Netflix reveals Rowan Atkinson comedy among seven new original UK series
The streaming network says UK series "really do speak to the world".
Netflix has revealed it has seven UK Original series planned, including a new Rowan Atkinson comedy, a horror series, a period murder-mystery and a supernatural action-adventure detective tale.
According to Deadline, the seven Netflix series will all be written and produced in the UK and are in addition to current productions underway, which include season two of the rebooted Top Boy, season three of After Life, The Crown season five and season three of Sex Education.
The planned seven UK Netflix series
Baby Reindeer – an eight-part 30-minute series based on writer and performer Richard Gadd's hit 2019 Edinburgh Fringe one-man stage-play which follows his warped relationship with his female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma… Gadd is also a writer on Sex Education.
Cuckoo Song – based on the novel by Frances Hardinge and written by Sarah Dollard (Bridgerton, Doctor Who), Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing, Swallows & Amazons) and Corinna Faith (The Innocents, The Power), this six-part 60-minute horror series is the story of two sisters – one human, one monster – at war who must come to some accord to fight a supernatural pact gone horribly wrong.
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Half Bad – Giri/Haji and Humans writer Joe Barton is the talent behind this eight-part 60-minute series based on the trilogy of young adult books written by Sally Green. Teenage Nathan is the son of the world's most feared witch and he's spent his life being studied by authorities worried he'll follow his father's evil path. What happens when under pressure the boundaries between his good and bad sides blur?
Lockwood & Co – Joe Cornish (the Adam and Joe Show, Attack the Block) is the lead director and writer on this supernatural action-adventure detective series. Based on the best-selling novels by Jonathan Stroud it's about a start-up ghost-hunting agency run by two teenage boys and a psychic girl, who are destined to solve a mystery that will change the course of history.
Man vs Bee – the 10-part 10-minute comedy series created by Will Davis and Rowan Atkinson features Atkinson as a man in conflict with a humble bee while he house-sits a mansion. The genius of the Mr Bean star's physical comedy will ensure that this is more than the sum of its parts.
The Red Zone – Oscar-winning director Sam Mandes is executive producer and writers Barney Ronay and Jonathan Liew are behind this six-part 30-minute comedy series about football "but also not about football", according to Netflix. It's a series populated with bluffers, sharks and genuine talent set in a world where no one is actually your friend, where there is zero trust and where families tend to devour each other every six months.
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Creator and writer Sophie Petzal has adapted the best-selling, Costa award-winning debut novel by Stuart Turton into a seven-part 60-minute mind-bending murder mystery. It's a set in a sprawling country estate and is an original narrative in which the lead character's attempts to solve a murder are hampered when they keep waking up in someone else’s body.
Netflix's UK vice-president Anne Mensah said: “Setting up a team entirely based in the UK was always about being able to better connect to the fantastic programme-makers we have here. To provide a space for writers, producers, directors and actors that feels local, friendly and familiar but also provides talent the opportunity to make shows that will impact on a global scale. UK-made stories really do speak to the world."
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, visit our TV Guide, or find out about upcoming new TV shows 2020.
