BBC Three announces comedy horror series Wrecked and seven other new commissions
The commissions also include Rules of the Game, a four-part thriller starring Maxine Peake, and a new police drama called Blue Lights.
BBC Three has announced a raft of brand new drama commissions, including an intriguing comedy horror series titled Wrecked.
Written by emerging talent Ryan J. Brown, the series is described by the BBC as "a tense thriller, mixing comedy with a slice of slasher, set aboard a mega cruise ship" and will begin filming in Northern Ireland later in the year.
It follows Jamie – a 19-year-old recruit who joins the ship's crew to search for his missing sister – as he adjusts to life on the unsettling luxury liner.
He soon discovers the overworked crew remains unaware of a number of bloodthirsty murders being committed above deck, and so he turns detective to get to the root of what is happening on the ship.
Brown said he was "incredibly excited" to get started on the project, adding, "In Wrecked, the kills are brutal, the laughs are loud, and the heartfelt moments land with real candour.
"I wanted to create a piece of genre entertainment that had the savvy teen sharpness of Scream, the unsettling atmosphere of The Shining and the strange upstairs, downstairs mythology of Cabin in the Woods."
He continued, "At its core, Wrecked is a tense coming-of-age story about a lost, gay kid from Sheffield propelled into uncharted waters of escalating paranoia and self-discovery."
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The other commissions include Rules of the Game, a four-part thriller focusing on sexual politics in the modern workplace with Maxine Peake in the lead role, and Blue Lights, a police drama from the writers of hit 2020 drama The Salisbury Poisonings.
There's also Better, a new series from the writers of Humans which is billed as a "thrilling redemption story", The Control Room, a three-parter about an emergency call worker in Scotland, and Wolf, an adaptation of Mo Hayder’s acclaimed Jack Caffery novels.
Finally, Domino Day, is a supernatural drama about a witch who uses dating apps to hunt for victims, and Grime Kids, the latest drama from BAFTA-nominated writer Theresa Ikoko, will explore the emergence of grime music as a worldwide phenomenon.
The commissions are all part of the BBC's strategy to increase the focus on areas of the UK other than London, with the dramas being set across various locations in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.
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Speaking about the commissions, Piers Wenger, the Director of BBC Drama said, "Telling stories that reflect the whole of the UK is about more than meeting quotas. It’s about enriching and emboldening what British drama means by honouring the true range of authorship across all of our nations and regions.
"I want to do more to celebrate that plurality. I want it to become an essential not-so-secret weapon and a core part of our USP.”
To find out what’s on telly tonight, check out our TV Guide and visit our dedicated Drama hub for all the latest news.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
