ITV Orders Black Lives Matter-Inspired Drama Shorts; Features Stories From ‘Bulletproof’ & ‘Superhoe’ Writers

Jake Kanter
·2 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: ITV has commissioned a series of four drama shorts, working titled Unsaid Stories…, which have been inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

In an anthology format not dissimilar to the Jeff Pope-produced Isolation Stories that ITV aired during the coronavirus lockdown, Greenacre Films — the producer behind Netflix’s Michaela Coel-fronted feature Been So Long — will make the 15-minute episodes to be broadcast next month.

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Each episode has diverse talent at its heart and ITV head of drama Polly Hill said they are “unique, fresh and engaging” stories about “real people in completely real situations, confronting and exploring racism and prejudice.”

Jerome Bucchan-Nelson, a writer on Sky hit drama Bulletproof, will pen Generational. It explores the relationship between a Black father and his teenage daughter, when William catches Justina sneaking out to attend a Black Lives Matter demonstration. Alrick Riley (NCIS) is the director, while Barbara Emile (EastEnders) is producing.

Nicôle Lecky, who was recently commissioned by BBC Three to turn her one-woman stage show Superhoe into a TV series, is writing Lavender for ITV. The short spotlights a light-skinned woman having to evaluate her relationship with her white mother after giving birth to a baby with darker skin. Ethosheia Hylton (Dolapo Is Fine) directs, with Jo Johnson (Casualty) producing.

British playwright Lynette Linton will pen Look At Me, which focuses on the lives of a young professional couple in the aftermath of them being stopped by police while out driving on a date. Carol Harding (Agatha And The Curse Of Ishtar) is the producer, while it is directed by Frances Annan (Escape From Pretoria)

Finally, Adult Material script editor and Upload writer Anna Ssemuyaba — marked out by Deadline as a writer to watch in 2020 — has written I Don’t Want To Talk About This. It tells the story of a former couple who bump into each other at a friend’s party a few years after their split. Koby Adom (Noughts + Crosses) directs and Madonna Baptiste (The Stranger) produces.

Unsaid Stories… will be executive produced by Greenacre Films founders Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks, while Chloe Tucker will oversee the shorts for ITV. Filming will commence on July 27 and cast and crew will adhere to coronavirus safety protocols. Banijay Rights will distribute as part of its first-look deal with Greenacre.

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