Now this is something I’m genuinely looking forward to.
Jude Law is set to play Bill Shankly in a new drama series about the Liverpool legend, with Adolescence writer Jack Thorne working on the project.
According to Deadline, Law is attached to star as the man who transformed Liverpool Football Club and laid the foundations for the success that followed. The series is being developed with A24 and Box To Box Films, with the story centred on Shankly’s remarkable reign and Liverpool’s rise during the 1960s.
And as a Liverpool supporter, I think this has the potential to be something special.
But there is one thing I really hope the people making it understand.
Bill Shankly wasn’t just a football manager. He changed Liverpool Football Club forever.
Jude Law has a huge role to fill
Law is an interesting choice for Shankly.
He is an established actor who has taken on a wide range of roles, but portraying a figure as important to Liverpool supporters as Shankly comes with a different kind of responsibility.
Shankly wasn’t simply the man in the dugout picking the team. He built a culture, connected with supporters and helped create the identity that still runs through the club today.
He arrived at Anfield in December 1959, when Liverpool were in the old Second Division. By the time he retired in 1974, he had led the Reds to three league championships, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup.
That is an extraordinary transformation.
And it wasn’t only about winning trophies. Shankly understood the relationship between the club and the people who followed it. He made supporters feel part of something bigger than the football played on the pitch.
That’s what I want to see brought to life.
Not just the famous quotes or the celebrations, but the personality, the determination and the connection with the city.
This is a story about Liverpool, not just football
One of the most encouraging things about the project is that the original announcement from Liverpool confirmed the series would explore the club against the backdrop of Liverpool during the 1960s, when music and culture were transforming the city.
The club also confirmed that filming was planned in Liverpool and at Anfield, with Shankly’s granddaughter, Karen Gill, involved to help ensure historical accuracy.
That matters.
Liverpool in the 1960s was about far more than football. It was a city with its own identity, humour, pride and working-class spirit.
Shankly understood that connection. He famously believed the club belonged to the people, and his relationship with the supporters became a defining part of his legacy.
I hope the series gives that side of the story plenty of attention.
Because if all we get is a collection of famous matches and trophies, it will miss something important.
The real story is how Shankly made people believe in Liverpool again.
Jack Thorne is an intriguing choice
Thorne’s involvement is another reason to be interested.
He wrote Adolescence, the drama that attracted enormous attention for its powerful storytelling and performances. This Liverpool project gives him the chance to explore a very different subject, but one with plenty of emotional depth.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has previously described the project as a story about family and relationships through the lens of a football club. That is a promising way to approach it.
After all, Liverpool’s history is full of moments that go beyond results.
It’s about generations of supporters passing their love of the club down through their families. It’s about what happens in the stands as much as what happens on the pitch. And it’s about the people who helped turn a football club into such an important part of a city’s identity.
Shankly is the perfect figure through whom to tell that story.
Getting Shankly right is the biggest challenge
I’ll be honest, though. I’m excited, but I’m also hoping the people behind this understand just how much Shankly means to Liverpool supporters.
You can’t manufacture that connection simply by putting a famous actor in a tracksuit and having him repeat a few well-known quotes.
Shankly had a particular way of speaking, a sharp sense of humour and a fierce belief in what Liverpool could become. He demanded hard work, but he also understood the importance of making people feel involved in the club’s journey.
That balance is what made him so special.
Law will have a difficult job capturing all of that, and Liverpool fans will naturally be watching closely.
But if the writing is right and the performances do justice to the people involved, this could be a wonderful way of introducing Shankly to supporters who never had the chance to see him manage Liverpool.
And for those who grew up hearing stories about him, it could be a chance to revisit an extraordinary period in the club’s history.
I want a series that makes Liverpool fans proud
The project is still developing, and a broadcaster or streaming platform has not yet been announced. So there is plenty we still don’t know about when we’ll see it or exactly how the story will unfold.
But the potential is enormous.
Imagine seeing Anfield in that era, the atmosphere around the city and the growing belief that Liverpool could become one of the biggest clubs in the country.
Imagine the story of Shankly building his team, challenging the established order and creating the foundations that Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan would later build upon.
And imagine the series capturing the emotion of thousands of supporters singing You’ll Never Walk Alone.
That is the sort of moment that could make this more than just another football drama.
For me, this has to be about the man who helped shape the club we love, and the city that helped shape him.
Jude Law has a huge responsibility, but this could be something truly special.
Bill Shankly deserves a series that does justice to his legacy.
And if the people behind it get that right, I think Liverpool supporters will be watching every minute.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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