Channel 4 pledges commitment to originated drama with new commissions

Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer Jay Hunt today underlined Channel 4's commitment to bold, original and compelling British drama with the announcement of a slate of brand new commissions for 2012 and beyond.

Continuing Channel 4's tradition of working with the best British drama talent, both established and new, award-winning writers Richard Cottan ( Wallander, Hancock & Joan), Guy Hibbert (Omagh) and Dennis Kelly (Matilda, Spooks) are joined by Tom Bidwell (Coming Up) and first-time TV writers Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith on the roster of forthcoming authored drama.

"Channel 4 has never shied away from powerful, authored drama.  With these new commissions we also have a wonderful range from the dark and menacing tone of The Fear to the comic warmth of Mad Fat Teenage Diary.  All of these dramas are about backing great writers to say something truly distinctive." comments Jay Hunt.

Dennis Kelly's enigmatic thriller Utopia (6 x 60' - Kudos Film & TV) which centres around a mysterious graphic novel and Guy Hibbert's Complicit (1 x 120" -manyriversfilms) starring David Oyelowo (The Help, Return of the Planet of the Apes) as a British intelligence officer caught up in the moral complexities surrounding the use of torture in fighting the war on terror, are highlights of the 2012/2013 drama slate.  In addition Channel 4 can today announce the new commissions:

Peter Mullan ( Tyrannosaur) stars as Brighton crime boss turned grandee Richie Beckett in The Fear - a new 4 x 60' drama from Richard Cottan (Wallander, Hancock & Joan) that chronicles the disintegration of a criminal mind.  Beckett's legacy is under threat when the family firm, now run by his two sons, faces ruthless new rivals.  His sons need a peacemaker, but his erratic and increasingly extreme behaviour only inflames the situation.  Can Richie and his family survive when his mind and world start imploding?  A World production with WW Entertainment.

MyMad Fat Diary takes a warm, hilarious and honest look at teenage life from the perspective of an overweight sixteen-year-old girl in mid 90s Lincolnshire.  Adapted from Rae Earl's real-life diary and book of the same name, the 6 x 60' series is written by Tom Bidwell.  It's a coming of age show about a fat, funny girl who - despite a bonkers mother and her own mental health issues - has a huge lust for life, love and Liam Gallagher.  A Tiger Aspect production.

Set in South London over the summer of 2012, Run is an original four-part series which reveals the interconnectedness of apparently separate lives through the stories of five people faced with choices in a world where survival is never a given. Created and written by newcomers Marlon Smith and Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan, Run is the debut drama commission from young indie AcmeTV, owned by Jaimie D'Cruz (Oscar-nominated Exit Through The Gift Shop) and Francesca Newby.

Award-winning director Michael Winterbottom returns to Channel 4 with an ambitious single feature-length drama Here And There (1 x 120').  Starring John Simm as a prisoner and Shirley Henderson as his wife, the drama has been filmed over five years and is a tender and unique portrayal of one family living through a prison sentence.  A Revolution Films production.

Channel 4 welcomes the return of RTS award-winning hit comedy drama Fresh Meat (8 x 45' - Objective/Lime)  for a second series of freshers' high jinx from the pens of Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain; and a second season of Ronan Bennett's RTS award-winning thriller Top Boy (4 x 60', Cowboy Films/Easter Partisan Films) starring Ashley Walters.

Channel 4's on-going commitment to identify and nurture prospective creative drama talent at grass-roots level continues with Coming Up, the annual season for new television writers and directors to get their work on screen, now in its eleventh year; and ground-breaking playwright development programme, The Big Room.

It was announced last week that Channel 4 has appointed Piers Wenger as the new Head of Drama - overseeing drama output across all of the broadcaster's channels and platforms.