Following on from the triumphant A Very English Scandal, Russell T. Davies has announced his next project, Years and Years, a near-future drama about post-Brexit Britain.
Commissioned by BBC One, and produced by RED Production Company, the tale is set during the 2020s and 2030s it features one family struggling to stay afloat in a post-Brexit Britain during the rise of a new political demagogue.
Talking about the project, Davies said:
“I’ve wanted to write this for 20 years or so. And as the world accelerates like crazy around us, I realised I’d better get on with it! It’s a joy to be back home with RED, and an honour to be on BBC One.”
Piers Wenger, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning, and formed Doctor Who Executive Producer, said:
“Russell T. Davies is a master storyteller and we are utterly thrilled to be bringing his unique and captivating original drama, Years and Years, to BBC One.”
Years and Years follows the Lyons, a busy Manchester family. Daniel’s getting married to Ralph. Stephen and Celeste worry about their kids. Rosie’s chasing a new fella. Edith hasn’t been home for years. All presided over by Gran, the imperial Muriel. But when their lives all converge on one crucial night in 2019, the story accelerates into the future, following the lives and loves of the Lyons over the next 15 years.
And what a world! Everything we fear, and everything we hope for, happening around this tight-knit family. Society gets hotter, faster, madder, with the turmoil of politics, technology and distant wars affecting the Lyons in their day-to-day lives. Britain withdraws from Europe, America becomes a lone wolf, China asserts itself, and a new world begins to form. But someone’s taking advantage, as MP Vivienne Rook begins her rise to power – that new breed of politician, an entertainer, a rebel, a trickster and a terror, leading us into an unknown future. Set against this, the Lyons have to navigate their everyday hopes and fears, knowing that one ordinary family could never change the world. Or could they?
Years and Years is six-part 60-minute drama written, created and executive produced by Russell T. Davies and is expected to begin filming later this year.
