Jay Z’s Roc Nation and Participant Media are to board upcoming BBC One drama, Noughts & Crosses (6 x 1 hour) from Producer Mammoth Screen, as Executive Producer.
Roc nation will curate and release the soundtrack to the story based on the multi-award winning novel series by Malorie Blackman. Participant Media will also Executive Produce.
Noughts & Crosses is written for television by Showrunner Toby Whithouse (Being Human, Doctor Who) who also serves as Executive Producer, with Lydia Adetunji (Riviera), Nathaniel Price (Tin Star) and Rachel De-Lahay (Kiri). The series is directed by Julian Holmes and produced by Johann Knobel (Shameless). Executive Producers are Kibwe Tavares (Jonah), Patrick Reardon for Roc Nation; Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite; Mammoth Screen’s Preethi Mavahalli and Damien Timmer; and Ben Irving for BBC One. The series currently is in pre-production with casting underway and will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.
Noughts & Crosses follows two young people, Sephy and Callum, who are divided by their colour but united by forbidden love and burning injustice. Sephy is a ‘Cross,’ a member of the black ruling class and daughter of a prominent politician. Callum is a ‘Nought,’ a white member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood but their relationship grows ever more complicated as they come of age. It’s the story of two families separated by power and prejudice but forever entwined by fate.
The adaptation is based on the first book in the Noughts & Crosses series for young adults, which has won the Red House Children’s Book Award and the Fantastic Fiction Award among other accolades. The author, Malorie Blackman OBE, was the Children’s Laureate from 2013 to 2015.
Staff Reporter
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