Netflix orders five UK dramas
Netflix is ramping up its commitment to UK-produced scripted content with a commission of five new dramas, all of which will film in the UK next year.
Supacell is a 6-part sci-fi drama from New Wave, written and directed by Rapman who also executive produces along with Mouktar Mohammed; Henrietta Lee is associate producer. A random group of ordinary people from south London unexpectedly develop super powers, with no clear connection between them other than them all being black.
One Day is an adaptation from Drama Republic with Universal International Studios and Focus Features, based on the bestselling novel by David Nicholls. The writing team is led by BAFTA-winning Nicole Taylor, working with Anna Jordan, Vinay Patel and Bijan Sheibani.
15th July 1988: Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew speak for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. Where will they be on this one ordinary day next year, and the year after that, and every year that follows? An epic, tragi-comic love story, every episode catches up with Em and Dex on this one particular day as they grow and change, move together and apart, experience joy and heartbreak.
Abi Morgan has created and written Eric, a tense thriller. When Edgar, a young boy goes missing in 1980s Manhattan, his grief-stricken father, Vincent, a puppeteer on America’s leading kids’ TV show, finds solace through his friendship with Eric, the monster that lives under Edgar’s bed. In his quest to find the truth to Edgar's disappearance, Vincent is forced into the dark shadows of a city, rife with corruption, to discover that the real monsters live much closer to home.
Set against the backdrop of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, Detective Ledroit, tasked to uncover internal corruption in the NYPD, finds himself drawn into the search for Edgar, whilst privately coming to terms with secrets of his own.
Eric is created and written by Abi Morgan and produced for Netflix by SISTER in association with Morgan’s Little Chick. Eric is executive produced by Jane Featherstone and Lucy Dyke for SISTER and Morgan for Little Chick.
Also from SISTER is Kaos, a contemporary spin on Greek myths from writer Charlie Covell, exec produced by Jane Featherstone and Chris Fry. Katie Carpenter is series producer and Harry Munday produces. Georgi Banks Davies is confirmed as lead director and both Davies and Covell will also exec produce alongside Nina Lederman.
Zeus has a wrinkle. He’s worried it might mean the end of the world…AND it might. Because on earth, six humans - unaware of their importance or their connection to each other - learn that they are component parts of an ancient prophecy. Will they discover the truth about the gods, and what they’re doing to humans? And, if they do, will they be able to stop them?
The fifth commission is The Fuck It Bucket, an 8-part drama from Left Bank Pictures and writer Ripley Parker. When Mia Polanco (a 17-year-old London girl with more wits than is good for her) is released from hospital after a lengthy battle with anorexia nervosa, she is thrust back into the chaotic world of sixth form, only to find that her friends have been spending her recovery time acquiring knowledge and experiences she herself has never known.
Suddenly confronted with the realisation that her childhood is racing by without her, Mia decides the only way to catch up is to make a bucket list. The executive producers are Andy Harries, Sian McWilliams, Parker and Rob Bullock. The producer is Huberta Von Liel.
The commissions come out of the office of Anne Mensah, VP, UK Series and come from a range of writers and prodcos. Mensah said: “Netflix UK is building on success - it’s hard to top the virtuosity and global impact of our existing, award-winning British series - from The Crown, Sex Education and After Life to Top Boy and Fate.
“Add to this an incredible roster of new shows for our members to view in 2022, from the searing Anatomy of a Scandal, to Rowan Atkinson’s joyous Man vs Bee, all the way to Joe Cornish’s outstanding Lockwood & Co - and more. We have a huge number of shows which have all shot this year under uniquely difficult circumstances but never lost their bold brilliance. To be able to add such a variety of new titles to our slate, knowing there is more to come, is really a testament to the strength and artistic confidence of the British television industry.
“It’s a very special time to be part of this creative community, to be able to work with such amazingly talented writers, directors and producers, and we are so excited to bring these stories to our members worldwide.”
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