Scripted projects being given ‘time and support’ to succeed 12 months after partnership unveiled
The BBC and Netflix have a number of dramas created by disabled talent in active development almost a year after kicking off a five-year partnership.
In a joint statement, the BBC and Netflix said that the broadcaster is “in it for the long haul” with the ideas received, in line with all of its scripted slate.
“We want these shows to have whatever time and support they need to be brilliant, and we’re excited that producers and writers are building relationships and bringing projects that are enriching our shared slate, as we keep moving forward,” it added.
As part of the update, they urged producers to keeping pitching pieces written, created or co-created by deaf, disabled or neurodivergent people via their normal submission processes “on a rolling basis”.
“For this collaboration we specifically want epic and ambitious pieces that will really play at scale, borrowing perhaps from unexpected genres and tones,” the statement added. UK-based indies which have had a commission in the past three years are encouraged to pitch ideas from “any genre, precinct or world”.
The BBC and Netflix unveiled plans to co-commission an unspecified number of shows as part of last year’s Edinburgh TV Festival in August, with a brief published in September.
It followed Jack Thorne’s MacTaggart Lecture which called out the industry for “totally and utterly” failing disabled people.
The long-term aim of the partnership is to increase representation of disabled talent both on and off-screen, placing the shows alongside their most talked-about dramas.
Channel 4 is also homing in on a high-profile show with disability at its heart for 2023, after extending an initial deadline for submissions late last month.
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