Disney has announced its initial slate of scripted UK originals for Disney+ working with creatives from ‘Killing Eve’ and more.
Three UK productions have been confirmed for Disney+; one Disney-branded and two Star-branded originals that will add a diverse range of new stories. Spanning a wide range of genres, commissions include a swashbuckling family adventure, an electrifying heist drama and an innovative comedy series.
BAFTA Award-winning writer Sally Wainwright, along with BAFTA-winning producers Sally Woodward Gentle (Sid Gentle Films), Faith Penhale (Lookout Point) and Stephen Garrett (Character 7), are among the talent whose series will be launched on Disney+. Debut screenwriter Emma Moran brings an innovative Star Original comedy to the service.
The news follows the earlier announcement that Disney has teamed up with legendary footballer David Beckham on a factual entertainment series that will see Beckham going back to his roots to mentor a struggling young grassroots team.
Also in news – Natalie Portman joins HBO’s ‘Days of Abandonment’
The three productions to be added to the slate are;
‘The Ballad of Renegade Nell’, a Disney-branded swashbuckling adventure series set in the 18th century, written by the multi-BAFTA Award-winning writer Sally Wainwright (Gentleman Jack, Happy Valley) and produced by Lookout Point (Gentleman Jack, A Suitable Boy). When she’s framed for murder, Nell Jackson is forced into a life of highway robbery, along with her two orphaned sisters Roxanne and George. Aided by a plucky little spirit called Billy Blind, Nell realises that fate has put her on the wrong side of the law for a reason, a reason much bigger than she could’ve ever imagined, a reason that goes right up to Queen Anne and beyond, to the struggle for power raging across the battlefields of Europe. It is described as a witty and surprising romp from one of the UK’s most acclaimed series creators.
Star Original commission ‘Culprits‘ is a dark and funny heist series from acclaimed film-maker J Blakeson (I Care A Lot, The Disappearance of Alice Creed). It follows what happens after a heist, when the crew have gone their separate ways, but are being targeted by a killer one by one. Described as a whip-smart thriller, it is created and directed by J Blakeson, executive produced by Stephen Garrett (The Undoing; The Night Manager), and produced by Morenike Williams (Killing Eve). Culprits is a Character 7 production.
Finally, a Star Original comedy series ‘Extraordinary‘. Coming from new talent Emma Moran, it follows Jen, a young, self-aware woman who lives in a world where everyone has a superpower… except her. It is described as a fresh, innovative comedy about being young and finding your feet in a confusing world when all you’ll ever be is ‘ordinary’. It’s a celebration of the anti-superhero, giving people permission to embrace their general okay-ness. Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris (Killing Eve) and Charles Dawson will executive produce.
The UK commissions build on the ten previously announced European projects in February 2021, and the global slate confirmed at the Disney Investor Day event in December 2020.
