In actuality, this series is a very different prospect than Lockerbie: A Search for Truth altogether - it's far more expansive and focuses on a different set of angles entirely.
Thankfully, that isn't the case with The Bombing of Pan Am 103, a drama which is not without fault, but which impressively never loses sight of the emotional core of its storytelling.
Swindells plays Ed McCusker, a real-life Scottish detective who was on duty in Glasgow when a bomb exploded on board flight Pan Am 103, which was en route from Heathrow to JFK.
It's a story many will already know the basics of, but few will be aware of all of the details featured in this impressively researched drama, which really does take on an enormous storytelling challenge.
In a six-part series, particularly one which runs all of the storylines concurrently rather than taking them separately or one by one, this could have so easily buckled under its own weight.
The second, and perhaps the most important reason, is that it never forgets the emotion at the heart of the story it's telling. This is, naturally, an extremely sensitive topic for so many people, and the material has been duly handled in a manner recognising that.
In many ways, it's the smaller, human moments in which the series most excels. For instance, Ed's relationship with a young local boy called Steven, who lost his parents and sister to the falling wreckage, is beautifully realised and a lovely, human thread that recurs throughout.
Of course, these scenes are effective not just because they are well-written and observed, but because of the performances.
Swindells in particular gives a tour-de-force performance throughout, making every moment of screen-time worthwhile and every look a telling insight into the internal life of the character we are getting to know. The fact he does this with a remarkably strong Glaswegian accent makes it all the more miraculous.
Over on the other side of the Atlantic, we follow Adams as Dick Marquise, an FBI agent assigned to the case, and Wever as Kathryn Turman, both of whom bolster their particular storylines.
Meanwhile, Marsan plays explosives expert Tom Thurman from Kentucky. Casting Marsan in your project can never be a bad thing, but the decision to have him take on a man with a Kentucky accent was... bold. Unfortunately, his proximity to real Americans only helps to make it stand out more.
However, as soon as the aftermath of the plane crash is staged, all quibbles are thrown aside. It's a lengthy, visually stunning and horrifying sequence, which has been spectacularly realised by the effects teams and production designers. This is a series with multiple production partners, and the additional budget that will have granted really does show.
It's another case of where this series is at its most impressive when it's quiet - when the characters are simply taking in and exhibiting the emotion of the moment, rather than in the more traditional investigative sequences, well-staged as they are.
Thankfully, The Bombing of Pan Am 103 does have a clear angle. It aims to show the scale of the tragedy both externally, within every individual affected, and then explore how the community, both local and international, came together to heal.
Although they are very different in tone, subject matter and so many other ways, one BBC drama which The Bombing of Pan Am 103 in some ways felt reminiscent of was The Gold - a series which is soon to return for a second season.
Both series have been born out of co-productions, helping to explain their instantly apparent budgets, but at a time when the funding crisis in the UK scripted sector appears to be hitting so hard, it is always invigorating to see a BBC series operating at this scale, while retaining its British identity, its attention to historical detail and its emotional core.
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