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Our aim is to provide a range of programmes that inspire, challenge and entertain our eclectic viewership, with something for everyone. Across every year there are an extraordinary range of opportunities for writers, directors and producers to create compelling and surprising stories that delight audiences and draw our nation together.

We want you to bring your boldest and most ambitious drama ideas to the ´óÏó´«Ã½. Again and again, we have found that it's the risky and original pieces that have become our most iconic shows. From distinctive returning series like Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty, Strike, Blue Lights and The Tourist, to hard-hitting limiteds like This Is Going To Hurt.

‘Talkability’ is an important quality of ´óÏó´«Ã½ drama. After transmission, our shows frequently double or triple their viewership on iPlayer, where most are available to watch for at least twelve months. Word of mouth is crucial for growing this longtail viewing. We want shows that inspire a conversation, whether they be original fictional worlds that dig into relatable aspects of our lives, contemporary or period, as with Time, Waterloo Road, Call the Midwife and Happy Valley, or bold, thought provoking factual dramas that unpack key events from our shared history, such as Sitting in Limbo, Small Axe, The Sixth Commandment and The Reckoning.

We commission a broad range of dramas every year and aim to produce shows for all audiences across the UK. Our best-in-class mainstream pieces seek to entertain first and foremost and will appeal to a broad audience, while at the same time always feeling distinctive and like an evolution of what we’ve seen before, as with Vigil, The Capture, Killing Eve, The Gold and SAS Rogue Heroes. Alongside these are voice-led, cinematic shows that will challenge, provoke and surprise audiences, pushing the envelope and breaking boundaries in terms of creativity and dramatic storytelling, such as I May Destroy You, Boat Story, Industry, The Responder and Boiling Point.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Three should be the place in which writers with a distinct voice are speaking directly to younger audiences and exploring what it means to live in Britain today. Entertaining, joyful and potent, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three is a platform where we can break the very best new writing and directing talent coming out of the UK, where exciting new voices can innovate and hone their craft - somewhere writers and creatives should feel able to be at their most playful.

Sally Rooney’s adaptation of her extraordinary novel Normal People was an honest and arresting take on contemporary relationships which achieved universality through an intimate and specific point of view. Red Rose, Wreck and Domino Day are distinctive for their horror and comedy tone while Nicole Lecky’s Mood and Theresa Ikoko’s Grime Kids brought music and drama together in an innovative way. We want to find more of these strong flavours for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three, pieces that have a specificity of place, tone and voice, and that can borrow from a range of genres or play with narrative form and content.

Programmes which reflect the diversity of modern British life such as Champion, Ralph & Katie or You Don't Know Me are incredibly important, and we expect this diversity to be woven through all of our shows. We are always seeking to work with writers and directors from a range of backgrounds and experiences, and by doing so we can keep extending the scope of stories we tell. We actively encourage producers to talk to us about the funding and resources we can offer to help improve the diversity of their shows - from development to production on and off-screen - to help grow the next generation of diverse talent.

We also want to reflect all parts of the UK - our unique and distinct regions provide us with stories which are specific as well as universal. Shows like Happy Valley, The Responder, Shetland, Vigil and Sherwood are great examples of where place is an integral part of the show.

We are looking for all formats - six or eight-part serials have a place alongside mini-series, singles and our much-loved continuing dramas EastEnders, Waterloo Road and Casualty.

We are conscious about the environmental impact of how we make our programmes and how we represent these issues is a vital part of how we work. We want to think more creatively about this. How can we embed this into our shows in an interesting and meaningful way? For resources and information about sustainability in your programme please see the sustainability area.

´óÏó´«Ã½/Netflix Disability Initiative

Our intention is to co-commission dramas which will place disability front and centre. We want to level the playing field in terms of opportunities available to deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talent, and to increase the range, scope and ambition of stories featuring disability.

Drawing imaginatively on any genre, precinct or world, we are looking for ideas which feel fresh and elevated and challenge any limits that the industry consciously or unconsciously puts upon disability. Returnability is desirable but not essential to all of the ideas - not least because the intention is to firmly place these shows at the core of our content and our audience’s hearts.

We would like the pieces to be written, created or co-created by deaf, disabled or neurodivergent talent. Disability has been under-represented on screen and disabled talent under-represented off screen, for too long. This initiative is part of the wider work both Netflix and ´óÏó´«Ã½ are doing to deliver entertaining, celebratory work that is game-changing for representation and a must-see for our audiences. Find out more about our partnership.

Please note this opportunity is open to eligible UK based production companies only (please see eligibility criteria below). If you are a writer with an idea or script or would like to find out more about how you can work with ´óÏó´«Ã½ drama, please see our writers page.

Submissions should be sent to ´óÏó´«Ã½NetflixIdeas@bbc.co.uk

All submissions will be reviewed by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Drama and Netflix and responses and feedback will be made jointly.

This opportunity is for UK based independent production companies who have either had:

(a) A ´óÏó´«Ã½ TV commission in the last three years (including ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films shown on a ´óÏó´«Ã½ UK platform).

(b) A TV commission for original content from another major UK broadcaster or SVOD service available in UK in the last three years.

The range of our world class programmes

New releases

Contemporary younger lives

A new lens on period

Much loved favourites

High octane contemporary thrillers 

Impactful miniseries

Action adventure

Inspired by real events

Bingeable returners