State of Play is a six-part
British television drama serial directed by
David Yates and written by
Paul Abbott. The serial, first broadcast on
BBC One in 2003, was produced in-house by the
BBC in association with the independent production company Endor Productions. It starred
David Morrissey,
John Simm,
Kelly Macdonald,
Polly Walker,
Bill Nighy, and
James McAvoy, telling the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a young woman, and centres on the relationship between the leading journalist and his old friend, who is a Member of Parliament and the murdered woman's employer. The series is set in
London.