One of the most popular sources of overseas based entertainment and the biggest subscription streaming service in the country are going to be working together to bring new shows to the US with the added bonus of increasing representation in the mass media. The BBC and Netflix have formed a groundbreaking partnership to develop and fund new, ambitious dramas featuring disabled creatives both in front of and behind the camera.
Building on the existing commitments of both the BBC and Netflix, the five-year partnership has been designed to increase representation of disabled talent both on-screen and off-screen, to widen the range of stories produced and give disabled writers and creatives greater choice when it comes to the sort of stories they wish to tell.
The BBC and Netflix will consider projects from UK producers that have been created or co-created by writers who identify as deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent. All projects are to be created or co-created by deaf, disabled and neurodivergent writers. Pitches can draw imaginatively on any genre, precinct or world. We are looking for ideas which feel ambitious and elevated, and which challenge the limits that the industry might unconsciously put on disability. The intention of the partnership is to firmly place the shows alongside our most talked about and original dramas already being developed.
All projects will be assessed and developed jointly, but the BBC will be the point of entry for all project submissions and pitches for the initiative. The BBC and Netflix will issue a creative brief and outline of the process which will be made available to all producers, alongside a webinar. initiative
