Outrageous bids for attention as BBC Studios unveils scripted slate for Mipcom
Outrageous is based on Mary Lovell’s biography The Mitford Girls
BBC Studios has unveiled its slate of scripted projects available to buyers at Mipcom this month, led by UKTV and BritBox International co-commission Outrageous.
The stars of the six-part original series, Bessie Carter (Bridgerton), Joanna Vanderham (Crime), Joshua Sasse (Love is in the Air) and James Purefoy (The Veil, Malpractice), will be joined in Cannes by its writer and creator Sarah Williams (Small Island, Flesh and Blood) and executive producer from Firebird Pictures Liz Kilgarriff (The Jetty).
Outrageous is based on Mary Lovell’s biography The Mitford Girls and tells the story of six aristocratic sisters who refused to play by the rules.
Other new scripted titles that BBC Studios will be distributing at Mipcom include Death Valley, The Split: Barcelona, Reunion and Return to Paradise.
Produced by Warp Films and written and executive produced by William Mager, a deaf writer originally from Sheffield, Reunion (4×50’) is a thriller set in the city. It follows the journey of Daniel Brennan, played by Matthew Gurney (Coffee Morning Club), a deaf man determined to right his wrongs while unravelling the truth behind the events that led him to prison.
Death Valley stars Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth
The series also stars Anne-Marie Duff (Bad Sisters, The Salisbury Poisonings), Eddie Marsan (Back to Black, Ray Donovan), Rose Ayling-Ellis (Summer of Rockets) and Lara Peake (How to Have Sex). Reunion is a bilingual series featuring both British Sign Language and spoken English.
Written by Paul Doolan (Mammoth, Trollied), BBC Studios Comedy Productions’ Death Valley (6×45’) follows the unlikely crime-solving partnership of eccentric national treasure John Chapel, played by Timothy Spall (The Sixth Commandment, Mr Turner), the former star of a detective TV show, and Welsh detective sergeant, played by Gwyneth Keyworth.
Bafta- and Emmy-winning writer Abi Morgan and prodco Sister are joining forces again for two-part special The Split: Barcelona (2×60’), based on the London-set legal drama.
Finally, BBC Studios Productions Australia and Red Planet Pictures produced Return to Paradise (6×55’), which follows DI Mackenzie Clarke, an Australian ex-pat who has made a name for herself in London’s Metropolitan Police for cracking supposedly uncrackable murder cases.