ITV, Red capture Butterfly

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has commissioned a series about a young boy who wants to live his life as a girl from prolific drama producer Red Production Company.

Polly Hill

Butterfly stars Anna Friel and is from leading screenwriter Tony Marchant (The Secret Agent, Leaving, Public Enemies).

It follows 11-year-old Max who has always dressed as a girl at home but doesn’t want to hide who he is in public any more.

The family drama is the latest from Nicola Shindler’s StudioCanal-owned Red, which previously worked on Harlen Coben’s The Five for Sky, Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax for the BBC and Cucumber for Channel 4, among others.

Adam Kemp is co-exec producer and his boutique indie company AENON (Our Zoo) is onboard as a coproducer and filming will start in Manchester early next year.

It is the latest project greenlit by ITV’s head of drama Polly Hill since her move from ITV’s main terrestrial rival the BBC last year.

Hill said: “Butterfly is a beautiful story about a young boy on the cusp of puberty who doesn’t feel comfortable in his own body. It’s a heartwarming and emotional script from Tony Marchant that focuses upon gender identity and one boy’s search to be recognised for who he really is. We’re looking forward to working with Nicola Shindler and her team at Red Production Company.”

Shindler added: “It is great to work with Tony again on such a moving and warm drama that will touch the hearts of viewers with the universal themes of acceptance, inclusivity and unconditional love. Tony’s got a great knack of creating real and relatable characters whose stories strike a chord but also have such drama, making his work so compelling.”