BBC Writersroom Scotland and BBC Comedy Commissioning announce a brand new Comedy Writers’ Programme aimed at supporting Scottish and Scottish-based comedy writers and the independent sector.
This new scheme will follow a similar model to the successful BBC Writersroom Drama Writing Programme which partners writers and independent production companies together to develop TV drama projects.
The Scottish Comedy Writers Programme will partner a writer with a Scottish-based independent company to develop and write a pilot episode script for an original comedy series for BBC One, BBC Two or BBC Three through a fully-funded script commission by BBC Comedy and BBC Writersroom. The initiative also demonstrates the BBC’s support for the independent sector in a tangible way.
The independent production companies and writers taking part are: Happy Tramp North who will be working with Bryce Hart; BBC Studios who will be working with Lorna Martin; Young Films who will be paired with Kieron Nicholson; and The Comedy Unit who will be paired with Susan Riddell.
Over a period of six months to a year, the writers will work alongside their allocated independent production company to develop their idea while attending various workshops to enhance their writing and knowledge of TV comedy through the BBC Writersroom team.
Gregor Sharp, Commissioning Editor, Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, says: “Nurturing new talent is absolutely central to everything we do in BBC Comedy so we couldn’t be happier to announce this joint initiative with BBC Writersroom. Script development is the engine room of comedy and it’s crucial that writers are given the license to find their voices and hone their craft in a supportive environment, which our excellent producing partners will provide. Scripted comedy in Scotland is at an all time high but we’re always looking for the next great idea and can’t wait to see what the selected writers come up with.”
This is not a scheme for untested writers or overly experienced writers with significant television comedy credits. This is an opportunity for writers in the early stages of their career and is set up to allow them the space, time and financial support to produce their best work to date. The shortlisted writers will have at least one professional credit to their name and have already demonstrated talent and passion in their previous comedy work, and are ready to make the next step. They will have all written for theatre, television, radio or film.
The aim of the scheme is to ensure that each writer will deliver a compelling script for the BBC Comedy Commissioning team to consider and hope that the four projects demonstrate enough potential that one or two can move to the next stage of development post script delivery. Long term, the programme aims be a catalyst for our selected writers and independent production companies to have a continued productive working relationship together.
Further details on the writers and the production companies can be found on the Writersroom site.
Pictured: The 4 writers on the Comedy Writers' Programme 2018 (Bryce Hart, Susan Riddell, Lorna Martin, Keiron Nicholson)
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