Patrick Holland, Controller BBC Two has announced a major history series about the British Empire, new comedies from Sara Pascoe, Limmy and Sophie Willan, a documentary series with unprecedented access to parole board panels, a brand new jewellery competition format and Impeachment: American Crime Story, the third instalment of the award-winning franchise.

Speaking at Edinburgh TV Festival, Holland announced that the FX produced series Impeachment: American Crime Story would be coming to BBC Two. The series, written by Sarah Burgess, unravels the national scandal that swept up Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp as principal characters in the country’s first impeachment proceedings in over a century. It features a stellar cast starring Emmy and Golden Globe award-winner Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky, and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones.

New factual titles announced for BBC Two include a four-part landmark history series, The Forgotten Empire. Presented by David Olusoga, the historian seeks to unearth a more definitive account of Britain’s place in the world, looking beyond the Victorian clichés to reveal new aspects of the imperial story and encounter forgotten communities across the globe with which we have a shared history.

Filmed over a year with parole board panels from across Britain, Inside The Parole Board is a four-part series which follows the complex and emotionally-fraught decision-making process that determines which criminals are safe to walk free - and which will remain behind bars.

All That Glitters is a brand new talent search to find Britain’s most brilliant jeweller. Working with are some of the most valuable objects on earth: gold, silver, diamonds and sapphires, each week, the jewelers will be set challenges that explore different styles and aesthetics and battle it out to make real clients’ dreams come true, transforming emotion into objects of beauty that last forever.

Award winning comedian Sara Pascoe has a new six-part comedy about family, relationships and biology. The title, which is still to be announced, is a subverted take on the traditional sitcom format and combines eccentric characters, surreal moments and factual insight.

Alma’s Not Normal is a 30-minute New on Two comedy pilot for BBC Two made by Expectation written by and starring Sophie Willan, who won the BBC’s inaugural Caroline Aherne Bursary Award in 2018.

Set in her home town of Bolton, Sophie draws on her own unusual life experiences for Alma's Not Normal, offering a truly authentic comic voice to the pilot. It follows Boltonian wild-child, Alma Nuthall and her family of eccentric, unruly women.

Also coming to BBC Two is a joint commission with BBC Scotland. Limmy's Homemade Show takes DIY comedy to a new level. A cast of one, Brian 'Limmy' Limond is one of the most distinctive comic voices to come out of Scotland and, in his sketches, he finds himself playing multiple parts, all the while mounting the camera on a tripod to capture his unique comedy musings. Mixing sketch, song, rant, animation and visual effects, Limmy continues to comment on contemporary life in his own anarchic style.

Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two says: “There has never been a better time to be a TV viewer, and in a world of endless choice, the BBC Two brand guarantees the most challenging content, embracing the complexities of the changing world, alive with the most eclectic and creative voices.

"These new commissions speak to these values, with David Olusoga re-evaluating the dominant narratives of the British Empire, Sara Pascoe exploring the demands and contradictions of women’s lives in her first scripted comedy series and The Parole Board building on the success of series like Forensics and Hospital making BBC Two the home of documentary in the UK.

"With the skill, craft and passion of our new jewellery competition All that Glitters, the brilliant new talent Sophie Willan landing her first show based on struggles as a young adult in Bolton, and the UK premiere of the globally - anticipated Impeachment; An American Crime Story, the channel is buzzing with the most exciting formats, the best story-tellers and the most essential stories.”

Impeachment: American Crime Story

FX’s award-winning and critically acclaimed hit limited series franchise American Crime Story will return next year with its third installment, Impeachment: American Crime Story and will be shown on BBC Two.

Written by Sarah Burgess, Impeachment: American Crime Story unravels the national scandal that swept up Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp as principal characters in the country’s first impeachment proceedings in over a century.

Impeachment: American Crime Story features a stellar cast starring Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky, and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones.

The third installment will be written by Sarah Burgess who is also Executive Producer alongside Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander. Alexis Martin Woodall and Sarah Paulson. Monica Lewinsky will serve as a Producer. Henrietta Conrad and Jemima Kahn will also serve as producers. The limited series is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s bestselling book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story Of The Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down A President.

American Crime Story is one of television’s most acclaimed and award-winning limited series franchises. The first installment of ACS, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, received 22 Emmy award nominations and it won nine Emmys. It also won the Golden Globe, Bafta, AFI, PGA, WGA awards and it won the TCA awards for 2016 Program of the Year. The second installment, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story was nominated for 19 Emmy awards and won seven including Outstanding Limited Series. Versace also won the Golden Globe award for Best Limited Series, and AFI, TCA and PGA awards.

The Forgotten Empire
A new landmark series presented by historian David Olusoga.

It was under Queen Elizabeth I that Tudor England took the first steps towards building what was to become the British Empire. It was under Elizabeth II, four centuries later, that the last British colonies were granted independence.

The British Empire is the biggest story in our national history; the story of how a small island created the biggest empire the world has ever seen. Yet today much of that history remains forgotten. In The Forgotten Empire, Historian David Olusoga embarks on a visually rich journey to unearth a more definitive account of Britain’s place in the world, looking beyond the Victorian clichés to reveal new aspects of the imperial story and encounter forgotten communities across the globe with whom we have a shared history.

In Panama he meets the Congos people whose ancestors fought side-by-side with Sir Francis Drake during raids on the ‘Spanish Main’. In India he meets the descendants of the Chinese tea experts who were smuggled out of China in the 19th Century to grow tea for Britain in the mountains of the Himalayas.

Uncovering new stories David travels to Guyana to reveal the forgotten labour system the British invented to replace slavery and in Uruguay he discovers how Britain’s economic power became so extensive that even nations that were never formally part of the empire were drawn into the ‘informal’ British Empire - an empire of money and investments run from the City of London rather than Westminster.

The Forgotten Empire (4x60') was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History & Specialist Factual. It is being made by Uplands where the Executive Producer is Mike Smith and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Simon Young.

Inside The Parole Board

This new four-part series will follow the complex and emotionally-fraught decision-making process that determines which criminals are safe to walk free - and which will remain behind bars.

Dealing with 25,000 cases a year, the parole board performs a vital role within the criminal justice system, examining detailed evidence to assess prisoners’ ongoing risk level to the public. But following a year of fundamental change, the parole board has agreed to open its doors to cameras and reveal what really goes on inside this rarely-seen and fascinating world.

Filmed over a year with parole board panels from across Britain, the series will follow complex cases of serious crime, shining a light on the level of expertise and scrutiny that informs every single decision made. The series will include voices of the people whose lives are most deeply affected by parole decisions; prisoners whose future hangs in the balance; and victims who want to see justice served. This series will tackle the fundamental questions underlying the British justice system, around crime, punishment, reform, repentance and morality.

Inside The Parole Board was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two and Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. It is produced by Raw Television where the Executive Producers are Tim Wardle and Liesel Evans and the Series Producer is Alice Mayhall. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Emma Loach.

All That Glitters

All That Glitters is a brand new talent search to find Britain’s most brilliant jeweller.

Unfolding inside a specially built workshop, this six-part contest is built on the extraordinary skills of eight talented jewellers from all walks of life.

The materials they are working with are some of the most valuable objects on earth: gold, silver, diamonds and sapphires. And they will be doing so in the real world, as their workshop is nestled in the heart of Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter, home to the highest concentration of jewellery businesses in Europe and some of the UK’s best diamond cutters, gold bullion dealers and gemmology labs.

Each week, the jewellers battle it out to make real clients’ dreams come true, transforming emotion into objects of beauty that last forever. The challenges will explore the wildly different styles and aesthetics that can be found across different types of jewellery and some will even be inspired by the world’s most famous and coveted pieces. Every episode is bursting with science, history, and culture: from molecular structures to ancient Egyptians to red carpet styles.

Eight jewellers will enter the workshop… but only one can prove they are a cut above the rest and claim the All That Glitters crown.

All That Glitters is a 6x60’ series for BBC Two, created and developed by Emma Willis and Naomi Benson and which will be made by Twenty Twenty. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Jack Bootle. It will be Executive Produced by Amanda Westwood.

BBC Two has commissioned a brand new six-part comedy from Sara Pascoe (Sara Pascoe Live: LadsLadsLads, Travelling Blind, W1A) about family, relationships and biology. The award-winning comedian subverts the traditional sitcom format by combining her eccentric characters, surreal moments and factual insight.

Sara Pascoe doesn’t know why everyone else in the world is pairing up and having babies and sets out on a mission to understand them. She tries to prove that romantic love is mere chemicals and conditioning and doesn’t deserve our respect.

This conflicts a little with preparations for her sister’s wedding, and her best friend’s first pregnancy.

The show is a full-hearted, full-brained approach to narrative comedy with characters that are full of life (apart from one ghost).

Sara Pascoe says: “I'm obsessed with family dynamics, sex, hope and the reasons underlying why humans behave as we do. My new series gives me a chance to explore all of these things in a funny, silly way, buoyed up by the research I've done for my two books."

Simon Pegg, Stolen Picture Co-Founder, says: “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Sara at Stolen Picture. She is without doubt, one of the sharpest minds and the funniest voices working in comedy today.”

Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy, says: “Sara’s eclectic comic mind and unconventional approach to story-telling combine to deliver a truly inventive show.”

The series (title to be announced) is a natural progression from Sara’s BBC Comedy Short film for BBC iPlayer and BBC Two - Sara Pascoe vs Monogamy - which she began with the bold statement that she "doesn’t think human beings are meant to be monogamous" and descended into bad sex, Victorians and sperm wars.

This sitcom (6x30’) is a Stolen Picture and Sara Pascoe co-production for BBC Two. It has been commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two, and Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy, and will be Executive Produced by Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Miles Ketley for Stolen Picture and Sara Pascoe. Catherine Gosling Fuller will produce and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Kate Daughton.

The series will be distributed by Sony Pictures Television

Alma’s Not Normal

Alma’s Not Normal is a 30-minute New on Two comedy pilot for BBC Two made by Expectation written by and starring Sophie Willan, who won the BBC’s inaugural Caroline Aherne Bursary Award in 2018.

Set in her home town of Bolton, Sophie draws on her own unusual life experiences for Alma's Not Normal, offering a truly authentic comic voice to the pilot. It follows Boltonian wild-child, Alma Nuthall and her family of eccentric, unruly women.

With no qualifications and a rebellious streak a mile wide, Alma decides to become an escort to support her dreams of becoming a star and leaving Bolton. Meanwhile, Alma’s mother Lin battles with both her addiction to heroin and her troubled relationship with her own mother Joan with the same chaotic fervour. Having only just discovered feminism and sexual liberation, Alma’s vampish Grandma Joan, must contend with her daughter suddenly moving in with her.

Alma’s Not Normal offers a bitingly funny and unflinching take on class, sexuality, mental health and substance abuse. It celebrates women dealing with the hand they were dealt while doggedly pursing their dreams. It explores the darker side of life but with genuine warmth and laugh out loud result

Alma’s Not Normal is an Expectation production for BBC Two. The Executive Producer for Expectation is Nerys Evans and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Kate Daughton.

About the Caroline Aherne Bursary

The Caroline Aherne Bursary is an initiative set up by BBC Comedy Commissioning in partnership with BBC Writersroom and BBC North. Aimed at writer/performers, the bursary awards £5000 to the successful applicant to enable them to fund future development, alongside the guidance of an experienced BBC commissioning editor.

Limmy’s Homemade Show

Limmy's Homemade Show takes DIY comedy to a new level. A cast of one, Limmy finds himself playing multiple parts in his sketches, all the while mounting the camera on a tripod to capture his unique comedy musings. Mixing sketch, song, rant, animation and visual effects, Limmy continues to comment on contemporary life in his own anarchic style.

Brian 'Limmy' Limond is one of the most distinctive comic voices to come out of Scotland. What started as an internet sensation became talked about comedy TV as Limmy burst on to the BBC with three hit series of Limmy’s Show for BBC Scotland. In 2018 Limmy returned to the BBC with more of his irreverence… but this time stripped of all the bells and whistles. Limmy took hold of his HD camera and wrote, directed, edited and starred in a pilot of his Homemade Show that’s now been picked up for series by BBC Two and BBC Scotland.

Limmy, who has just finished a run at the Fringe in Edinburgh, says: "I've been asked at my shows and on my streams if I've got any telly stuff coming up. I've had to lie through my teeth and say that I don't know, so I'm delighted to finally become an honest man. I can't wait to make Limmy's Homemade Show, and I hope everybody likes it as much as I'll enjoy putting it together."

Limmy’s Homemade Show is a 3x30' series that will shoot this autumn and premiere on BBC Scotland in the new year with the BBC Two transmission following shortly after.

The show will be Executive Produced by Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland and Gregor Sharp for BBC Two.