New BBC Three Commissions

Damian Kavanagh, the controller of BBC Three, has revealed a number of new commissions for the online-only network, including the single drama Killed By My Debt (working title).

Following the award-winning success of the factual dramas Murdered By My Father and Murdered For Being Different on BBC Three, the new single drama Killed By My Debt continues that tradition. The one-hour drama explores the damage wrought on one family by ultra-low wages, telling the true story of a young zero hours worker from South London whose whole family earns a low-income wage and what lengths he will go to escape his debts.

Also commissioned for BBC Three, the BAFTA-winning documentary series Life and Death Row returns with The Arkansas Killings. Season three will continue to tell the story of capital punishment through the eyes of the people whose lives have been shaped by it.

BBC Three has committed to a second season of Love and Hate Crime ahead of the first season going online this fall. The 3×1-hour series is about the dangers of being different in modern America told through crimes of hate, passion and prejudice.

Annie: The Plastic Surgery Capital of the World features a talent first discovered in her personal story Annie: Out of the Ashes. In the newly commissioned documentary The Plastic Surgery Capital of the World, Annie will travel to Seoul to discover a place where teenagers are given surgical procedures by their parents as school graduation gifts and understand why these young women feel compelled to part with thousands of dollars to modify very normal parts of their bodies.

Sex, Lies & Deception is a new four-part series on issues surrounding sexual consent, fronted by new BBC Three talent Poppy Begum. BBC Three presenter Livvy Haydock, originally part of BBC Three production, moves from behind the camera to present her own documentaries, leading Moped Wars, about London’s motorbike crimewave.

Kavanagh commented: “BBC Three moved online 18 months ago and at the time, I said the transition would be a marathon not a sprint as we learned and adapted our behavior to ensure we reach young audiences wherever they are.

“Looking back I feel an enormous sense of pride about what the BBC Three team and all the creative talent who work with us have achieved. We’ve more than doubled our total brand reach and seen phenomenal growth on social platforms, producing original content with true public purpose. We’ve won over critics and audiences alike, winning numerous awards along the way, including the prestigious RTS channel of the year award 2017. And we have done what we promised—we have backed the very best emerging talent in the U.K., creating some household names along the way.

“The future for BBC Three is looking very bright and I’m convinced that by continuing to innovate and take risks with our storytelling and allowing brilliant talent to do their most creative work, we will continue to grow and create content our young audience loves.”