Sumith Prasad
The filming of BBC’s British series ‘Dope Girls’ is set to begin in October. London, England, serves as the principal location of the series, which is regarded by the network as the “spiritual successor” of the BBC period series and global phenomenon ‘Peaky Blinders.’ Since the show is a British production, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes aren’t expected to affect the filming. The show, based on Marek Kohn’s non-fiction book ‘Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground,’ revolves around the gritty underworld of Soho, London, depicting the birth of the nightclub scene in the region.
As per reports, the series will be a combination of real-life elements, based on Kohn’s book, and fictional characters and storylines, diving deep into the criminal underworld of Soho in the early 20th century. Sources also revealed that the period drama will follow the true story of Kate Meyrick, who built a nightclub empire and established her criminal family in London, partially. Since the source text explores the lives of musical actress Billie Carleton, the baron of Soho’s underworld Brilliant Chang, and Jamaican jazz drummer Edgar Manning in detail, we can expect these real-life figures’ saga to be a part of the show as well.
London is one of the busiest film and television production hubs in the world. In addition to ‘Dope Girls,’ ‘Bad Sisters’ season 2, Naomi Scott and Kit Harrington-starrer ‘Eternal Return,’ ‘A Very British Scandal’ season 2, etc. are some of the productions slated to start filming in the English capital in the upcoming months. The city also serves as a filming location for Rami Malek-starrer ‘The Amateur,’ Michael Keaton-starrer ‘Beetlejuice 2,’ ‘Deadpool 3,’ ‘Gladiator 2,’ ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2, ‘The Sandman’ season 2, ‘Star Wars: Andor’ season 2, etc.
Polly Stenham and Alex Warren penned the series, which will be released in six episodes. Stenham is known for co-writing Nicolas Winding Refn’s Elle Fanning-starrer ‘The Neon Demon’ and Emma Thompson-starrer ‘Playhouse Presents.’ Warren previously wrote ‘Eleanor,’ starring Ruth Wilson. The duo also serves as executive producers. Xiao Tang and Matthew Jacobs Morgan serve as additional writers.
The series is developed at Sony-owned Bad Wolf, the production company behind famed shows such as ‘His Dark Materials,’ ‘A Discovery of Witches,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘I Hate Suzie,’ Russell T. Davies’ reboot of ‘Doctor Who,’ etc. Kate Crowther and Jane Tranter executive produce the series for the company, along with Michael Lesslie (‘Thirteen Lives’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed’). Charlotte Moore and Rebecca Ferguson executive produce for BBC. As of yet, BBC hasn’t announced any additions to the cast of the series, which can be expected in the upcoming months.
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