BBC America turns up the Heat

US cablenet BBC America has acquired two new UK miniseries including White Heat, which will air as part of its Dramaville strand.

White Heat (6×60’), picked up from ITV Studios Global Entertainment, is about the lives of seven friends from 1965 to the present day, showing the evolution of relationships that began when they lived together as students.

The series, currently airing on BBC2, is written by Paula Milne and exec produced by Milne, Kate Bartlett from ITV Studios and Lucy Richer from the BBC.

Inside Men (4×50’), a BBC production distributed by BBC Worldwide, tells the story of three employees at a security depot who plot and execute a multimillion-pound heist. The series is written by Tony Basgallop and Hilary Salmon is the exec producer.

Both will be given their US premieres on BBC America in May and June respectively.

Last week, BBC America came onboard as coproducer of Ripper Street, an eight-part drama set in the aftermath of the Jack the Ripper killings in 19th Century London. UK prodcos Tiger Aspect and Lookout Point are also producing the series, which was commissioned by BBC1.

BBC America has also commissioned its first original drama, Copper, produced by Cineflix Studios. The story, about a police officer in the Five Points district of 1860s New York, was co-created by Tom Fontana (Borgia) and Will Rokos (Southland).