Picture: Mark Mainz/BBC/Netflix
Netflix and the BBC are teaming up for a brand-new co-production centered around one of the worst aviation disasters, Pan Am Flight 103, aka the Lockerbie bombing. Currently in post-production, here’s an updated guide to everything you need to know about The Bombing of Pan Am 103, including the plot, cast, trailers, production updates, and the Netflix release date.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103, previously referred to as just Lockerbie, is an upcoming historical thriller series and co-production between Netflix and the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Jonathan Lee (Who Killed Jando) is the showrunner of the series, who co-wrote the drama alongside Gillian Roger Park (Flotsam). Directing the series is Michael Keillor, who previously directed and produced the thriller Roadkill and directed episodes of Line of Duty.
Pictured: Jonathan Lee
The drama is not to be confused with the Sky and Peacock series, which is the same name as the one being produced by Carnival Film & Television, the same studio that produced The Last Kingdom for the BBC and Netflix. That series released in 2024 to critical acclaim.
Netflix’s iteration with the BBC filmed throughout 2024 with filming locations including in Scotland, Malta and Toronto, Canada.
MGM Television (USA), Night Train Media (Denmark), Toluca Pictures (USA), and World Productions (UK) are the four production studios behind the series, which executive producers represent; Sara Curran, Simon Hearth, Joe Hill, Gaynor Holmes, Michael Keillor, Herbert Kloiber, Jonathan Lee, Stacey Levin, Adam Morane-Griffiths, Roderick Seligman, and Steve Stark.
Here’s everything we know so far about The Bombing of Pan Am 103 on Netflix:
What is the plot of Lockerbie?
We have a detailed synopsis of The Bombing of Pan Am 103 that seeks to tell the untold story of the Scottish and American investigators who sought to bring the perpetrators to justice:
“A drama based on the real events surrounding the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the joint Scots-US investigation which sought to bring the perpetrators to justice. Lockerbie will focus on the investigation into the crash on both sides of the Atlantic and the devastating effect it had on the small town and the families who lost loved ones. From the initial exhaustive search for evidence on the ground in Scotland, via the US and Malta to the trial at Camp Zeist in 2000, the drama goes right up to the most recent indictment at the end of 2022.”
What is the Lockerbie Bombing?
On the 21st of December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was on a transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit. After a short stopover in London, just after 19:00 while in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, a bomb that was planted on board destroyed the plane. All 243 passengers and 16 crew were killed.
There were further casualties after the debris and large portions of the plane crashed into several homes in Lockerbie, which resulted in the death of 11 residents.
Pan Am Flight 103 was flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie a bomb was detonated aboard the flight – Credit: News UK Ltd
It took a three-year investigation conducted by the FBI and the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary to put out an arrest warrant for two Libyan nationals. Several years later, Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya, gave up the two men who went on trial in the Netherlands.
In 2001, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed for life after he was found guilty of 270 charges of Murder for his connection to the bombings.
It took many years later, but in 2020 US authorities indicted Libyan national Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who was residing in Algeria, for his role in the bombing, and was taken into custody in December 2022.
People look at the remnants of a 747 Pan Am passenger plane that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988, killing 270 people. (Roy Letkey/AFP/Getty Images)
Who are the cast members of Lockerbie?
An all-star cast has come together for the new series, including:
- Connor Swindells (SAS Rogue Heroes, Sex Education)
- Patrick J. Adams (Suits, A League of Their Own)
- Merritt Wever (Unbelievable, Severance)
- Peter Mullan (Ozark, Payback)
- Tony Curran (Mary & George, Mayflies)
- Douglas Hodge (The Great, Catastrophe)
- Eddie Marsan (The Power, Ray Donovan)
- Nicholas Gleaves (After The Flood, The Rising)
- Lauren Lyle (Karen Pirie, Vigil)
- Andrew Rothney (The Undeclared War, Traces)
- Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey, Guilt)
- Cora Bissett (Annika, Shetland)
- Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy, Six Four)
- Parker Sawyers (Spy/Master, P-Valley)
- James Harkness (The Sixth Commandment, The Victim)
- Molly Geddes (Dinosaur, Where We Stop)
- Khalid Laith (Vigil, Cobra)
- Amanda Drew (The Gold, Wolf)
First Looks at The Bombing of Pan Am 103 on Netflix
In March 2025, the BBC Media Centre released several first looks of the series.
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
Picture: BBC / Netflix
When is the Lockerbie Netflix release date?
As of March 2025, we still don’t have an exact release date. According to the BBC, the series will first be available on the BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the United Kingdom before rolling out on Netflix globally.
Will you be watching The Bombing of Pan Am 103 on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
