News

A cast of emerging talent has been set for BBC comedy-drama “Boarders,” from Daniel Lawrence Taylor, creator of the BAFTA nominated “Timewasters.”

The 6 x 45′ series produced by Studio Lambert (“The Nest”) in association with All3Media International, follows the lives of five talented underprivileged Black students from inner-city London who win scholarships to St. Gilbert’s, an elite boarding school. Stepping out of the urban metropolis, they experience the highs and lows of boarding school, learn about themselves, their identity and what life on the other side looks like.

“Boarders” will star Josh Tedeku (“Supacell”), Jodie Campbell (“Bulletproof”) and Myles Kamwendo (“The School for Good and Evil”) alongside Sekou Diaby and Aruna Jalloh, both making their screen debuts. Lawrence Taylor will play a mentor figure to the students.

The cast also includes Derek Riddell (“Happy Valley”), Niky Wardley (“Queen of Oz”), Harry Gilby (“Tolkien”), Tallulah Grieve (“Our Ladies”), Rosie Graham (“The School for Good and Evil...

BBC Three has greenlit a drama following five underprivileged Black students who win scholarships to an elite British boarding school from BAFTA-nominated Timewasters creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor and Three Girls producer Studio Lambert.

In Boarders, the students, who are all based in inner-city London, will find out what life is like in a Harry Potter-esque world as they learn about themselves, their identities and forge crushes, friendships and enemies. The BBC said the six-parter will “look at the experience of going to a top public school from a unique perspective.”

Boarders is Lawrence Taylor’s first BBC writing gig. He is best known for creating ITV2’s BAFTA-nominated Timewasters, a satirical show about time travel that he also stars in. Having also been home to the likes of Normal People and Gavin and Stacey, BBC Three could catapult him to stardom.

“As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to grow momentum,...

Netflix has picked up the global rights outside the U.K. and Ireland on BBC drama “Champion,” from “Queenie” author Candice Carty-Williams.

The show, which is currently in production for BBC One in the U.K., marks the first TV project for the award-winning Carty-Williams, who recently released her new novel, “People Person.”

The music-infused “Champion” tells the explosive story of what happens when fame collides with family. The show follows rap sensation Bosco Champion, who is home from prison, and ready to dominate the music industry. But when his dutiful younger sister Vita’s own talent is discovered by Bosco’s rival, Bulla, she steps out of her brother’s shadow to become a performer in her own right, setting the Champion siblings against one another and tearing apart the whole family in the process.

Billed as a love letter to Black British music set in south London, “Champion...

The BBC has unveiled its latest drama slate at a virtual event on Tuesday, pulling the curtain back on new series from Rocks writer Theresa Ikoko, This Is England creator Shane Meadows, and the latest female-focused drama from Killing Eve producer Sid Gentle Films.

Ikoko, who was BAFTA-nominated for Rocks, will adapt Nikki May’s soon-to-be-published debut novel Wahala, which follows three thirty-something Anglo-Nigerian women whose friendship group is infiltrated by the beautiful, charismatic, and super-wealthy Isobel.

Set in London, Isobel’s arrival creates mounting tensions, unravels bonds, and exposes secrets with shocking and tragic consequences. Ikoko said the series is “Big Little Lies meets Girlfriends” and will be an “amazing celebration of Nigerian British culture.”

Wahala is produced by Firebird Pictures, with founder Elizabeth Kilgarriff executive producing alongside the BBC’s Mona Qureshi. BBC Studios will distribute the series internationally.

The project was one of six series announced by BBC drama controller Piers Wenger,...