Category: Press

  • Dead Canny, DAVE – Broadcast

    From Broadcast, 5 September 2022

    https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/behind-the-scenes/dead-canny-dave/5174057.article

    Sarah Balfour staring as Kay.

    TriForce’s Fraser Ayres explains how the initiative which created its comedy pilot sought to platform new and underrepresented talent. Dead Canny, which tells the story of a girl from Consett in the North East whose talent for talking to the dead embroils her in a police investigation, was one of four comedy pilots to grace our screens on UKTV’s Dave last week. All four pilots were written by entirely new writers, none of whom had previously had a broadcast credit and all but one were unrepresented. Behind this TX week of giggles was a cavalcade of inclusion across the board, permeating all aspects of the project, from the development process to the crews that delivered them, and it was all achieved in just 12 months. 

    It all started out quite innocently. Pete Thornton, head of unscripted at UKTV, and I were discussing bringing the WriterSlam pathway (a TriForce Creative Network/Dandi.org.uk initiative) to UKTV. This pathway for writers ends in a guaranteed commission with our partners – a way of ensuring tangible outcomes and avoiding the horrendous trap of ‘schemes’. Pete has supported WriterSlam in the past and has always been an advocate for inclusion in practical forms. But he and I share similar misgivings at some of the solutions our industry has put forward over the last couple of years – the endless dead-end schemes, unsupported talent, mining of trauma for pennies and the resurfacing of databases that do nothing to address the constraints of time and resource that line producers and productions face, to name but a few. Given all this, Pete was keen to ‘supercharge’ the WriterSlam, asking ‘what could we do that’s truly impactful?’. 

    In our position working across the TCN/DandI.org.uk, we have a unique overview of our entire industry; we have 25,000-strong pool of production talent at all levels from across the UK as part of our recruitment network and are currently working with over 60 production companies and SVOD’s to support them to hire inclusively on everything from Made in Chelsea to Bridgerton. This work, which we have been doing for two decades, allows us to very clearly see the issues around inclusion and, for those in our industry who are serious about it, what the solutions look like. In response to Pete’s question about being truly impactful, my response was that it would require an entirely open and level playing field – so not asking for full scripts but samples, selection based not on previous experience but on people’s fire and passion, and ensuring that the opportunity is spread far and wide. 

    This would mean an enlisting army of readers, processing and filtering to find the gems, but would also ensure access to all, no matter their circumstances. You would then need to take those writers and start paying them. In terms of development, you would need script editors who understand the writers and the worlds they are portraying, ensuring they felt valued and on a very basic level, could pay their bills, focus on their projects and make the best of the opportunity. The writers would also need to receive mentoring, preparing them for their journeys after the pathway, so that they weren’t falling through the cracks once all the noise had subsided. And once you have wonderful projects and writers that have been ‘brought up to speed’, it would be vital to engage key partnership production companies who had a passion for inclusion and for the projects, to ensure they come to screens with as much polish and professionalism as possible. This would be achieved by providing full, not ‘token’ budgets. 

    And Pete Thornton, and UKTV, said: ‘Yes. We should do that’. And this is where we find ourselves in the current climate of diversity and inclusion; where some are saying ‘No, we don’t need more inclusion’, ‘No, the talent isn’t qualified/ready/there’, but there are also those who are saying ‘Yes’. You’re either doing it and benefitting from it, as many currently are, or you’re not. 

    If you’re still talking about the problem, then you simply aren’t engaging with the solutions that are available and are already operating at volume – take the TV Collective’s work with breakthrough leaders and fledgling production companies or Mama Youth’s industry-based training where you’re guaranteed incredible talent. There’s also DANC’s enormous, supported network of talent and their work to make our industry more accessible to disabled talent, and even our work at DANDI, placing talent in their thousands each year and changing the makeup of our production teams. Production companies and broadcasters are very much saying ‘yes’, (and the American SVOD’s are saying ‘YASSS!’) like never before and appreciating that if we are to be truly inclusive, then the work needs to be done with proper funding and support. 

    So, can you find four writers with incredible stories to tell and take them straight into paid development, and have their shows professionally produced and on our screens in 12 months? 

    Turns out if you say ‘yes’, then you can. 

    Anna Costello, writer of Dead Canny 

    Having been a secondary school teacher for the majority of my adult life, I never dreamed that one day I’d have a pilot on the actual telly. As someone from a working-class background in Consett, Co. Durham, the thought of being a professional writer didn’t seem like a possibility for me – it’s something ‘other people do’. 

    When I found out I was a finalist, I was excited, terrified, and overwhelmed by imposter-syndrome. However, Fraser was adamant that the process of creating a script for broadcast should be demystified for writers, and that supporting and protecting writers should be the priority throughout. 

    I was paired with the most incredible script editor, Micheal Jacob, who taught me to do ‘more with less’ – how to take the characters and world I’d created, and make it concise, allowing the story and humour shine through. I learnt that it’s necessary not to hold on to ideas too tightly – sometimes, gags need to be sacrificed for the sake of the story, but you can make it ‘funny’ elsewhere. I gained so much from the re-drafting process. When receiving feedback, I learnt how to identify the ‘note behind the note’, and how to find solutions to issues whilst still remaining true to the characters’ voices. 

    Each finalist was partnered with a production company, and I was partnered with TriForce Productions. I was introduced to Jon MacQueen (producer), and Theresa Varga (director), two insanely talented individuals who brought so much creativity, knowledge, and insight to the pilot. 

    More than anything, I learned that a good script is just the start – what makes a great pilot is an  incredible team of people (production, cast, and crew), who each bring something that could never be captured on the page alone. Someone once told me that the script is the blue-print for a TV show  – working collaboratively with the team is what really brought Dead Canny to life. 

    I’m so, so grateful to Fraser, [Triforce co-chief executive] Minnie Ayres, and UKTV for launching this initiative. The industry needs more people that meaningfully champion diverse voices, and help people have their stories heard and worlds seen. 

  • Announcing Handle With Care: Jimmy Akingbola

    TriForce Productions first feature documentary will be hitting your screens this Autumn on ITV.

    In this deeply personal film, acclaimed actor Jimmy Akingbola traces his own journey and, in doing so, uncovers the truth about growing up in the care system in England.

    Now a celebrated actor, starring in award-winning, global productions across film, television and theatre including Bel-Air, In The Long Run and Most Dangerous Game, Jimmy reflects on how his upbringing shaped him. 

    Exec Producer Fraser Ayres said “We’re very excited to be working on such a personal story as our first documentary. Not only does this revealing programme explore Jimmy’s upbringing, we also take a wider look at the experiences of those growing up in care in the UK.”

  • DEAD CANNY on DAVE!

    Triforce Productions is pleased to announce our new sitcom ‘Dead Canny’, premiering Wednesday 24th August 2022 on Dave at 10pm. Dead Canny follows ‘Kay’ (Sarah Balfour), a questionable young psychic from Consett, Co. Durham, whose ability to see dead people earns her a few quid cash-in-hand down the local pub. Unfortunately, it turns out people are just as annoying dead as they were alive.

    Sarah Balfour as Kay

    Our stellar cast stars: newcomer Sarah Balfour, Laoise Sweeney, Denise Welch, Dean Bone, Steph Lacey, Mark Benton, Aryana Ramkhalawon, Rhea Bailey and our very own Fraser Ayres!

    ‘Dead Canny’ is written by the talented Anna Costello, who is one of the finalists from our popular WriterSlam competition which had writers vying for an opportunity to have their project produced and broadcast on Dave in partnership with UKTV.

    WriterSlam is Triforce Creative Networks writers programme to help TV production companies and broadcasters access UK based new writers from diverse backgrounds who represent the society that we live in, and who will offer different perspectives, experiences and opinions. The initiative with UKTV was to encourage writers to tell a story we’ve never seen on TV before, or whether it’s simply a universal story told by a different voice.

    Three other productions will also be shown as part of the season, they include: Holier Than Thou written by Misha Adesanya and produced by Big Deal Films, Perfect written by Laurence Clark and produced by Happy Tramp, and The Other Half written by Kate Reid and Zak Ghazi-Torbati and produced by Ranga Bee.Pete Thornton, Head of Scripted, UKTV, said, “We’re excited to be working with TriForce Creative Network and DandI.org.uk on this unique UKTV WriterSlam and to be throwing this opportunity open to all underrepresented voices from any background”.

    Fraser Ayres, Executive Producer and CEO of TriForce Creative Network, said “This is what a ‘360° approach’ actually looks like. If we’re going to find more Michaela Cole’s and Tim Renkow’s we need to develop pathways that provide access and then perhaps those much needed voices won’t have to traverse so many obstacles to be heard. This move is unprecedented and kudos to UKTV for taking this tangible and giant step to truly move the dial with us.”

    Minnie Ayres, Executive Producer and dandI.org.uk CEO, said “By utilising our dandI.org.uk talent pool, we’re in a unique position to ensure inclusion and open access at all levels” added “From creatives to crew this will be fully inclusive, allowing us to also address the gaps we have identified by levelling up talent that is ready, but yet to be given their shot”.

    Dead Canny’ will premiere on UKTV’s award-winning comedy entertainment channel Dave, at 10pm, Wednesday 24 August 2022!

  • Be in the audience for SIDK Season 3!

    Free tickets are now available to book for the studio recording of Sorry, I Didn’t Know season 3!

    We’re very excited that ‘Sorry, I Didn’t Know…’ the comedy panel show about Black history is returning this year for season 3!

    TriForce needs YOU!

    We’ll be filming the show at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith Sun 12 June – Tues 14 June and once again this year there are FIVE shows.

    The show is a hilarious comedy panel show, unearthing everything you didn’t know about black history. We’ve all heard of Mary Seacole and Martin Luther King, but did you know that the first self-made female millionaire was black? Or that the inspiration for the character Monostatos in Mozart’s The Magic Flute’ was black classical composer Joseph Bologne?

    We’ve got an amazing panel lined up for the show, including our host Jimmy Akingbola, the lovely Chizzy Akudolu and guest appearances from the likes of White Yardie, our favourite Chaser Shaun Wallace, Russell Kane and Verona Rose.

    For more information and to book your ticket, click the button below!

  • Looking For Louis Winner!

    We’re very excited to announce the finalists and winner of our Looking For Louis competition, in association with Mindhouse, Amazon Studios and Edinburgh TV Festival.

    Our six finalists were:

    Alim Jayda – Both Parents Deaf

    Ginna Cheng – Becoming a Chess Boxer

    Jessica Brady – A Male Stripper Experience

    Remel London – My Grandad’s Secret Society

    Sharon Walia – Queerjabis

    Tiger Cohen-Towell – As God Intended

    Their micro documentaries were completed in just a week, after their pitches were selected from over 600 entries.

    The finalist films were showcased at a live session with Louis Theroux today at Edinburgh TV Festival, with the winner announced as well.

    Our overall winner was Ginnia Cheng for her exploration of the strange and wonderful world of Chess Boxing!

    Ginna wins a six-month, exclusive option with Mindhouse. She will work together with Mindhouse’s creative team to develop projects and pitch them to commissioners with the aim of winning commissions that will be executive produced by Mindhouse and authored or presented by Ginnia.

    In addition, Amazon Studios will offer Ginnia a bespoke 12 month programme of mentoring and training to help them achieve their career goals.

    All six films are available to view on the Edinburgh TV Festival app, along with the films of our other shortlisted filmmakers, Emb Hashmi, Iman Amrani, Rakeem Omar and Tasnim Nazeer.

    Congratulations to all!

    If you’re interested in meeting with any of the shortlisted or finalist filmmakers, please do get in touch on [email protected].

  • Laurence Clark joins UKTV WriterSlam!

    We have another addition to our UKTV WriterSlam pathway! Laurence Clark will be joining the team developing his sitcom idea, Perfect.

    Laurence Clark is an internationally-acclaimed comedian, writer and actor who has cerebral palsy.  His observational, political stand-up and filmed stunts demonstrate the endearing naivety and ridiculousness of human behaviour by seeing the world through his eyes with humour and warmth.  He’s performed everywhere from the House of Commons to a double-decker bus in Sheffield.

    We can’t wait to see the final drafts of all the writers work in the Autumn!

  • Looking for the next Louis Theroux!

    Louis Theroux teams up with TriForce and Amazon to find the next documentary star!

    TriForce Creative Network have joined forces with Louis Theroux’s company Mindhouse, Amazon Studios and The TV Foundation (the charity arm of the Edinburgh TV Festival) to launch ‘Looking for Louis’. Building on the success of our previous WriterSlam partnerships with Amazon, this time we’re looking for budding journalists and documentary makers who think they could be the next Louis Theroux.

    We’re looking for exciting documentary ideas, with the filmmaker front and centre as the on screen talent. Whether your idea is about telling a story we’ve never seen on TV before, or whether it’s simply a universal story told by a different voice, we want to hear from you. We’re looking for talent who represent the society that we live in, and who will offer different perspectives, experiences and opinions.

    You might have never worked in TV before but spend all your spare time making YouTube and TikTok content, or you might be a budding broadcast journalist looking for an opportunity to present your own documentary, or just someone with a great idea who’s confident in front of a camera! If you live in the UK, and you’ve got a great idea for a 2 minute documentary, we want to hear it.

    All you need to do is send in a one page pitch about your documentary idea.

    Competition Details

    We’re asking people to fill in a short form on the TriForce Creative Network website and attach a one page pitch of an idea for a 2 minute micro-documentary. 10 people will then be selected by a panel put together by Mindhouse, Edinburgh TV Festival Fest and Amazon, who will be asked to make their 2 minute doc, shot on their mobile phone. All 10 shortlisted filmmakers will be given financial support to make sure they can deliver their film.

    Louis Theroux will watch the films and select 6 filmmakers to go through to the Edinburgh TV Festival online final. Their films will be showcased online to the Edinburgh TV Festival audience during the session and Louis will then announce the winner.

    They will win a six-month, exclusive option with Mindhouse. They will work together with Mindhouse’s creative team to develop projects and pitch them to commissioners with the aim of winning commissions in that time that will be executive produced by Mindhouse and authored or presented by the talent.

    Amazon Studios will offer the winner a bespoke 12 month programme of mentoring and training to help them achieve their career goals.

    Theroux said: “I am very excited to be part of this initiative. For me, one of the best parts of launching Mindhouse is being involved behind the scenes with new talent who can tell fresh stories in different and exciting ways. To paraphrase Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon, I’m getting old for this shit, and my knees aren’t what they once were. We need to safeguard the future of irreverent and intelligent on-camera reporting by bringing up the next generation of presenters.”

    “Documentary filmmaking in the UK is world class, so we’re excited to be helping unearth the future generation of filmmaking talent, and mentoring and training them to help propel them to the next level in their career,” said Fozia Khan, UK Unscripted Executive at Amazon Studios.

    “We’re really excited to be working with Mindhouse to offer budding journalistic talent the chance to be front and centre presenting their own ideas,” said Fraser Ayres of TriForce Creative Network. “It’s such a great opportunity to accelerate the winners’ careers.”

    The competition is open to residents of the UK only.

    Submissions are open from 10:00am on Wednesday 14 July – 11:59pm Tuesday 27 July.

    For more information on how to submit, click here to go the Looking for Louis page

  • Sorry, I Didn’t Know Returns!

    ITV have recommissioned Sorry, I Didn’t Know, the only comedy panel show about Black history, and we are looking for new writers to join the writers’ room.

    Jimmy Akingbola will return to host the new series which will air in October on ITV and ITV Hub, as part of ITV’s Black History Month celebrations. Chizzy Akudolu and Judi Love will also be back as the team leaders.

    This year we are looking for two new writers to join showrunner Fraser Ayres in the series writing room. The opportunity will be open to anyone in a drive to find a new wave of comedy writers and give them their first broadcast credit.

    “The world of writing for comedy panel shows is incredibly difficult to break into, so we’re opening up the doors to find writing talent that might not usually get this opportunity. We don’t care what you’ve done before, or whether you have an agent – we just want to find people who are funny, passionate and love Black history to go on this exciting journey with us” said Fraser Ayres of TriForce Productions.

    Last year’s series welcomed guests including Colin Salmon, Angie Le Mar, Tom Allen and Russell Kane, and in partnership with Dandi.org.uk, hired a fully inclusive team behind the camera as well.

    Sorry, I Didn’t Know is commissioned by Joe Mace and Gemma John Lewis in ITV Entertainment Commissioning.

    “We’re very excited to have SIDK return for a second series” said Joe Mace, ITV Commissioning Editor, Entertainment. “After last year’s successful debut, we’ve expanded the show to 5 episodes and can’t wait to welcome new writers onto the team.”

    Writers will be able to apply via the TriForce Creative Network website with submissions open from midday on 10 June to 11.59pm 24 June.

    For more details on the competition and how to apply, go to https://thetcn.com/apply-to-write-for-sorry-i-didnt-know/

    Sorry, I Didn’t Know is produced by TriForce Productions and was created by husband and wife team, Mr and Mrs Ayres.

  • WriterSlam Shortlist Announced!

    Our most popular WriterSlam competition yet, in partnership with UKTV, received close to 1600 entries with writers all vying for an opportunity to have their project filmed and shown on UKTV’s award-winning comedy entertainment channel Dave.

    A team of readers read through all the entries and shortlisted 58 to go through to the next stage of the competition.

    UKTV will now choose just SIX and offer paid development and an opportunity to work with a script editor to develop those ideas into a 30-minute script.

    From those six scripts, UKTV will select four to be produced by either TriForce Productions or another independent production company before premiering on Dave in 2022!

    The standard was, as always, very high, so it was difficult to whittle down the entries, but we will have more opportunities later this year, so please do keep an eye on thetcn.com.

    Congratulations to all our shortlisted writers, we can’t wait to see which projects make it to the next stage!

    The shortlisted writers are:

    Aaron Robertson
    Abigail Weinstock
    Aimee Shenton
    Alice Marshall
    Andrew Boateng
    Angela Clarke
    Anna Costello
    Benjamin Cyrus-Clark
    Caroline Gardiner
    Charlie Vero-Martin
    Cherlynn Andrew-Wilfred
    Chizzy Akudolu
    Chris Sutherland
    Christien Bart-Gittens
    Christina Yianni
    Christopher Kerr
    Cindy Buist
    Connor Allen
    Dave Proctor
    Ellen Waddell
    Georgina Love
    Glen McCoy
    Hassan Khan &Ranjit Singh Shubh
    Imran Malik
    Jacob Mosha
    Jai Rajani & Craig Storrod
    Jaye Nolan
    Jaz Deol & Amit Dhut
    Joe Sellman-Leava
    Josephine Starte
    Kaamil Shah
    Kate Reid & Zak Ghazi-Torbati
    Laura Greenwood
    Laurence Clark & Matt Holt
    Laurence Josephson
    Layo-Christina Akinlude & Katie Payne
    Lee Phillips
    Leon Mayne
    Leroy Brito
    Linda Jane Butler
    Lynsey Martenstyn
    Michael Keane
    Michelle Strutt
    Misha Adesanya
    Molly Mcguinness
    Nadaav Soudry
    Naomi Sumner Chan
    Omar Khan
    Pauline Boateng
    Prithu Banerjee & Sruti Banerjee
    Sabrina Richmond
    Sebastian Umrigar
    Sherice Griffiths & Sophie Carswell
    Sherise Blackman
    Simone & Dawkins
    Temi Majekodunmi
    Wendy Yee Man Wong

     

  • ScriptSearch Writers Commissioned!

    We are very excited to announce that not one, but two scripts from our ScriptSearch competition with Greenacre Films have been selected to be taken forward for full development.

    We received over 1000 entries for the competition in 2020, with 6 writers winning a paid development contract to take their idea to treatment stage. From the final 6, Greenacre were planning on taking just one script to the final stage, with a contract to develop a full-length feature script for the winning writer. However, they were so excited by two of the writers’ ideas, that they’ve now taken not one, but two scripts through to the final development phase.

    The writer’s and their scripts are:

    Funmi Adebanjo – Melanation

    A big opportunity leads to an unexpected connection… and a new level of conflict between feuding family restaurants.

    Jingan Young – No. 2 Daughter

    He’s proud of his Chinese roots. She forgets to take her shoes off at the door. Will a past romance blossom again between a self-proclaimed ‘black sheep’ of a British Chinese family and the cute, self assured boy next door?

    These two writers will now win a paid contract with Greenacre to create a feature length film script of their idea. Greenacre hope to take both scripts to production following this next development phase.

    Amanda Jenks and Nadine Marsh Edwards of Greenacre Films said: ‘We are thrilled to be working with Jingan and Funmi, it was a really difficult decision as all the finalists were amazing. We would like to thank TriForce, Sheryl Crown and our trainee script editors for their hard work and expertise, and we are now looking forward to working with the writers to bring No.2 Daughter and Melanation from script to screen.’

    Fraser Ayres and Minnie Ayres of TriForce Creative Network said: “This has been a fantastic project with Greenacre, it’s so exciting to see real, tangible outcomes to script competitions, and what could be more tangible than a company wanting to get your script filmed!”

  • WriterSlam Winner In Variety and Deadline

    It’s been exciting to see so much press coverage of our latest WriterSlam winner Tumi Belo in the industry press.

    You can read about her in Variety and Deadline this week!

    Click here for Variety coverage

    Click here for Deadline coverage

  • Prime Video WriterSlam Winner!

    We had a great time at our ONLINE #WriterSlam final this week, hosted by the wonderful presenter, Jacqueline Shepherd.

    The event, in partnership with Amazon Prime Video, was hosted on Twitch, with live readings of extracts from our four finalists’ projects, led by a fantastic cast including Ivanno Jeremiah, Lauren Drummond, Jennifer Nicholas, Amrita Acharia, Stephen Uppal, Michael Salami and Leon Finnan.

    Congratulations to all our finalists; Tarek Yassin Skylar, Joyce Datiles, Mwansa Phiri and Tumi Belo.

    Our winner was Tumi Belo with her script The Philadelphia Hope. She will receive a paid development and be mentored by Jonathan Lewsley, UK Head of Scripted for Amazon Studios, over 3-6 months to develop their idea into a full episode script.

    Here’s a little more info about our finalists projects – if you’d like to get in touch with any of our finalists, just email [email protected]

    Tumi Belo – The Philadelphia Hope

    A drama following the crack team of ambitious journalists behind an African American newspaper in 1920s Philadelphia.

    Tarek Yassin Skylar – Don’t Kill Anyone

    The stepdaughter of a low-level Barnsley criminal is forced to choose between her daughter, her future and her family after a forbidden relationship sets off an irreversible chain of events.

    Joyce Datiles – Moonfight
    An original fantasy series about young archaeologist HEN ARCLIGHT who develops celestial and lunar powers on her 25th birthday, a day which also conjures up a strange, full moon as well as several Time Travelers who have been waiting centuries for her.

     Mwansa Phiri – Killing Time
    How would you live if you knew the exact date you would die? In a world where death certificates are assigned at birth, a young woman is forced into hiding when she survives her expiration date.