U.K. broadcaster ITV has ordered a Bear Grylls nature series, as well as a “Jekyll & Hyde” drama adaptation from writer Charlie Higson, best known for “The Fast Show” and the “Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)” remake starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.
Grylls’ production company Bear Grylls Ventures has teamed with Jane Root’s Nutopia to produce “Britain’s Biggest Adventures,” composed of three hourlong episodes. The shows will combine “natural history programming with the adrenaline rush of survival shows,” Nutopia said, as Grylls travels across the U.K. exploring the extreme side of the country’s natural history, botany and geology.
The show will be executive produced by Grylls and Delbert Shoopman from BGV, and Sam Starbuck for Nutopia, whose boss Root is the former president of Discovery Channel in the U.S.
“Jekyll & Hyde” is a 10-part action adventure drama, set in 1930s London. It will focus on the young, attractive, troubled hero, Robert Jekyll, the grandson of the original doctor. The show will follow Robert Jekyll’s quest to discover his real identity, his true family history and the nature of his “curse.”
The series will be directed by Colin Teague (“Being Human,” “The Town,” “Sinbad”) with production in India commencing in January 2015 and filming in London from February until July 2015.
