, the company behind Drive to Survive.
The A24 wrinkle: A24 was attached when the club announced the project in December 2024, but Deadline now reports A24 is no longer involved.
Release date and platform: neither has been announced. The series does not have a public title yet.
The fun detail: Law is a Tottenham Hotspur fan in real life, which Deadline noted in its exclusive.
What the Shankly series is about
The drama will chart Shankly’s rise after taking over a struggling Liverpool side in December 1959: promotion from the old Second Division, then three First Division championships, two FA Cups, four Charity Shields and the UEFA Cup. It is set against 1960s Liverpool, when the city was also giving the world The Beatles and the Merseybeat scene, and the show intends to use all of it.
Tom Werner, the veteran American producer behind Roseanne and Netflix’s A Different World reboot who has chaired Liverpool FC since 2010, told Deadline he believes the series can become something like The Crown. “It’s a story about family and relationships through the lens of a football club,” he said. “If we can articulate that in a mini-series that starts with Bill Shankly and continues through its journey, we can touch on things like the Beatles.” Thorne put it more simply: “My feeling is, if you do nothing more in that first episode than show 50,000 people singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, I defy anyone who won’t be moved by that one scene.”
Who was Bill Shankly, and why does he matter?
For American viewers who know Liverpool mostly as a Premier League giant, Shankly is the reason the giant exists. A Scot who arrived at Anfield in 1959 when the club was stuck in the second tier, he rebuilt everything: the team, the training culture, the famous boot room brain trust, and above all the bond between the club and its supporters. He is the man who made “You’ll Never Walk Alone” the club’s anthem. He retired in 1974 after winning that year’s FA Cup and died in 1981 at 68, and his name still opens every argument about the club’s soul. If you have ever wondered why Liverpool fans sing louder than everyone else, this is the origin story.
Why this casting is a bigger deal than a normal announcement
Two things make this more than a routine casting note. First, the track record: Thorne is coming off Adolescence, one of the most acclaimed dramas of the decade, and Box To Box proved with Drive to Survive that it can turn sports insiders’ stories into global mainstream hits. Second, the ambition. Werner is not describing a one-off biopic but a multi-era saga that starts with Shankly and could run through decades of the club’s triumphs and tragedies, Empire notes. Law, a genuine actor’s actor with two Oscar nominations, signing on to anchor that kind of project signals the script is the real thing. The A24 exit is worth watching, but the club, the writer and now the star are all still at the table.
The timeline so far
December 1959: Shankly becomes Liverpool manager.
1962 to 1973: promotion, then three league titles, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup.
1974: Shankly retires after winning the FA Cup.
1981: Shankly dies at 68.
December 2024: Liverpool FC announces the drama series with A24 and Box To Box Films attached.
October 2026: Deadline reveals Jude Law has signed on to play Shankly, and reports A24 is no longer involved.
What this means for viewers
Nothing to watch yet: no title, platform or release date has been announced. With two episodes written and a star attached, expect a platform deal to be the next headline.
Soccer fans: this is being built as prestige drama first and sports show second, closer to The Crown than to Ted Lasso, despite the lazy comparisons the premise invites.
Beatles fans: the 1960s Liverpool setting means the Merseybeat era is part of the canvas, per Werner’s own comments.
US viewers new to Shankly: you do not need homework. The show is designed to tell you why he matters; the short version is above.
Jude Law Bill Shankly series FAQ
What did Bill Shankly do for Liverpool? He took over a second-division club in 1959 and turned it into England’s most decorated team of the era, winning three league titles, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup, and he made “You’ll Never Walk Alone” the club’s anthem.
Who is writing the Bill Shankly series? Jack Thorne, the Adolescence writer and a lifelong Liverpool supporter, has written the first two episodes.
Is the Shankly series an A24 show? A24 was attached at the December 2024 announcement, but Deadline reports A24 is no longer involved. Liverpool FC and Box To Box Films remain on the project.
When does the Jude Law Shankly series come out? No release date or streaming platform has been announced.
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