Channel 5 Orders Two Dramas from Clapperboard

Clapperboard, Chalkboard’s scripted sister company, has been commissioned to produce the drama titles Deadline and Teacher for Channel 5.

Written and directed by BAFTA-nominated Gareth Tunley (The Ghoul, Cold Call), Deadline is a noir thriller for a mainstream audience that kicks off with a ‘did she or didn’t she do it?’ scenario, with a journalist falling in love with the femme fatale he is supposed to be profiling for his newspaper.

The second series from Clapperboard is Teacher, created by Barunka O’Shaughnessy (Motherland, Alabama, Hitmen) and Mike Benson (Cold Call). The psychological thriller follows teacher Jenna, whose life unravels after she’s accused of a drunken sexual encounter with one of her students. With no memory of the night in question, her only hope of redemption is in uncovering the truth about a dark event in her past. O’Shaughnessy will also serve as lead writer, while Dom Leclerc (The Syndicate, From Darkness) will direct with Benson as executive producer.

Both Deadline and Teacher are set to launch in 2021.

Sebastian Cardwell, senior VP and deputy director of programs at ViacomCBS Networks UK, commented: “After an incredibly successful year of drama on Channel 5 in 2020, I’m delighted to be expanding our thriving slate further. These exciting additions for 2021 highlight the channel’s continued commitment to the genre and I’m looking forward to seeing them on our screens next year.”

Mike Benson, managing director at Clapperboard, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Seb and the team at Channel 5 again on two new Clapperboard productions. Both concepts, while different in style and tone, have provocative and dangerous relationships at their core and explore those murky grey areas between the personal and professional.”