BBC commissions new drama The Young Team adapted from Graeme Armstrong's best-selling novel
The BBC has commissioned six-part drama The Young Team, the scripted debut from one of Scotland's most exciting voices in literature, Graeme Armstrong. The series is adapted from Graeme's best-selling and award-winning debut novel of the same name. Set and filmed in North Lanarkshire, The Young Team is made by BAFTA award-winning indie Synchronicity Films (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Mayflies, The Cry) and will air on BBC iPlayer, BBC Scotland and BBC One.
15-year-old Azzy Williams and his pals roam the streets of Airdrie on a Friday night, bottles of Buckfast in hand and techno playing from tinny speakers. Azzy is ready. Ready to smoke, pop pills, drink wine and fight. He longs to become fully initiated into local gang the Young Team Posse (YTP). But when Azzy, determined to prove himself, makes a bold move, a brutal gang conflict ensues with Azzy very firmly at its heart.
The Young Team will follow Azzy on his journey from boyhood to manhood as he and his mates become postcode warriors in a toxic cycle that threatens to consume them. An unflinching look at the realities of addiction and gang violence, this ambitious series will tell a powerful, visceral story about the realities of life for young, disenfranchised people, and the fight for a different future.
Creator and writer Graeme Armstrong says: 'I have been working on The Young Team project for 12 years. At the beginning, I was only 21 and in the first days of my recovery from a decade of territorial gang violence, substance abuse and addiction. To say it's been a labour of love is an understatement. Alongside creating a respectful representation of Scottish working class life and the trials of growing up amidst a 'young team' gang culture, entrenched for generations, the work on both page and screen has given me the opportunity to reach young people at risk, working in violence prevention to affect change in their lives.
'This has been the privilege of my life but it comes with enormous responsibility, as does our task to capture this unique culture on film. The impact of storytelling like this changed my destiny and ultimately, saved me. The BBC and Synchronicity adaptation will take this legacy to new peaks, creating powerful drama which connects with a current UK audience living under the shadow of rising violence, gangs and blade culture. We understand these profound challenges and are well placed to tell this story through lived experience and a shared commitment to accuracy. The solution lies in the community and that is where this story originated. I cannot wait to get stuck in and see The Young Team brought to life by such a trusted network as the BBC and with the tenacity and absolute passion of my friends and colleagues at Synchronicity Films.'
Claire Mundell, Founder and Creative Direct of Synchronicity Films and executive producer on the series, says: 'Working with Graeme on the adaptation of his staggeringly accomplished debut novel The Young Team is at the heart of what we do at Synchronicity and it's an absolute honour to watch his brilliance as he starts his screenwriting career. Drama can change lives and we hope that the lives we depict in The Young Team, informed at the helm by Graeme's lived experience, will speak to an audience of young people on the margins, caught up in a cycle of intergenerational trauma and recreational violence and who rarely see themselves represented truthfully and without judgement in all their joy, swagger, humour and compassion. There are many more talented unheard young voices out there, just like Graeme, in working class communities and if this series inspires some of them to see creativity and self-expression as a way of reaching their potential that will be the greatest reward of all.'
Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland, says: 'It is exciting for BBC Scotland to continue our working relationship with Graeme Armstrong. Having explored gang culture in documentary form we're thrilled to be adapting Graeme's hit novel and bringing the complex characters to life on screen and showcasing The Young Team gang to viewers around the country. The Young Team has been such a culturally significant novel for Scotland and for the BBC to be the broadcaster bringing this powerful story to television truly is an honour.'
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: 'The Young Team's unflinching and compelling depiction of gang life, inspired by Graeme's personal experiences, has proven hugely popular with readers since its publication five years ago. We feel privileged that for his first TV drama Graeme has chosen to adapt his book for the BBC, working alongside the team at Synchronicity Films, and we can't wait to bring Azzy and co to the screen.'
The Young Team (6 x 60') was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, and Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland. The series is created and written by the novel's author Graeme Armstrong. Executive producers are Claire Mundell for Synchronicity Films, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, and Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland.
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