BBC announces TWELVE new dramas hitting screens this year as part of ‘urgent and risky’ TV shake-up

THE BBC has confirmed that they’ve commissioned a whopping TWELVE new drama shows as part of an ‘urgent’ TV shake-up.

It means that audiences will be treated to a total of 66 hours of brand new drama which will air on the network as part of the Beeb’s new approach to producing gripping British drama.

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The BBC have announced an extensive list of new drama’s including a re-commission of Blue Lights[/caption]

Stanley Morgan

Richard Gadd’s show Lions is making its way to the BBC[/caption]

The BBC‘s Director of Drama, Lindsay Salt, has urged her programme makers to take risks, push boundaries and “venture into the creative unknown” as part of her new head-on strategy.

Speaking of commissioning the twelve programmes, Lindsay said: “I believe that the BBC is the only place that can promise true boldness and braveness in all our decision making. In an era of caution, it’s our time to shine.

“There’s something about this moment, the current climate in our industry, that makes our approach to risk even more essential.”

As part of Lindsay’s new commissions, a slew of brand new programmes, including Dear England and This City Is Ours, will be making their debuts soon.

It also marks the renewal of popular show Blue Lights for a third AND fourth series.

Dear England will follow a story based upon James Graham’s acclaimed play on England manager Gareth Southgate.

The show is a fictionalised portrayal of the highs and lows of the England team during Southgate’s tenure which saw him take over the team with the worst track record for penalties.

The Handmaid’s Tale star Joseph Fiennes will take on the starring role and portray Gareth in the four-part series which is expected to land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.

Another exciting series that fans can look forward to is Lions, written by Richard Gadd.

A Glasgow-based programme about two brothers, a synopsis reads: “When Niall’s estranged ‘brother’ Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives.

“Spanning almost forty years from the 1980s to the present day, this ambitious series will cover the highs and lows of the brothers’ relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults–with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way.”

Another exciting addition to the upcoming programme line-up is Reunion, written by William Manger.

A emotional thriller, the series will follow Brennan, a deaf man, who sets out in search of putting the past behind him and making amends and righting his previous wrongs that led to him being behind bars.

Written by William, who is also deaf, created the series to chronicle the struggle of a man who struggles to find his feet, having been unable to immerse himself into the hearing world as well as being ousted from the deaf community.

The show will make a huge mark on British drama with most of the cast signed up either deaf or active users of British Sign Language (BSL).

Adding of the show, William said: “I wanted to address a difficult topic that’s mostly unique to the deaf community in the vehicle of a mystery thriller that educates audiences about what it’s like to be deaf, without falling into the usual tropes of ‘deep, rich and beautiful sign language’ and ‘living in a silent world’. We have an incredible wealth of deaf acting talent in this country, and I can’t wait to see what they can do.”

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Reunion is written by William Manger[/caption]