Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: blakes 7

Blake's 7 Reboot in Development from Director Peter Hoar, Multitude

Blake's 7 is getting a series reboot from the new genre-driven company Multitude Productions, headed by Doctor Who director Peter Hoar.

Emmy-nominated director Peter Hoar has launched a new genre-based company, Multitude Productions, and is working on a reboot of cult British sci-fi classic Blake's 7. Hoar's partners are A Good Girl's Guide To Murder producer Matthew Bouch and West End producer Jason Haigh-Ellery, one of the founding members of audio drama company Big Finish, which produces audio dramas of Doctor Who, Blake's 7, and many other genre series.

Hoar, who directed the critically-acclaimed "Long, Long Time" episode of HBO's The Last of Us, as well as several episodes of Doctor Who, including two in the previous season of the Disney+ era, plans to direct the Blake's 7 reboot, which will be pitched to buyers soon, including networks and streamers. Bouch would "love it to go to the BBC" and will likely seek co-production funding from American streamers and European players such as RTL.

Blake's 7 followed the exploits of political dissident Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas), who leads a small group of rebels against the totalitarian Terran Federation, which rules Earth and many colonized planets. There have been several reboot attempts down the decades, but none have caught fire. Multitude struck a deal with Terry Nation's estate, and casting and writing conversations will commence in due course.

Hoar compared Blake's 7 to the Disney+ hit Andor, which he thinks is a success not because of its $25 million per episode budget but "because of the integrity, wit, and sophistication." What Blake's 7 shares with Andor is its angry and adult anti-fascist message featuring a flawed band of rebels fighting a corrupt, totalitarian regime.

Blake's 7 is Part of Multitude's Planned Slate of British Genre-Based Productions

"We're driven by our passions but also seeing that there is a gap in the market in the UK," said Matthew Bouch. "Particularly with the well-publicized dropping off of Doctor Who – for genre-based British IP. We look back at when we were young with a degree of nostalgia but also thinking about the 70s and 80s as we were growing up and the amount of genre material that was available, whether it was Blake's 7 or the Narnia adaptation. We are looking to the international market and seeing if there is a way of dovetailing that British low-budget sensibility with international markets. We know in the U.S. there's a big contraction and we all need to think about finding ways to make things more economical."

Multitude is developing a TV series adaptation of Luke Rhinehart's book The Search for the Dice Man, the sequel to the cult classic Dice Man novel, for which Paramount owns the rights. The company has also optioned Patrick Carman's Skeleton Creek book series, which is being adapted by Phillip Morgan, described as a "British Stranger Things crossed with Skins." The company slate also includes adaptations of a well-known video game and a sci-fi series in development with UK broadcaster ITV. Hoar and Bouch are keen to find new sources of funding. They are developing a version of Japanese novelist Rikako Akiyoshi's The Dark Maidens, which is seeking external funders, along with a crime series, Scammers, made with fraudster-turned-content-maker Tony Sales and his company Underworld.

Multitude's production slate is similar to Bad Wolf's as it pursues multiple international funding partners. However, Bad Wolf hasn't produced a fantasy or Science Fiction show for years other than Doctor Who, moving increasingly into prestige drama. Multitude is planting its flag firmly in genre drama, and while Blake's 7 is the most renowned title in their slate, its prominence is a statement of intent.

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