BBC Three has announced the commissioning of six “youthful” drama pilots – and two of them are fantasy shows.
Being Human is a flatshare drama with a difference: the three flatmates in question are a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf. It’s written by Toby Whithouse, creator of No Angels, who also wrote the Doctor Who episode “School Reunion” (the Sarah Jane Smith one) and the Torchwood story “Greeks Bearing Gifts” (you know, the one where Tosh gets a girlfriend). The show starts filming in September in Bristol.
Then there’s Phoo Action, which is based on Get the Freebies, an old strip by Tank Girl and Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett, which ran for a year in now-defunct style mag The Face. Described as “a futuristic kung fu live-action drama” it’s set in a 2012 London which is in the grip of mutant criminals. The title’s derived from the main characters: Terry Phoo, a gay, Buddhist kung-fu cop, and Whitey Action, an enigmatic young anarchist. One of the writers for this BBC Scotland production is Jessica Hynes (formerly Jessica Stevenson), of Spaced fame.
Finally, fans of Doctor Who might also be interested to know about a third pilot, W10 LDN. Revolving around a bunch of teenagers on a housing estate in West London, it’s written by Noel Clarke (Who’s Mickey Smith), and is produced by Kudos (makers of Life on Mars).
