BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand have announced the new content and stars coming to BBC First, BBC UKTV, BBC Earth and CBeebies in the coming year, marking the BBC’s 100th anniversary. The announcements were made at an event held in Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art in Circular Quay, held on June 23rd.
Among the offerings include dramas, thrillers, real life stories, new series of big popular shows, and a fresh brand identity all premiering on BBC First this year.
Titles hitting BBC First include Around The World in 80 Days, a re-imagining of Jules Verne’s classic novel, with David Tennant taking on the role of gentleman turned adventurer Phileas Fogg.
Martin Compston (Line of Duty) and Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey) star in the psychological thriller Our House which begins as Fi arrives home to find the house she owns with her estranged husband has been emptied of her possessions and sold to a couple they’ve never met.
Meanwhile, Iain De Castecker (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) and Joanna Vanderham (Crime) star in another roller-coaster thriller, The Control Room which sees emergency call handler Gabe’s world turned upside down when he receives a life-or-death call from a woman who appears to know him.
Our House starring Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe starring Eddie Marsan (Sherlock) and Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult) tells the real-life story of how John and Anne Darwin faked his death to avoid bankruptcy and the events that catapulted them into the global media spotlight years later.
Also inspired in part by real-life events is Sherwood with an ensemble cast led by David Morrissey (The Walking Dead). The series is a contemporary drama, at the heart of which lies two unexpected killings that shatter an already fractured community and spark a massive manhunt.
After a hiatus of six years, the BAFTA award-winning Happy Valley is back for a third and final series with Sarah Lancashire, James Norton and Siobhan Finneran. There are also new series of crime dramas We Hunt Together and Shetland and Christmas specials of Death in Paradise and Call The Midwife will see out the year.
From mid-August, BBC First will have a new on-screen look with new channel idents inspired by the strands of storytelling and the art of costume design. Built on the scripts of some of the biggest shows, words combine to form strands and storylines that weave, twist, fray and distort before revealing the BBC First logo.
Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley
Elsewhere across the portfolio BBC UKTV will have new series of Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross chatting to some of the world’s biggest celebrities, Coronation Street Icons reminding viewers of some of the biggest heroes and villains to walk the cobbles, and new series of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Richard Osman’s House of Games will join the existing quiz-com line-up of Would I Lie to You and Taskmaster.
Wilderness Week on BBC Earth goes off the beaten track with a week-long programming stunt. Wild Patagonia and Wild Kingdoms look at the animals inhabiting some of the most remote places on earth; Ben Fogle meets the people who have left the rat-race behind in a new series of Where The Wild Men Are and Steve Backshall and Levinson Wood undertake epic journeys in Expedition with Steve Backshall and Levinson Wood From Russia to Iran.
A new series of Life Below Zero will premiere on BBC Earth later this year and Secrets of Skin and What Are We Feeding Our Kids? will screen as part of the Thursday night health strand. Brian Cox tackles some of the most intriguing and challenging questions facing science today in Brian Cox’s Adventure in Space and Time and Universe and Louis Theroux investigates the story of a man who became one of the most controversial and captivating Icons of recent times in Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic.
CBeebies has a new series of kids favourite Hey Duggee and more episodes of the mega-hit Bluey will come to the channel for their second window.
Pictured left to right: BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand head of branded services Chrissie Carras, general manager Fiona Lang and Foxtel Media’s entertainment sales and partnerships director Daniela Serhan
Chrissie Carras, head of branded services, BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, said: “As we celebrate 100 years of the BBC, it’s a reminder that the BBC is constantly looking to the future and anticipating what audiences want. Our channels are packed with the best British talent from the worlds of drama, factual and entertainment.
“With a mix of exciting new shows and the latest series of our biggest, most popular titles arriving across our branded services portfolio, the BBC brand continues to provide a trusted navigational tool for audiences seeking a premium viewing experience and advertisers looking for a premium space.
“The complementary linear and digital rights we provide our platform partners enables them to give their customers a choice over how to watch our shows be that via channels, on-demand or associated SVOD services.
“While audience patterns are changing, there is still clear demand for linear channels as part of that mix and we believe there is a place for them for years to come,” she added.
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Top image: David Tennant in Around The World in 80 Days