The BBC & Netflix Release Images from Rechristened 'Lockerbie' Series

Not that round numbers are more meaningful milestones than prime numbers, but it speaks to how many projects have been delayed (and for how long) that in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-Five, two docudramas are reviving the story of Pan Am 103, based on the famous 1988 terrorist bombing. Not that I expect anyone to do math in their heads, but 2025-1988 is 37 years, a somewhat random anniversary for multiple projects to have targeted. This accident of timing is not due to suddenly deciding that 37 is important but a result of the pandemic and strikes, which delayed one project for so long that the other chose to step up, and then both raced to be first to release their series.

Amusingly, both series were originally entitled Lockerbie, but because there suddenly were two, both altered their names. The Sky-Peacock five-part series was the original project that went dormant; upon learning the BBC and Netflix were stepping into the breach, it pulled itself together and arrived as Lockerbie: A Search for Truth in early January 2025. Now, the Netflix-BBC six-part drama has announced a new title, The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, and released its first images.

The Colin Firth-starring Peacock series focused on a single family and the struggle to come to terms with what happened over the years. The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, on the other hand, is a wider-ranging period piece that follows the Scottish-US investigation into the attack, from the exhaustive search for evidence on the ground in Scotland to the trial at Camp Zeist in 2000.