鲍鱼tv

COMEDY AND DRAMA

We are now in the second year of our ring fenced 拢500K development pot aimed at developing new scripted projects for Scotland in both comedy and drama. Development spend is still available.

鲍鱼tv Scotland are keen to develop ideas of scale that can cut through in a crowded market and we welcome returning series ideas that meet the creative vision of our briefs below.

COMEDY 

鲍鱼tv Comedy, 鲍鱼tv Scotland and Screen Scotland pilot opportunity

鲍鱼tv Comedy, 鲍鱼tv Scotland and Screen Scotland are partnering to fund an exciting new sitcom pilot opportunity for independent production companies to champion Scottish comedy talent on and off-screen. At least one idea will be co-commissioned as a filmed pilot which we will then consider for series.

Find out more here 

• 1 x 30 mins
• Tariff varies according to volume and finance model
• Genre: Scotland Comedy
• Channel: 鲍鱼tv Scotland Channel & 鲍鱼tv One opt
• Commissioner: Gavin Smith & Gregor Sharp

Comedy Series

We remain particularly keen on diversifying the talent base for comedy and the geographical setting of our scripted output. Please look at our output over recent years and consider how you can add fresh voices and new range to the slate.

We are particularly keen on mainstream, mass audience, broad, relatable worlds, easily digestible offering, works on both services equally i.e. Channel and 鲍鱼tv One Scotland. (e.g. Scot Squad).   While we can and will still progress these ideas locally we鈥檙e keen to find worlds and characters we can partner with the network to develop.  Our network colleagues have emphasised the need for scripted comedies with a high gag rate and a move away from anything too dramatic. This chimes with our current direction of travel too when it comes to half hour comedy projects. We are delighted last years pilot opportunity has lead to a series of Only Child and are keen to find another high value sitcom from Scotland.

Think about the broad family / relationship dynamics and workplace laughs conjured by shows like The Scotts, Scot Squad and Two Doors Down.

We are keen to find more high impact comedy titles we can co commission as well as maintaining a healthy slate of local comedies for the channel and opt out slots.

• 6 x 30 mins
• Tariff varies according to volume and finance model
• Genre: Scotland Comedy
• Channel: 鲍鱼tv Scotland Channel & 鲍鱼tv One opt
• Commissioner: Gavin Smith

Drama

It will come as no surprise that high end, high impact drama titles have significant reach for Scottish audiences. Over the short life of the channel we鈥檝e had a range of tones from the award winning dramedy Guilt to 2 series of a slightly softer crime drama in Granite Harbour that played to large audiences in the North East and we鈥檒l soon have a full throttle firework of a series as co commissioners of Richard Gadd鈥檚 new project Lions. We are also working with international partners to stand up a new thriller set in Scotland and abroad.

This range means we are very open to different tones of dramas but always with our overarching brief of reflecting the lives of our contemporary Scottish audience. That means we are less likely to look at genre pieces such as sci-fi and horror. Similarly period is tricky for us but recent nostalgia or factual stories that help us make sense of the world today are worth further discussion.

We are keen to find ways to tell stories across all of our platforms and want to increase the volume of new ideas coming through and have development funding to support this ambition. We are focussed on returning series or multi episodic factual. Single films are difficult to finance at this time.

As with Comedy, we are working closely with network colleagues to bring new ideas with particular appeal to Scottish audiences to air. At present, drama commissions for the 鲍鱼tv One Scotland opts and the 鲍鱼tv Scotland channel are likely to need significant co-funding. We鈥檙e looking for entrepreneurial producers who can work with us to piece the funding together. 

• 60 mins
• Tariff varies according to finance model
• Genre: Scotland Drama
• Channel: 鲍鱼tv One Scotland or Scotland Channel
• Commissioner: Gavin Smith

Scripted Comedy

While TV is the priority for our scripted spend with other parts of the 鲍鱼tv servicing radio comedy, we are able to use radio as a pipeline for new sitcoms and characters should that be the best home for a project. Do we have a Jonathan Pie or Philomena Cunk in Scotland?

• 3-6 x 30 mins
• Tariff: 拢40k-拢60k per 6-part series
• Genre: Scotland Comedy
• Channel: 鲍鱼tv Radio Scotland
• Commissioner: Gavin Smith

Short Stuff

We鈥檇 like to hear ideas that could play out in our Short Stuff short form comedy strand, aimed at developing character worlds and diverse talent. These are experimental, low cost, talent lead sketches for sharing digitally.  It is an experimental platform for the germination of new talent and character brands. Suppliers may also wish to dive in to our digital content such as Short Stuff and The Social to see the comedy talent that are coming through.  This can also be a good platform for emerging indies to engage with 鲍鱼tv Scotland.

Comedy - Short Films

The Comedy Short Films are single 10 minute pieces for iPlayer curated in a single destination on iPlayer featuring work from all around the UK.

You can read more about the opportunities here and while there is a central submissions process, do feel free to talk to me directly about ideas in this space.

Again we are particularly interested in a more diverse range of voices in the writing and on screen representation.

We have had award winning success with our digital dramas Float and Dog Days. These consist of 10 minute episodes and are typically aimed at younger audiences. We are open to ideas that can fit in this space as well as other experimental ways to do episodic drama for younger audiences. Please bear in mind tariffs are very low so concepts should be practical on small cast and crew.