At a BBC event in London last night (21 February), director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt set out her vision as she confirmed the commission of 12 new dramas across BBC channels.

Salt said: “I believe that the BBC is the only place that can promise true boldness and braveness in all our decision making. In an era of caution, it’s our time to shine.

“There’s something about this moment, the current climate in our industry, that makes our approach to risk even more essential.”

She added that it was the role of the BBC to back the best British storytelling and part of her plan includes redefining ‘state of the nation’ drama. She explained: “Over the next few years, I want the BBC to redefine ‘state of the nation’ drama. I want us to use our appetite and ability to take risks to shake up what ‘state of the nation’ really means, and re-purpose it for new audiences.

Salt cited dramas such as State of Play, Three Girls and Our Friends in the North as state of the nation dramas, along with I May Destroy You and This is Going to Hurt.

“They can be playful in their exploration of modern dilemmas and issues. All of these may be tonally different but they all have an urgency, an immediacy. They all provoke reflection – about who we are as a society and who we are as people. They’re all dramas that are both timely and timeless.”

“Slices of life that speak to the human condition, in order to tell us something important about the UK right now. We want to use the scale of the BBC to start big conversations.”

The drama commissions are as follows:
Blue Lights series 3 and 4 – Two Cities Television
Dear England – Left Bank Pictures
Film Club – Gaumont
Lions (w/t) – Mam Tor Productions
Mint – Fearless Minds and House Productions
Reunion – Warp Films
The Dream Lands – SISTER
The Listeners – Element Pictures
The Ministry of Time – A24
The Split Up – Northern SISTER
This City is Ours – Left Bank Pictures
We Go Again – The Forge

Image: creatives and writers from some of the new commissions, via BBC.