BBC Renews ‘Noughts + Crosses’; Lionsgate & Eleven Team For Arlo Series; Endeavor Boards ‘The Congregation’ – Global Briefs

‘Noughts + Crosses’ Renewed For Season 2 By BBC
The BBC has renewed Mammoth Screen drama Noughts + Crosses for a second season, revisiting the alternate world of Malorie Blackman’s bestselling novels. Jack Rowan and Masali Baduza return as Callum and Sephy, now desperately attempting to flee Albion in search of a new life together. Paterson Joseph, Helen Baxendale, Bonnie Mbuli, Jonathan Ajayi, Josh Dylan, and Kiké Brimah all reprise their roles, while new cast includes Jasmine Jobson (Top Boy) and Robert Hands (Endeavour). The four-part second season will be written by Lydia Adetunji and Jerome Bucchan-Nelson, directed by Koby Adom, and produced by Sarah Lewis. Executive producers are Preethi Mavahalli, Damien Timmer, and James Gandhi for Mammoth Screen, Ben Irving for BBC One, Blackman, Lydia Adetunji, and Kibwe Tavares. The show will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios. U.S. streamer Peacock picked up the first season of Noughts + Crosses.

Lionsgate & Eleven Team For Arlo Series
Lionsgate Studio and Sony-backed Sex Education producer Eleven Film are teaming with UK recording artist Arlo to develop a TV series that will follow a young man in East London dealing with the complex relationship between his working-class background and success in the music industry. Arlo is set to star in the series, which will be created alongside writer and director Aki Omoshaybi, whose debut feature REAL premieres at the BFI London Film Festival. “Arlo and Aki are prodigiously talented, insightful people as well as being beautifully in tune when it comes to the story they want to tell together,” said Eleven co-founder and creative director Joel Wilson. “It has been a real privilege to sit with them and watch this series begin to come to life.” Arlo is repped by CAA.

Endeavor Boards Swedish Series ‘The Congregation’
Endeavor Content has acquired international rights to The Congregation, which explores the notorious Swedish cult murder in Knutby that shook the nation in 2004. The six-episode Swedish-language series will be adapted from Jonas Bonnier’s novel Knutby: The Day of the Lord and will be helmed by Goran Kapetanović. Alba August and Aliette Opheim star. The series is developed by TV4, C More and B-Reel and the first episodes are scheduled to shoot this summer in Sweden.