Channel 4 commissions brand new gripping drama: Somewhere Boy

25 August 2020

Channel 4 has today commissioned Somewhere Boy (formerly announced as The Birth of Daniel F Harris), a new 8 x 30 drama by Pete Jackson (One Normal Night, Love In Recovery) from Clerkenwell Films, the makers of the BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 show The End of the F***ing World.

 

When Danny was a baby, his mum was killed in a car crash. Overwhelmed with grief, his dad Steve bought a house in the middle of nowhere and locked Danny in, telling him the world outside was full of monsters waiting to take him away. Just like they took his mum. Steve thought he’d done the right thing, bringing Danny up safe and warm, away from murderers and wars and drugs and arsehole governments and burgers and evil.

 

For eighteen years they just stayed in, listening to Benny Goodman records and watching old movies with no sad endings. And that’s how Danny grew up. It was all he knew. And he was happy.

 

But when Danny turns eighteen his whole world - everything he’s ever known - explodes in an instant and he has to come to terms with a new world he never knew existed. And find the real monster - the one that killed his mum.

 

Lee Mason, Channel 4 Commissioning Editor says: “Pete Jackson has crafted a uniquely bold and beautiful piece of storytelling that imaginatively taps in to the experiences of many young people today. Pete’s voice and Somewhere Boy belong on Channel 4 and, alongside Clerkenwell who are the perfect producers for the series, I can’t wait to see the series come to life.”

 

Murray Ferguson, Chief Executive of Clerkenwell Films, added: “I’m delighted that Channel 4 have shown their continued commitment to emerging talent by commissioning Somewhere Boy. This is writer Pete Jackson’s first series commission for TV. Pete’s voice is accomplished, distinctive and insightful. This story about a young man who grew up shielded from the problems modern teenagers face provides a timely commentary on the world we now live in.”

 

Pete Jackson, Writer, commented: “I couldn’t be more excited to bring this story to the screen, and couldn’t think of more perfect collaborators than Clerkenwell Films and Channel 4. It offers a great opportunity to re-evaluate our world through the eyes of someone for whom it’s all completely new.”

 

Somewhere Boy is produced by Clerkenwell Films (The End of the F***ing World) for Channel 4 and has been commissioned by Channel 4’s Head of Drama, Caroline Hollick and Commissioning Editor, Lee Mason. The executive producers at Clerkenwell Films are Murray Ferguson, Petra Fried and Emily Harrison. Gavin O’Grady (This Way Up, The Duchess) will produce. The Birth of Daniel F Harris is in association with BBC Studios who will also distribute.

ENDS

 

 

About Clerkenwell Films:

Since Murray Ferguson launched Clerkenwell Films in 1998, the company have produced many award-winning, critically acclaimed shows including The End of the F***ing World and Misfits, both of which won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series. Their latest show, The Duchess starring Katherine Ryan, will be airing on Netflix in September.

 

About BBC Studios:

BBC Studios, a global content company with British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group.  Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen, it spans content financing, development, production, sales, branded services, and ancillaries from both its own productions and programmes and formats made by high-quality UK independents. Award-winning British programmes made by the business are internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, including factual, drama, entertainment and comedy. BBC Studios has offices in 22 markets globally, including six production bases in the UK and production bases and partnerships in a further nine countries around the world. The company, which makes around 2,500 hours of content a year, is a champion for British creativity around the world and a committed partner for the UK’s independent sector. Created in April 2018 by the merger of two existing commercial subsidiaries, BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios, the company has revenue of around £1.4bn.  In the year to March 2019, it returned £243m to the BBC Group, complementing the BBC’s licence fee and enhancing programmes for UK audiences.

 

bbcstudios.com

twitter.com/bbcstudios

twitter.com/bbcstudiospress

 

 

 

For further information please contact:

Debra Clavey

Publicist – Drama, Comedy & Acquisitions

DClavey@channel4.co.uk

 

Susan Wilks

Group Publicity Manager – Drama, Comedy & Acquisitions

swilks@channel4.co.uk