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War epic leads ITVSGE spring drama slate

Mammoth Screen’s World on Fire focuses on ordinary lives affected by WWII

The distribution arm of ITV Studios (ITVS) today unveils its spring drama slate, spearheaded by Peter Bowker’s epic story World on Fire, adaptation Noughts + Crosses and Rob Lowe-led police procedural Wild Bill.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment will welcome hundreds of buyers from around the world to its second annual Drama Festival today, with MD Ruth Berry noting that each new drama has been backed by the distributor from its inception.

“Our drama festival is the perfect setting for buyers to be immersed in these incredible stories and to see and hear first-hand from their talented creators what it has taken to craft them into the masterpieces they see on screen today,” she said.

The slate is led by World on Fire, a seven-part drama produced by ITVS-owned Mammoth Screen for BBC1 that tells the story of the Second World War through the lives of ordinary people from all sides of the global conflict. The show is written by Bowker (The A Word) while Helen Hunt, Sean Bean and Lesley Manville lead the ensemble cast.

Also from Mammoth is Noughts + Crosses (6×60’), an adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s novel series set in an alternate world where a girl from the black ruling class and a boy from the white underclass are divided by colour but united by forbidden love. The BBC1 series is produced by Participant Media and Roc Nation.

The West Wing star Lowe leads the cast of Wild Bill (6×60’), in which he plays a high-flying US police chief who is tasked with shaking up the Lincolnshire police force. Anonymous Content, 42 and ITVS-owned Shiver produce for ITV.

Jeff Pope (Little Boy Blue) has penned ITV’s A Confession (6×60’), a suspenseful true crime story that questions how the police should act in the pursuit of justice. The ITVS and Urban Myth Films series stars Martin Freeman (Sherlock) and Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter).

The Bay (6×60’), from ITVS-owned Tall Story Pictures, is a crime drama the centres on a police family liaison officer (played by Morven Christie) who is assigned to a missing person’s case with which she has a personal connection, one that could compromise her and the investigation. The ITV series is written by Daragh Carville (Being Human).

Danny Brocklehurst (Safe, Come Home) has written Brassic (6×60’), a comedy about a group of working-class friends who find unconventional ways to win at life. Calamity Films produces for Sky1.

Six-part Gold Digger, produced by Mainstreet Pictures for BBC1, is a contemporary relationship thriller about a wealthy older woman who falls in love with a much younger man. Julia Ormond (Sabrina) and Ben Barnes (Westworld) star.

Shane Meadows reunites with This is England co-creator Jack Thorne and lead actor Stephen Graham for The Virtues, a four-part drama produced by Warp Films for Channel 4. It is described as a complex, moving and gritty story of love and redemption shot through with heart and humour.

Finally, 15 days is a crime drama that starts with a brutal murder before rewinding 15 days to reveal the chain of events that led to that moment. The four-parter is produced by ITVS-owned Boom Pictures for Channel 5 and based on Welsh-language drama 35 Diwrnod (35 Days).

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