New Hugo Blick Drama Among BBC Two Commissions

LONDON: A raft of new commissions have been unveiled for BBC Two, including a factual drama based on the popular Grand Theft Auto game, tentatively titled Game Changer, with Daniel Radcliffe and Bill Paxton attached to star.

Game Changer (w/t) is a BBC in-house production. This special 90-minute drama tells the story of the controversy surrounding the computer game Grand Theft Auto, which came from the creative mastermind Sam Houser. Radcliffe will play Houser and Paxton will play Jack Thompson, the lawyer who was determined to stop the relentless rise of Grand Theft Auto.

Following the acclaimed dramas The Honourable Woman and The Shadow Line, Hugo Blick is working on a new series for BBC Two. The new project centers on a set of characters caught up in a moral dilemma. It plays out in the backdrop of contemporary Africa.

In the way of comedy, Family Guy is coming to BBC Two for its 13th U.K. season. BBC Two commissioned Mum from Big Talk Productions. The comedy reunites the creative team behind the BAFTA award-winning Him & Her, including writer/executive producer Stefan Golaszewski, director Richard Laxton, producer Lyndsay Robinson and executive producer Kenton Allen. Stag is a darkly comedic thriller created by Jim Field Smith (producer/director of The Wrong Mans) and George Kay. Told in three parts, it follows a meek schoolteacher (Jim Howick: Peep Show, Babylon) who struggles to survive the Stag weekend from hell. Two Doors Down is a new comedy that features Scottish families at their best and worst. It comes from Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp.

BBC Two also has some timely, topical factual programming lined up. Children of the Gaza War follows the lives of children on both sides of the conflict in Gaza and southern Israel through the war and for six months afterwards. Old School sees the Hairy Bikers undertake the challenge of supporting elderly people who feel isolated and lonely to make them feel more valued in society.

Nigella Lawson is returning to BBC Two in Simply Nigella, which promises viewers a new "pared-down" approach to cooking and eating. Lawson said: “It’s about food that makes our life easier, that makes us feel better, more alive and less stressed.” Also in the way of lifestyle fare, The Great British Pottery Throw Down is a brand-new six-part series from Love Productions that searches for Britain's best budding potter. The Naked Choir is a nationwide contest led by Gareth Malone that pays tribute to local choirs and singing groups. Hair—hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan, and with judges Denise McAdam, session stylist and royal hairdresser, and Alain Pichon, international session stylist—follows the search for Britain’s best amateur hair stylist. The show returns for a new series, this time on BBC Two.

Further factual highlights coming to BBC Two include Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners, done with an exclusive partnership with University College London and historian David Olusoga. Let Us Entertain You is a 4×1-hour program that spotlights Britain's pop-culture contributions, from James Bond to Agatha Christie to John Lennon.

Kim Shillinglaw, the controller for BBC Two and BBC Four, said: “BBC Two is in great shape. From the the critical and ratings success of Wolf Hall, BBC Two’s biggest drama series in at least 13 years and Banished, which was our fourth highest drama series launch, to stand out seasons on Food, The Super Rich And Us, Taking Liberties and our Holocaust Memorial content, we’ve got people talking and watching the channel in significant numbers. I’m particularly proud to have won more RTS Awards than any other channel, with awards for Marvellous, The Honourable Woman and Inside no 9, amongst others.

"The sheer range and quality of content I’m announcing today demonstrates the unique role BBC Two plays in enhancing people’s lives and contributing to the creative life of the U.K. From enabling British writing, presenting and directing talent to do their most distinctive, signature work to factual with real purpose that tackles contemporary issues in lively, intelligent ways or encourages viewers to take their passions further, I want BBC Two to be the place to come for widest range of grown up, opinionated and entertaining content on British television.”