BBC One Sets Up Dystopian Family Drama ‘Years And Years’ From ‘Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies
Doctor Who writer and exec producer Russell T Davies is penning a dystopian family drama for BBC One, produced by Happy Valley firm Red Production Company.
The British public broadcaster has ordered Years and Years from the pair, which will follow a busy family from Manchester with their lives converging on one crucial night in 2019. The story will then accelerate into the future, following their lives and loves over the next 15 years as Britain withdraws from Europe, America becomes a lone wolf, China asserts itself, and a new world begins to form. Politician Vivienne Rook then begins her rise to power – that new breed of politician, an entertainer, a rebel, a trickster and a terror – leading the family into an unknown future through which they must navigate.
It is the ninth collaboration between Davies and Red Production Company founder Nicola Shindler following shows such as Queer As Folk and Cucumber. The six-episode drama will air on BBC One, with production set to start later this year and Red Production Company owner Studiocanal selling globally. It will be exec produced by Davies and Shindler as well as the BBC’s Lucy Richer. Karen Lewis is series producer and it was commissioned by BBC drama chief Piers Wenger.
The announcement comes after Davies’ latest project, three-part political scandal thriller A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant, came to an end on BBC One. The miniseries is set to launch on Amazon in the U.S. shortly.
Davies said: “I’ve wanted to write this for 20 years or so. And as the world accelerates like crazy around us, I realized I’d better get on with it.”
Added Shindler: “The script is fantastic, and taps into the anxieties of the climate we are currently living in, speculating how the dynamics of cultural and political change affects our lives — and the lives of our families. What Russell does so expertly is navigate a potentially dark and fearful story into a compelling drama that is full of wit, warmth and hope, with family at the heart of the show. I can’t wait to get started.”
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