ITV starts another family drama

ITV in the UK has ordered a new contemporary family drama from the makers of Rev and Friday Night Dinner.

Big Talk Productions will produce The Town, a three-parter about a man who returns to the town he grew up in after 10 years and is soon drawn into the life he left behind.

The miniseries is the first 60-minute drama commission for Big Talk and also marks the first television project written by Laurence Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Bartlett.

It will be produced by Big Talk’s Luke Alkin (Dirty War) and exec produced by Kenton Allen (Rev), Matthew Justice (Attack the Block) and Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn). Colin Teague (Doctor Who) is directing.

The project began development when Curtis discovered Bartlett through his work at London’s Royal Court Theatre.

Allen, CEO of Big Talk, said: “At the heart of The Town will be a family struggling to come to terms with change. It’s also our hope to paint a picture of contemporary Britain through the magnifying glass of an ordinary market town.”

The cast includes Andrew Scott, Julia McKenzie, Charlotte Riley, Gerard Kearns, Kelly Adams and Martin Clunes.

The Town was commissioned for ITV1 by drama commissioning team Laura Mackie, Sally Haynes and Victoria Fea. BBC Worldwide has picked up international sales rights.

Big Talk’s television credits include comedies Rev, Him & Her, Threesome and Friday Night Dinner. It is also producing A Young Doctor’s Notebook, starring Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe, for Sky Arts.

Its film credits include Shaun of the Dead, Paul, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs The World.