BritBox, the streaming service from BBC Studios and ITV, today announced a multi-series partnership with Oscar nominee Jeff Pope (Stan & Ollie, Philomena), the broadstreamer’s presentation to TV critics at the semi-annual gathering of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Only two years old, BritBox – which boasts the largest streaming collection of British TV in North America and recently surpassed the half million subscriber mark – highlighted several other new and returning series in the presentation led by BritBox President, Soumya Sriraman.
BritBox will co-produce Pope’s original BBC drama, The Barking Murders (working title), written by Neil McKay. Previously the pair collaborated on the Golden Globe® nominated Appropriate Adult. In this compelling factual drama, the narrative’s focus is placed squarely on the families of the victims of convicted serial killer, Stephen Port. Starring Emmy® Award winner Stephen Merchant (Extras, The Office) as Stephen Port, and co-starring award-winning actress Sheridan Smith (The Moorside, The Huntsman: Winter’s War). Jeff Pope is also the writer/creator of The Hatton Garden Heist, which is the second BritBox original collaboration with Pope, a drama starring Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner, Harry Potter).
BritBox will continue to collaborate with its deep bench of acclaimed producing partners on new seasons of established hits such as Bancroft with Sarah Parish, Cold Feet with James Nesbitt, and the final season of Mum starring Oscar nominee Lesley Manville. These programs join the upcoming, highly anticipated series There She Goes starring David Tennant & Jessica Hynes as well as the ensemble comedy Living The Dream starring Philip Glenister (Life On Mars, Outcast), Lesley Sharp (The Full Monty, Vera Drake), Kim Fields (The Facts of Life, Living Single), and Kevin Nash (Magic Mike, John Wick) that were showcased during today’s TCA presentation. These shows will be a part of the BritBox roster in the coming months and complement the service’s incredible mix of new UK programming available in North America for the first time.
