Analysis: The BBC & Netflix Unveiled Their Landmark Five-Year Disability Partnership With Fanfare In 2021, But Two-And-A-Half Years Later, The Industry Is Questioning Where The Shows Are
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: At the 2021 Edinburgh TV Festival, the BBC and Netflix unveiled what the pair described as a landmark five-year disability partnership that would unearth a new generation of shows helmed by disabled talent.
But more than half of the partnership’s five-year time period has now elapsed and not one show has been revealed. In recent months, sources from the UK drama and disabled TV communities have begun questioning the partnership, getting in touch with Deadline unprompted to query why a tie-up that was unveiled with such fanfare has so far failed to bear fruit. “It’s slightly bizarre,” said one professional connected with disability programs. “I’ve heard nothing from anyone to be honest.
No one can get a definitive answer.” The partnership came in the wake of a blistering Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart broadside from Help writer Jack Thorne, who slammed the UK TV industry for “totally and utterly” failing disabled people.
The BBC and Netflix then unveiled a creative brief led by A24’s Piers Wenger, who ran drama for the national broadcaster at the time, and Anne Mensah, who oversees UK content for Netflix.
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