BBC1 falls for Troy

BBC1 in the UK has unveiled a slew of comedies, factual series and scripted shows including an epic drama about the fall of Troy and a detective series based on Robert Galbraith novels.

BBC1 chief Charlotte Moore

Troy – Fall of a City has been created by David Farr and explores the story of the war between Greece and Troy, involving love, revenge, intrigue and bloodshed.

The show is being produced by Endemol Shine Group-owned Kudos Film and Television and tells the story from the perspective of the Trojan family at the heart of the siege, with Derek Wax, Farr and Matthew Read attached as executive producers.

Elsewhere there’s Second World War drama To Sir with Love (1×90’), an adaption of the autobiographical novel by ER Braithwaite from Hanif Kureishi. It’s being produced by Rainmark Films and explores how the UK treated black men who fought in the war following the end of the conflict.

It joins private detective series The Cormoran Strike Mysteries, based on Robert Galbraith’s best-selling novels The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm and the forthcoming Career of Evil, from Brontë Film and Television, with Sarah Phelps and Ben Richards adapting the books.

The Last Post is based on screenwriter Peter Moffat’s childhood memories and explores his father’s life as an officer in the Royal Military Police at the end of the British Empire.

BBC drama controller Polly Hill

Moffat has written the show, which comes from Bonafide Films and The Forge Entertainment and joins Rush of Blood, an adaptation of Matt Charman’s novel Mark Billingham, with Murderous Productions Limited/On the Corner Limited producing.

The shows are amongst the first to have been commissioned by recently installed drama controller Polly Hill, along with BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore.

On the comedy front, the pubcaster’s flagship channel will air doc Peter Kay – Twenty Years of Funny (1×60′) from Shiver Productions, which explores the comedian’s childhood and rise to fame, while a live version of Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys is also planned for 2016.

BBC1 has also commissioned factual shows including Paul O’Grady: The Sally Army & Me, co-produced by Potato and Olga TV, which explores the work of The Salvation Army, as well as Blast Films’ Saving Lives At Sea about lifeboat men and How to Stay Young, which explores the ageing process.

Moore, who unveiled the new shows on the set of forthcoming BBC drama Dickensian yesterday evening, said the “distinctive mix” of programmes would “empower, surprise and inspire audiences.”

“I want our drama to take the audience to places they haven’t been before with pioneering new commissions like Troy – Fall of a City,” she said.

Moore added that “BBC1 will be defined in the coming years by its commitment to risk taking. I will guarantee investment in innovation. And I will challenge every new commission to break the mould.”