BBC Dramas from Ripper Street Creator, Wolf Hall Screenwriter

BBC One has commissioned two new eight-part drama series, working with Peter Straughan (Wolf Hall, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Richard Warlow (Ripper Street).

Based on the trilogy of books by Sarah Lotz, The Three will be adapted by Straughan. The multi-stranded international thriller features a supernatural twist. The story begins when four planes crash on the same day in four different countries, and three children miraculously survive. The Forge is producing.

The Serpent is an original drama written by Warlow, based on the true story of how one of the most elusive criminals of the 20th century was caught and brought to trial. Mammoth Screen serves as producer.

Piers Wenger, the controller of BBC drama, said: “It’s my ambition to deliver original, bold and unexpected drama to BBC One, drama that is set apart from what is on offer elsewhere and which allows us to explore new worlds. These two new series do just that, each offering a big emotional story in an international setting with iconic characters at their heart.

“Peter Straughan’s adaptation of Sarah Lotz’s spine-chilling novel The Three is a unique and epic story which shifts shape as it unfolds—what begins as a tale of human tragedy becomes an international conspiracy thriller with a supernatural edge.

“The Serpent tells the story of Charles Sobhraj, who preyed on the lives of young backpackers in Thailand in the 1970s. Richard Warlow’s scripts will bring this notorious story to life on BBC One, for the first time showing the great lengths Dutch embassy diplomat Herman Knippenberg went to get justice for Sobhraj’s innocent victims.

“I’m thrilled that the BBC is home to these to these exceptionally compelling stories and would like to thank both The Forge and Mammoth Screen alongside BBC executive Elizabeth Kilgarriff for bringing them to BBC One.”