BBC’s Chief Content Officer, Charlotte Moore, has announced the return of four top-rated BBC dramas from the past year – The Tourist, The Responder, Vigil, and Time.
The Tourist is the highest-rating drama of 2022 so far, having launched with 12 million viewers, and all six episodes were the most-watched episodes on BBC iPlayer in January this year. The Tourist will return again for a second season.
The second biggest new drama of 2022 so far was The Responder, launching with nearly 10 million viewers across 30 days. The Responder will return for a second season and will once again be set and filmed in Liverpool.
In 2021, Vigil was the UK’s most-watched new drama launch in three years (since Bodyguard in 2018), attracting an audience of over 13 million viewers across 30 days for episode one, and the series overall had an average of 12.6 million viewers (30 days). Vigil will return for a second season and will be set and filmed in Scotland again.
Time, filmed in Liverpool, was both a critical and ratings hit in the UK and one of 2021’s highest-performing new dramas, with nearly 12 million viewers over 30 days for the series overall. The second season will welcome a new cast and be set in an all-female prison.
Charlotte Moore commented: “The BBC is on fire creatively, and the return of four of our biggest dramas over the last year demonstrates the sheer scale and range of storytelling on the BBC.”
The Tourist Season 2 (6×60’) is a Two Brothers Pictures production written by BAFTA-nominated and Emmy-winning producers and screenwriters Harry and Jack Williams (Baptiste, The Missing, Liar).
They executive produce alongside Christopher Aird for Two Brothers Pictures (an all3media company) and Tommy Bulfin for BBC One and iPlayer.
The Responder Season 2 (5×60’) is written by ex-police officer Tony Schumacher and produced by Dancing Ledge Productions for BBC One and iPlayer. Laurence Bowen and Chris Carey are executive producers for Dancing Ledge Productions and Mona Qureshi for BBC.
Dancing Ledge Productions works internationally with Fremantle, which has a minority stake in the company and is handling global distribution for the drama series.
Vigil Season 2 (6×60’) was written and created by Tom Edge and made by World Productions (Showtrial, Line of Duty, Bodyguard) for BBC One and iPlayer.
It is executive produced by Simon Heath and Jake Lushington for World Productions, Gaynor Holmes for BBC, and Tom Edge.
Vigil is supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland. International distribution is handled by ITV Studios.
Time Season 2 (3×60’) is written by Jimmy McGovern and is a BBC Studios production for BBC One and iPlayer.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.