Killing Eve was a hit for the BBC (Image: BBC)
The is gearing up to launch Dope Girls, a gritty new costume drama that’s set to take over the coveted Saturday night slot previously occupied by hits like and Taboo. With a hefty £20million budget, the BBC1 series is already being hailed as the “spiritual successor” to .
The show plunges into the lives of women struggling to make ends meet in post- London, as they seize control of the illicit club scene in Soho. Packed with sex, drugs, and violence, Dope Girls is not for the faint-hearted, according to .
Jane Tranter of Bad Wolf Productions couldn’t hide her enthusiasm about the prime-time placement, telling the publication: “It’s a great slot.
“I think Dope Girls has a bit of Killing Eve and a bit of Taboo in it, there is great narrative but it’s a bit different – and it’s highly bingeable. You get to the end of the episode, they’ve got great hooks – you want to know what’s going to happen next.”
Aimed at drawing in a younger audience, the six-part series will feature an engaging soundtrack and dynamic on-screen graphics to elevate the storytelling experience.
Dope Girls is coming to BBC1 (Image: BBC/Bad Wolf/Sony Pictures Television/Kevin Baker)
“We will love the audience that turns up for it no matter who they are,” Tranter remarked.
Killing Eve, which starred Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, was a runaway success for the , debuting on a Saturday night in 2018 and captivating over 8 million viewers.
This followed the triumph of the darkly atmospheric Taboo in 2017, penned by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight and featuring Tom Hardy, which also garnered acclaim on BBC1 and iPlayer.
The upcoming series, which will soon premiere on BBC1, explores the beginnings of Britain’s drug underworld, taking cues from Marek Kohn’s 1992 book Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground.
Dope Girls could be the ‘new Killing Eve’ (Image: BBC/Bad Wolf/Sony Pictures Television/Kevin Baker)
Starring Julianne Nicholson, known for her roles in Ally McBeal and Mare of Easttown, as the lead character Kate, the story unfolds in 1918, post-World War I.
Kate, a recently widowed and financially strained woman, relocates from the countryside to London with her teenage daughter Evie, played by Eilidh Fisher.
In the city, Kate reunites with her estranged older daughter Billie, portrayed by Umi Myers, a nightclub performer, prompting Kate to vow to do whatever necessary to create a new life for them.
Dope Girls has been dubbed a ‘successor to Peaky Blinders’ (Image: BBC)
Drawing inspiration from the real-life stories of Kate Mayrick and Billie Carleton, who were Soho nightclub owners over a century ago, the show takes an unexpectedly dark turn in the second episode, where Kate uses her village butchery skills to chop up a murdered gangland figure.
Sources claim the show exudes “energy and excitement” likely to attract a younger audience, and it also stars Geraldine James, remembered from The Jewel in the Crown, as Italian matriarch Isabella Salucci.
Dope Girls will air in early 2025 on BBC1 and iPlayer.