It’s no easy task to think of a programme that’s done more for cutting-edge British drama than Top Boy. Having made its debut on Channel 4 in 2011 and running for two series before Netflix revived it for a further three, the gritty drama follows the drug gangs of London’s fictional Summerhouse estate in Hackney with exemplary authenticity.
Corby, a town in Northamptonshire, experienced one of the biggest child poisoning cases the UK has ever seen, after it was exposed to a high volume of toxic waste in the 1980s and 90s.
Children born in this period were three times more likely to have birth defects than the rest of the UK.
In Toxic Town, Jack Thorne (Best Interests) will focus on three mothers who fought on the frontlines for justice, battling in court for recognition of Corby’s mistreatment.
From the makers of Sherlock comes a crime thriller adapted from Mo Hayder’s acclaimed Jack Caffrey series.
Nunn realised the stories and character arcs were coming to an end while writing the fourth and now final series. But she says she "[feels] like I've said everything that I want to say with these characters at this time."
They also revealed first look imagery for the highly anticipated live action Avatar: The Last Airbender, and trailers for reality dating show Love is Blind and Money Heist spin-off Berlin.
Read on for our overview.
At one point in his book Inside Black Mirror, when discussing the inspiration for his global dystopian sci-fi phenomenon, Charlie Brooker credits the “shiny adverts for Apple” that were appearing at the time. He says: “Being a paranoid person, as soon as I see any advert where everyone’s really happy and smiley, I immediately think it’s a bit like a sinister advert in a dystopian movie.… The fact that it looked so happy meant that it couldn’t last.”
After a string of murders in 1973 Port Talbot, three detectives embark on a case that spans three decades, needing the forensic breakthroughs of the 21st century to finally bring justice.
Chimp Empire, which follows two rival troops of chimps, was previewed at a sold-out joint RTS West of England/Wildscreen Network screening at the Watershed in Bristol, ahead of its release on Netflix last month.
The team spent 18 months filming a four-part series that required extensive research. “We spent months analysing every detail about every chimp known to the scientists,” explained Reed, “so we had these huge backstories from every individual chimp.”
In 2015, David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King in the film Selma and starred in BBC One’s Spooks, highlighted the lack of on-screen opportunities for people of colour in British period dramas.
The new factual series will take a deep dive into UK Parole Boards, focusing on individual prisoners and the unique circumstances which led them to this point.
