Cassian Harrison announces raft of new titles for BBC Four

• BBC Four returns to Television Centre for a night of live performance as part of major theatre season across BBC Two and BBC Four
• Slow returns to BBC Four with a special Christmas treat, The Sleigh Ride
• Nation-wide search for Britain’s best part-time band
• BBC Four to tell the epic story of the US recording industry in the 1920s and 1930s plus new music sessions recorded with Alabama Shakes, Beck, Elton John, Nas and more
• An autumn of Scandinavian dramas including the return of The Bridge
• Frank Skinner and Suzy Klein to tell the 150-year-old story of popular entertainment
• Brian Pern returns supersized as he is unleashed online with a series of special films and becomes BBC Four’s Friday Night Music Critic

Speaking today at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Cassian Harrison, Channel Editor of BBC Four, announced a wide range of ambitious and distinctive new titles.

Cassian Harrison says: “BBC Four continues to fire on all cylinders with bold, original programming that has made us the UK’s fourth largest digital channel and the largest factual digital channel in reach and share. We’ve had another terrific year, with highlights including the success of Slow week with over 500,000 viewers enjoying our beautiful two-hour journey down the Kennet and Avon canal; the launch of our Pop Art season this week with fabulous idents from Pop artists including Peter Blake; our much-talked-about documentary, India’s Daughter, and our BBC Four Goes Nuclear season brought almost a million Inside Sellafield with Jim Al-Khalili.

“The content I’m announcing today demonstrates BBC Four’s ongoing and unique commitment to innovation in talent, form and content. From launching a search for Britain’s best part-time band and returning to TV Centre for a night of ground-breaking live theatre performance, to rigging a camera on a reindeer sleigh to reveal Lapland’s frozen landscape like never before, BBC Four continues to show surprising, distinctive content that you just won’t find anywhere else on television.”

EDA

BBC Four – Distinctive arts, performance and music content

BBC Four remains home to some of the most compelling arts, performance and music programming on British television, offering an unrivalled depth and expertise of programming. BBC Four’s Friday nights continue to be the ‘go-to’ destination for music fans across the country.

Live From Television Centre

As part of a major pan-BBC theatre season, On Stage, across BBC Two and BBC Four, online and radio, BBC Four returns to Television Centre for the first live broadcast since it was decommissioned in 2013. In a unique collaboration with Battersea Arts Centre and Arts Council England, this event will bring together independent theatre-makers from across England to create five pieces of genre-busting theatre for television.

Live From Television Centre will feature interweaving and eclectic performances from Gecko, Richard Dedomenici, Touretteshero and Common Wealth Theatre across a two-hour live broadcast on BBC Four this November. Islington Community Theatre will create a fifth performance released exclusively on BBC iPlayer the same day. 

All will be filmed in the iconic Television Centre complex, the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013, the birthplace of so much British creativity. This exciting development in theatre for television will include brand-new performances and adaptations of existing pieces with short pre-recorded segments integrated with the live broadcast.

Theatrical Knights at the BBC and Theatrical Dames at the BBC

Demonstrating BBC Four’s commitment to showcasing the very best of the BBC’s archive, these two films celebrate the on-screen appearances of some of our greatest actors, from Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins and Ralph Richardson to Helen Mirren, Diana Rigg, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench,  through their most memorable performances and interviews for the Corporation.  

Recognised by royal decree for their extraordinary achievements on the stage, many of our finest acting Knights and Dames have displayed their talents regularly on BBC Television throughout their careers and have helped earn Britain an enviable reputation as a superpower in the theatrical world.  

Forest, Field and Sky: an Artistic Journey Through the British Landscape

In a landmark documentary for BBC Four, Dr James Fox travels around Britain to explore our creative relationship with the natural world. From prehistoric earthworks and landscaped gardens to extraordinary land art by artists such as David Nash, James Turrell and Andy Goldsworthy, the film will offer a lyrical portrait of our island landscape, shaped and re-imagined through centuries of human interaction. 

As part of the film, BBC Four will also partner with acclaimed artist Katie Paterson on an ambitious new public art work, Hollow, built from 10,000 different species of wood, which members of the public will help discover and will form a permanent installation at the University of Bristol's Royal Fort Gardens. Part of BBC Get Creative.

Jonathan Meades: Ben Building

The inimitable Jonathan Meades presents the last part of his trilogy of films on the architecture of modern dictators. After Jerry-Building: Unholy Relics of Nazi Germany and Joe-Building: The Stalin Heritage Trail comes a 90-minute journey through the bizarre and (it has to be said) often brilliant architecture of Mussolini’s Italy, with its vision of a new kind of human – half man, half machine – and its unsettling cult of death.

Unlike his equally murderous contemporaries, Mussolini did not insist on a single totalitarian style. Under his rule, Italy saw progressive urban planning such as the extraordinary new towns south of Rome, suffused with the spirit of de Chirico, the exuberant Fiat factory in Turin, the famous modernist Casio del Fascio in Como, the Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR) in Rome, built as the spectacular site for an exhibition that never happened, now a functioning complex of offices and apartments – as well as the more familiar, but still awe-inspiring  patriotic style of the vast monuments to the First World War dead at Monte Grappa and Redipuglia.

To this exploration of a strikingly unfamiliar world almost on our doorstep, Meades brings the characteristic acerbic humour, deep learning, and provocative wit that prompted The Independent to call him “One of the few really independent stylists we have left on television.”

UK’s Best Part-time Band

BBC Four launches an exciting nationwide search for the country’s best non-professional bands – whether they play rock, ska, pop, skiffle, country, soul, bluegrass, reggae, lounge, folk or jazz – this series celebrates the passion of amateur music-makers across the country.

In this new series from Wall to Wall Media (The Voice UK, Who Do You Think You Are?, Back In Time For Dinner), four respected musicians from much-loved bands will embark on a road trip across the UK to hear talented part-time bands perform.

During each episode, five acts will be selected to compete against each other in a regional heat in a local iconic music venue - each battling for a place in the Grand Final to be broadcast on BBC Two. The winning act will perform at a BBC Music event in 2016.

Arena: American Epic and American Epic Sessions

As BBC Arena approaches its 40th anniversary, it celebrates with one of its most ambitious projects to date. American Epic is a music story with a difference, one that goes back 100 years to where it all started. Long before digital, long before MP3, before tape, before vinyl, a machine was invented, a jewel of the industrial age - The Western Electric lathe. That was the machine that captured the music of America for the very first time; it was the first time America heard itself.

The American Epic trilogy tells the story of how this music was forged and captured by record company scouts in the 1920s who toured the breadth of the American hinterland to record the many styles from many regions – blues and country, western and Hawaiian, Cajun, gospel  and salsa. Through previously unseen film footage, unpublished photographs and exclusive interviews with some of the last living witnesses to that era, American Epic reveals how these recordings sparked a cultural and musical revolution that forms the basis of the music of today.

In the heart of Hollywood, in a perfect recreation of the atmosphere and conditions of America’s first ever recording studios, today’s music stars perform in American Epic: The Sessions. Elton John, Willie Nelson, Alabama Shakes, Merle Haggard, Ana Gabriel, Jack White, Nas, Beck, Los Lobos and Steve Martin are among the artists who test their skills against the demands of the recording machine that first captured American music. The Western Electric lathe is as much the star as the stars who queued up to record on it. Driven by a weight and pulley that allows for only three minutes and, once started, the recording cannot be stopped. As each artist records their track straight to wax, we witness them relive the experience of their musical idols.

Nicola and Wynton: Birth of a Violin Concerto

A one-off documentary for BBC Four, Nicola and Wynton: Birth of a Violin Concerto explores a unique musical collaboration between American jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti. 

The film follows the two musicians as they embark on a journey that culminates in the creation and performance of a violin concerto written by Marsalis especially for Benedetti. The composition, which draws inspiration from the violin concerto's first formation in the Baroque era, to the 21st century and African American spiritual music, explores Nicola and Wynton's own musical heritage in Scottish folk and American jazz music respectively. The film will follow Wynton and Nicola during the process of composition, rehearsals and performance, from the pair batting ideas and drafts back and forth across the Atlantic to rehearsals together in the UK and US and the world premiere of the violin concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican on 6 November 2015.

Nicola and Wynton: Birth of a Violin Concerto was commissioned by Jan Younghusband, BBC Head of Commissioning for Music. It is produced and directed by Chris Eley and executive produced by Neil Crombie and Joe Evans for Swan Films.

BBC Four – Surprise and innovation

The Sleigh Ride

Following the success of BBC Four’s Slow week in May, the channel returns with a very special Slow Christmas treat.

There is no engine noise. All you can hear is the crunching of snow and the soft tinkle of a reindeer bell. This winter, BBC Four takes a silent and majestic journey on a reindeer sleigh ride through Lapland’s frozen wilderness and experiences an ancient part of the indigenous Sami culture.

In a TV first, BBC Four will rig a traditional reindeer sleigh with a fixed camera to capture the unique point of view of a Sami reindeer herder travelling across the terrain in real time.

Deliberately unhurried and unrushed, the rhythmic pace of the reindeer will guide us along an epic two-hour journey that takes in the awe-inspiring beauty of a white wonderland – not normally glimpsed by anyone other than the Sami people.  The changing Arctic scenery will cover undulating snowy hills, silver birch forests, frozen rivers and traditional villages. And if we’re fortunate enough, maybe we’ll spot the occasional wild moose or reindeer herd roaming across the landscape.

With no commentary, music or presenter, The Sleigh Ride (1x120) will be a unique and enchanting television experience to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

BBC Four – Supporting innovative new comedy

Brian Pern: 45 Years in Prog and Roll and Brian Pern: A Life In Rock Online Specials

Brian Pern (Simon Day) is returning to BBC Four for a third series of Brian Pern: 45 Years in Prog and Roll this autumn with guest stars confirmed as Christopher Eccleston, Chas and Dave, Suranne Jones, Rick Wakeman, John Thomson, Simon Callow, Denis Lawson and Jane Asher.

To accompany the new series, BBC Four has also commissioned a series of 10-minute online specials. The episodes will include Brian’s ‘Life of Psychedelic Rock,’ ‘Life of Cover Versions’ and the ‘Life of Indie Music.’  Naturally, Brian claims credit for most musical movements over the last 45 years. 

In addition, Brian is becoming BBC Four’s Friday Night Music Critic as he launches his own twitter feed. Brian will be producing regular short video blogs from his own studio about topical music items for the channel, alongside some ‘what’s on Brian’s mind this week’ stuff. 

Brian Pern: 45 Years in Prog and Roll is 3x30. Produced and directed by Rhys Thomas and starring Simon Day as Pern, Paul Whitehouse as Thotch guitarist Pat Quid, Michael Kitchen as Brian’s manager, John Farrow, and Nigel Havers as Thotch keyboard player Tony Pebblé. It is co-written by Simon Day and Rhys Thomas.

BBC Four – Factual with depth and insight

Colour: the Spectrum of Science

The world is ablaze with colour. In the otherwise dowdy solar system, Earth stands out from the blackness of space as a multi-coloured jewel. But how did a drab grey rock become filled with colour?  How did colour help life colonise the planet, and what secrets can we learn from the colours that we can’t see?

In this 3x60 series for BBC Four, Dr Helen Czerski (pictured) embarks on a fascinating journey to unlock the secrets of colour, and reveal the 15 colours that tell the story of the Earth, life and scientific discovery.

She explores the chemistry of colours that tell us the story of how our planet came into existence. She investigates their biology, to understand how nature has evolved to use the power of specific colours. And she delves into the physics of colour to discover how our future will be shaped by the colours the human eye can’t see.

She visits Big Bear Observatory, the largest solar telescope in the world, to probe the source of all light and how it creates every colour we perceive. She goes panning for gold in America, to discover how this most precious of colours reveals one of the most violent events that shaped our planet. And she ventures deep underground to seek out how red ochre - a pigment that has been used by humans since the dawn of time - can reveal how the young Earth transformed from a hostile planet to a living world. 

Thank You For Being A Lovely Audience

Legendary comedian Frank Skinner and respected broadcaster Suzy Klein join forces to reveal how the origins of today’s TV light entertainment can be traced back to the heyday of live popular entertainment – the 1840s to the 1960s. Exploring the greatest characters in show biz and putting their very acts to the test, Frank and Suzy reveal how an entertainment tradition that began with the founding of the first Musical Halls in the middle of the 19th century survived the impact of two world wars, the coming of new media such as cinema and radio, and the spread of various foreign influences to leave a permanent mark on British society. And it proves that we are - at heart - a nation that loves to be entertained and to have a "jolly good old laugh".

BBC Four – The home of international drama

BBC Four brings viewers an autumn of gripping Scandinavian drama with the return of the hugely popular The Bridge (the final episode of the last series was enjoyed by over 1.5m viewers) and Arne Dahl, as well as the launch of new crime thriller Beck.

Beck

Based on the characters of the hugely popular Martin Beck detective series of novels by Swedish husband-and-wife writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Beck sees the much-loved detective brought to life on the small screen. Following the fortunes of enigmatic and extremely methodical detective Martin Beck and his partner, the irascible, impulsive Gunvald Larsson, Beck is arguably the originator of what has become known as Scandinavian crime: the good-cop, bad-cop partnership which went on to form the modern crime-fighting blueprint.

The brand-new feature-length films see detective Martin Beck investigating the shocking death of a young woman found strangled in a hotel room, a gangster kingpin executed by a sniper in front of his family, a terrorist attack and a suspicious hospital death which sourly turns out to be premeditated murder. It’s an intricate web of characters and lies. Think again. The killer is never who you expect it to be.

Starring Peter Haber (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) as Beck and Mikael Persbrandt (The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug) as Larsson, the drama’s combination of complex woven details of police detection and beautifully realised characters combined with twisting, masterful storylines has ensured that the award-winning series won fans and acclaim from around the world.

The Bridge

When Helle Anker, the founder of the first gender-neutral kindergarten in Copenhagen and a high-profile debater on gender issues, is found murdered in Sweden, the Danish and Swedish police are compelled to join forces once more for a third series of The Bridge. The brutal killing turns out to be only the first in a series of gruesome crimes, strung together in a case which involves Saga Norén of the Malmo Police personally and which will change her forever. A powerful, intriguing and unpredictable tale of crime, played out by fascinating and complex characters, the new season will revolve around the concept and structures of family – new, old, deviant, classical, constructive and destructive. At its heart, The Bridge carries a central theme of personal responsibility and its consequences. 

Arne Dahl

The Swedish crime drama returns with five new stories. The A Unit has been disbanded for the past two years. When a wave of brutal murders hits Polish nurses in Sweden, the National Police see their chance to reinstate the The A Unit, and Kerstin Holm, previously a member of the team, is assigned to lead them.

We meet a chastened team of individuals who have allowed the all-consuming nature of their police work to eat away at their private lives. Demands and expectations have never been higher and a cold wind blows through the corridors at the National Police headquarters. Can Kerstin get the unit to deliver, or is this new effort a misguided attempt by a paranoid police force in a time of increasingly unusual and refined criminal activity?

It is produced by Filmlance International AB in co-production with Sveriges Television and ZDF Germany, written by Erik Ahrnbom, Linn Gottfridsson, Peter Emanuel Falck and Fredrik Agetoft, adapted from the novels by Arne Dahl.

New international documentaries from Storyville

Storyville returns with a strong autumn/ winter season of new films:

Chancers

Directed by Ben Lewis

This is a film about the trials and tribulations of enthusiastic young wannabe British filmmakers.  They get involved in tax scheme funding of their films, and find themselves making films in order to prove to the tax authorities that they aren’t scamming. 

Ben Lewis has made a contemporary comedy of manners in the cinema world, based on the films themselves and the location filming that took place. In the end evidence that they were filmmakers and not just fraudsters didn’t satisfy the tax authorities and they went to jail.  But the film takes an understanding view of what they did.  Were they really guilty or were they just as a contemporary expression goes, 'Chancers'?

Orion – The Man Who Would Be King

Directed by Jeanie Finlay

As a teenager in 1960s Alabama, Jimmy Ellis's wonderful singing voice was unlike any other. Except, that is, for one Elvis Presley. Hampered by his over-resemblance to the King, Jimmy’s own singing career floundered. Then, in 1979 he found fame as a masked singer called 'Orion', a persona deliberately evolved to create intrigue in the wake of Presley’s death. Over the next years he played to legions of grieving Elvis fans, and developed his own fanatical fan base, many of whom remained in wilful denial about the true identity of their idol. With his contract stipulating he never remove his mask in public, Ellis’s success came at a high price for the singer still hoping to succeed on his own terms. Jeanie Finlay’s nuanced portrait of Ellis serves as a riveting cautionary tale of the music industry, and a memorable exploration of identity.

The Show of Shows: 100 Years of Vaudeville, Circuses and Carnivals

Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson

In recent years, Storyville has shown music films which highlight remarkable archive material in conjunction with contemporary music. The Icelandic band Sigur Rós partner with Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson in a historic depiction of circuses, freak shows, variety performances, musical and sea-side entertainment. This is an astonishing lost world, both seedy and spectacular.

Notes to Editors

All titles are working titles.

UK’s Best Part-time Band was commissioned by Jan Younghusband, Head of Commissioning, Music. The Executive Producer is Mark Saben, Wall to Wall Media.

Live from Television Centre isa collaboration for the BBC’s On Stage Season with the Battersea Arts Centre and Arts Council England. 1x120. It was commissioned by Mark Bell, Head of Commissioning, Arts and is being executive produced by Peter Maniura.

Knights and Dames is 2x60 and is being executive produced by Michael Poole.

Forest, Field And Sky: An Artistic Journey Through the British Landscape 1x90 was commissioned by Mark Bell. The BBC executive producer is Richard Bright.

Arena: American Epic Executive producers: Jack White, Robert Redford and T Bone Burnett. Executive producer for BBC Arena: Anthony Wall. Executive producer for WNET: Julie Anderson. Executive in charge for Thirteen: Stephen Segaller.

Jonathan Meades: Ben Building, 1x90 was commissioned by Mark Bell and is being executive produced by Julian Birkett.

Birth of a Concerto was commissioned by Jan Younghusband, BBC Head of Commissioning for Music. It is produced and directed by Chris Eley and executive produced by Neil Crombie and Joe Evans for Swan Films.

Colour: the Spectrum of Science The Executive producer is Jacqueline Smith and commissioning executive is Martin Davidson.

The Sleigh Ride is a 1x120 production. The BBC executive producer is Clare Paterson and Magnus Temple is the executive producer for the Garden Productions.

Brian Pern: 45 Years in Prog and Roll is 3x30 series made by BBC In-house comedy and has been commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller of Commissioning, Comedy. Richard Webb is executive producer. The online specials are executive produced for BBC Four by Richard Webb.

Thank You For Being A Lovely Audience is being produced by Claire Whalley at What Larks Productions. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Greg Sanderson

Storyville - the editor is Nick Fraser

Related Media Centre Links

• BBC unveils star-studded line-up for Edinburgh Festivals
• BBC announces return to Television Centre for live theatre broadcast
• BBC Four launches search for UK's best part-time band

Related BBC Links

• BBC Get Creative