C4 taps Boyle for police pilot

UK broadcaster Channel 4 (C4) has ordered a comedy-drama pilot from Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle and the writers of Peep Show.

Babylon is set in the world of modern policing and the script was written by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, who created long-running C4 sitcom Peep Show.

A C4 spokeswoman told C21 the pilot will be filmed later this year for transmission in 2014. The network declined to give details of the project, which is in the early stages of development.

Boyle, who directed last year’s London Olympics opening ceremony, was also behind the feature films Trance and Trainspotting.

The announcement was made by Channel 4’s chief creative officer Jay Hunt on the first day of the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Hunt also unveiled two other commissions including another drama Indian Summers, which is set in the final years of British colonial rule in India.

The 10-part series was commissioned by head of drama Piers Wenger and will begin filming next year, produced by New Pictures – the company’s first commission from C4. It is a coproduction with US pubcaster PBS which will air it as part of its Masterpiece strand.

Paul Rutman (Vera) is the writer and Simon Curtis the director, with Rebecca Eaton executive producing for PBS-owned WGBH in the US, along with Charlie Pattinson and Curtis. International rights will be handled by All3Media International.

C4 will also air documentary series The Maudsley (working title) this autumn, going behind the scenes of the mental health services provided by the NHS in South London.

The 4×60′ series, filmed over a year, aims to give a voice to the one in four people in Britain who suffer from mental illness. It builds on the success of the 4Goes Mad season of factual and entertainment programmes that aired on the channel last year.

It is being produced by ITV-owned The Garden, which is known for its work on 24 Hours in A&E, among other successful series. The executive producers are Amy Flanagan and Jonathan Smith.