Paramount+ has ordered *Laird*, a new crime drama from the team behind hit series *MobLand*, with Kenneth Branagh set to star and executive produce. The project reunites *MobLand* creator Ronan Bennett's collaborators, showrunners Jez and John-Henry Butterworth and Georgia Lee, as Paramount+ looks to build on the success of its breakout Tom Hardy-led show by keeping the same creative team in-house.

Branagh will play the Laird of Castle Drummoch, the central figure in an "epic family saga" in which a proud Scot resists a wealthy American billionaire seeking to buy up the Highlands, alongside family feuds, secrets and romance. BAFTA-winning director Joe Wright, known for *Darkest Hour*, will direct the first episode and serve as executive producer. Paramount+'s head of Originals, Jane Wiseman, said the series centres on "one man standing his ground against unchecked wealth and power," with Branagh seen as the ideal lead for that theme.