BBC America Commissions Two New Telefantasies From Misfits Producers

BBC America is developing two new SFX y shows, Wired and The Dead Beat , with Clerkenwell Films, producers of the brilliant Misfits .

Wired hails from Afterlife and Ghostwatch creator and takes place in a world that looks exactly like today, except for one thing: this is a world with “Syns” (Synthetic Organisms), exact replicas of human beings and the newest luxury accessory money can buy. Wired explores our evolving relationship with technology, the boundaries of society’s values and moralities, our hypocrisies and contradictions, holding up a mirror to who we are today and what we might become.

Stephen Volk says on his website: “The pilot episode is, I think, the best work I’ve written for TV to date. It’s darkly satirical, with an ensemble of characters in a ‘precinct’. Very different from Afterlife , but I hope in its own way just as compelling. And certainly with a few more laughs!”

The Dead Beat is a paranormal crime show from writer John Jackson ( Being Human ). Two cops, one dead and one alive, become a reluctant team, working from leads in the world of the dead to track down killers in the world of the living. Subverting the crime genre, The Dead Beat brings a whole new meaning to cold cases, underworld informants, dead leads and buried evidence. (And it sounds very similar to RIPD .)

Both series will be distributed by BBC Worldwide. “We couldn’t be more excited to be developing these British projects with Clerkenwell – our first originals in the sci-fi genre,” commented Perry Simon, General Manager, BBC America. “Supernatural Saturday has become a popular fixture on BBC America’s schedule and both these highly creative ideas add a new dimension to our programming.”

Murray Ferguson, Chief Executive at Clerkenwell said, “There’s a great energy behind this partnership; the creative-makeup of BBC America, Clerkenwell, Steven Volk and John Jackson is truly inspiring and has given us the opportunity to create something very special. The prospect of reaching a global audience is exciting and we’re eager to bring the worlds of Wired and The Dead Beat to life.”