BBC Two Unveils Season Highlights

LONDON: Among the highlights on BBC Two’s upcoming slate is the new drama The Hour, which goes behind the scenes of a topical news program from the ’50s, along with a host of other shows that span factual, comedy, science, history, entertainment and more.

The Hour, starring Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw, launches later this summer on BBC Two. The series takes viewers behind the scenes of the launch of a topical news show in London 1956. Also in the way of drama, Page Eight, which addresses the challenges of intelligence practice in the new century, marks David Hare’s first time writing and directing in more than 20 years. Sarah Waters’ best-selling novel The Night Watch, set against the backdrop of ’40s London, has also been adapted for the channel. This fall, BBC Two launches the new Ricky Gervais-Stephen Merchant comedy Life’s Too Short. Also, the comedy Rev returns for a second season.

Entertainment highlights include a new run of the quiz show QI, back for its tenth season; a second season of The Rob Brydon Show; Ruth Jones coming back for a third round of her chat show, this time Ruth Jones’ Summer Holiday; more Dragons’ Den; another season of How to Win; and fresh Top Gear episodes.

Factual is another area BBC Two has bulked up in. Lorraine Pascale of Baking Made Easy is back in a new series, Home Cooking Made Easy. Hairy Bikers also returns, as Simon King and Dave Myers explore the issue of providing meals on wheels in Britain today. Gareth Malone is back for a fourth season of The Choir, while James May returns for a second season of James May’s Man Lab. Great British Bake Off will again see 12 of the country’s best bakers facing off. Other culinary-themed programs include Michel Roux Jr Classics and a new season of Masterchef: The Professionals.

BBC Two has a slate of upcoming programs that spotlight modern Britain, with an emphasis on looking at the world of money. The Party’s Over: How the West Lost the War of Globalisation looks at the past 30 years of the global economy. When Bankers Were Good explores the attitudes toward money and morality in the 19th century. The doc series Money is an investigation into people’s personal attitudes about their finances. How We Made Our Millions looks at high-end business. BBC Two is also set to air the Academy Award-winning doc Inside Job. The channel’s Mixed Race season shines a light on mixed-raced people living in the U.K. Programs featured as part of the lineup include Mixed Britannia, Mixed Race and Twincredibles.

The channel is also keeping an eye on international issues, with a trio of films looking at Afghanistan: Afghanistan, War Without End, The Battle for Helmand and The The Unknown Country. Also on the slate of programs with an international focus are The Arab Revolutions: How Facebook Changed the World; 17 Days, about the Chilean miners; and Baka: Voices from the Forest, set in Cameroon.

Science, history and exploration are themes the channel will be exploring throughout the season as well. Origins of Us looks at how our body tells the story of human evolution. The Code features the search for a mysterious code that governs our worlds. Gene Secrets watches as director Adam Wishart sets out to discover the same cancer gene that his mother inherited from her mother. Reverse Missionary spotlights three young Christian missionaries from Malawi, India and Jamaica. Upcoming history fare includes the one-off The Man Who Put Hitler in the Dock. Frost on Nixon features a conversation with Sir David Frost about his famous interview with the former U.S. president. Restoration Home is a series about historic buildings that have been saved from ruin and restored into homes. Digging for Britain and History Cold Case return to BBC Two. Further highlights include Frank Garden’s Real Tintin Adventure, All Roads Lead Home and Dangerous Roads.

Stephen Fry dissects languages in the upcoming fall arts series Fry’s Planet World. BBC Two continues its Books on the BBC initiative with The Prime of Miss Austen. The new monthly Book Review Show starts this summer, and there will also be a Culture Show special on Booker-prize winner Hilary Mantel. BBC Two has slated a trio of other arts and music series: The Impressionists; The Reel History of Britain, for BBC Two Daytime; and Secrets of the Pop Song. Two Arena docs will focus on author William Golding and Sir Jonathan Miller CBE. The channel continues its coverage of the BBC Proms and Glastonbury. Jools Holland continues with the music-driven Later… shows as well.

Janice Hadlow, BBC Two’s controller, said: "BBC Two has had a great start to the year, with some breakthrough hits in drama, comedy and factual. I’ve been delighted to see the channel win five RTS and five BAFTA Awards, right across the spectrum of programming, and I believe the channel is performing at its best with quality, distinctive and original output.

"Looking to the next six months, we have some exciting new drama and comedy, like the hotly anticipated The Hour and Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s Life’s Too Short. There is a host of BBC Two talent adding their voice to the channel, like Amanda Vickery and Lorraine Pascale returning for a second time with new projects, through to some of our more established faces on the channel, like Gareth Malone, James May, Alice Roberts, Ben Macintyre and Sue Perkins. Our ambition continues in factual programming with big moments around subjects that matter, like Britain’s economy and the mysteries of the business world, our involvement in Afghanistan, and our mixed race culture, as well as learning more about our history, science and the arts. BBC Two’s intelligent approach to a range of subjects and the talent that provide its distinctive voice and tone are its strength and appeal. I hope these forthcoming programs will round off a great year for BBC Two."