

9.760 minSeason 2 • Episode 6
LatestBel, Freddie and Hector verge on breaking the biggest corruption expose ever - a house of cards stretching across London's most influential men - but things get complicated when one of them becomes the centre of a tabloid sex scandal. As they battle against high-level cover-up, Freddie's quest for a controversial contributor takes him right into the lion's den.
A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
Acting
Ben Whishaw's coiled-spring intensity; Romola Garai's commanding restraint.
Production
BBC newsroom sets so authentic you'll smell the ink.
Writing
Abi Morgan's dialogue crackles like vintage radio static.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Hour fictionalizes the real BBC news program Tonight (1957-1965), though its Suez Crisis timeline deliberately conflates events for dramatic compression.
Abi Morgan wrote this between The Iron Lady and Suffragettes; BBC executives initially worried audiences wouldn't care about 1950s broadcast journalism.