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Amy Guyler’s ‘The Jude Problem’ Tops U.K. Screenplay Showcase The Brit List

“The Jude Problem” by Amy Guyler (“Doctors,” “EastEnders”) has topped The Brit List, an annual showcase of unproduced screenplays out of the U.K.

The list was compiled from recommendations by British production companies, talent agencies, financiers and broadcasters.

Guyler, represented by The Agency, received 12 recommendations for “The Jude Problem,” a comedy drama to which producer Headline Pictures (“The Man in the High Castle”) is attached. Guyler has also written the well regarded plays “Digging Deep” and “The Nobodies.”

Close behind with 11 recommendations is Tumi Belo’s newsroom drama “The Philadelphia Hope.” Belo, represented by Casarotto, is currently assisting Abby Ajayi in the writers’ room for a new ITV drama, having recently supported showrunner Sian Robins-Grace on “The Baby,” a Sky/HBO series from Jane Featherstone’s Sister Pictures.

Also with 11 recommendations is crime thriller “Bad Manor” by Elliott Warren, represented by the Independent Talent Group. Warren’s credits include the play “Flesh and Bone” and mini web series “Stick Up.”

Scripts need a minimum of six recommendations for consideration. Of 246 scripts put forward, 14 were selected for this year’s Brit List.

In a change from previous years, and to reflect that writers increasingly work across both film and television, participants were invited to put forward scripts in both forms. This year, 52% of the list are scripts by female writers, with 29% of writers coming from diverse backgrounds.

Over the last 12 years, 70 of the screenplays to have appeared on The Brit List have been produced, including “The Favourite,” (pictured) which appeared on the list in 2009, and “Lion,” on the list in 2014.

The Brit List is sponsored by Red Arrow Studios International in association with Kinetic Content. Additional sponsors include Final Draft, ScreenSkills, Silver Reel and the Film Distributors’ Association.

With their backing, The Brit List will this year offer the selected writers a program of workshops and events to help them navigate the film and television industries both in the U.K. and globally.

The list is compiled by Alexandra Arlango.

2020 BRIT LIST

TWELVE RECOMMENDATIONS
“The Jude Problem” by Amy Guyler (The Agency)
Producers: Headline Pictures
Form: TV Genre: Comedy Drama
Summary: When her estranged mum goes missing, Jess is forced home to track her down – and is shocked to discover a nine-year-old half-brother (Jude) she never knew she had. But as she begins to spend more time with him, Jess soon realises that Jude is not like other children.

ELEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS
“The Philadelphia Hope” by Tumi Belo (Casarotto)
Producers: Available
Form: TV Genre: Newsroom Drama
Summary: A drama following the crack team of journalists behind an African American newspaper in 1920s Philadelphia.

“Bad Manor” by Elliot Warren (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: The Forge
Form: TV Genre: Crime Thriller
Summary: The Dockers were once an infamous crime family, now they are struggling to get by. But the return of their youngest son from prison comes just in time to change their fortunes, as the family are plunged back into the depths of London’s criminal underworld.

NINE RECOMMENDATIONS
“The Gender Games” by Matthew Barry (The Agency)
Producers: SunnyMarch
Form: TV Genre: Comedy Drama
Summary: Half hour comedy drama about sex and dating based on Juno Dawson’s memoir.

EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS
“Tivoli” by Ameir Brown (The Agency)
Producers: Available
Form: TV Genre: Drama
Summary: When a bloody conflict erupts between a drug lord and the Jamaican state, the people of Tivoli Gardens find themselves caught in the crossfire as the War on Drugs hits Jamaica’s shores. Based on true events.

SEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS
“Wildcard” by Youness Benali (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Rooks Nest
Form: Feature Film Genre: Drama
Summary: The searing true story of a promising young tennis player pushed to the brink by his father who will stop at nothing to win.

“Caring” by Matilda Ibini & Gabriel Bisset-Smith (Curtis Brown & Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Home Team Content and BBC Films
Form: Feature Film Genre: Horror-comedy
Summary: A horror-comedy about a disabled woman who finally finds a good carer — only to discover the carer is a serial killer.

“Opus” by Wunmi Ibironke (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Available
Form: TV Genre: Fantasy Drama
Summary: A dark coming of age comedy-drama based on Yoruba Mythology. After 19-year-old Lorraine’s painting opens a portal to a mystical realm, she and her friends have to navigate their newfound powers and battle the demons and mythological creatures that have been unleashed in their East London town.

“Last Week” (previously Seven Days) by Alan McDonald (Dench Arnold)
Producers: Available
Form: TV Genre: High-concept Relationship Drama
Summary: A hopeful, heartfelt relationship drama with a twist: in one week, a meteor will hit Earth and humanity is finished – we’re the dodo but with iPhones. In a small Scottish town, a few locals with nowhere else to go try to make peace with their personal demons before it’s too late, and rediscover the value of community in the process.

“Skin & Bone” by Billy & Theo Mason Wood (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Hattrick Productions
Form: TV Genre: Thriller
Summary: A brilliant but struggling funeral director is forced to work for the Ukrainian Mafia harvesting bodies and selling them on the black market before it is her and her family lying on the embalming table.

SIX RECOMMENDATIONS
“Dangerous Appraisals” by Rosamund Attwood (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Wall to Wall
Form: TV Genre: Dark Comedy / Psychological Drama
Summary: The world’s most invasive Human Resources assistant allows her infatuation with a glamorous older colleague to escalate into a violent obsession, set to destroy the lives of both women.

“Mammy’s Girl” by Roanne Bardsley (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Available
Form: TV Genre: Drama
Summary: Struggling single mum Nia has big plans for her daughter, but when Carys makes a fatal mistake that will put her future in jeopardy, Nia’s forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her only child.

“Jailtown” by Cat Jones (42)
Producers: BBC Studios in Association with Lighthouse
Form: TV Genre: Prison Thriller
Summary: A surreal thriller set in a prison. A sadistic wing boss has his reign threatened by his estranged brother’s return to the prison.

“Delilah Must Die” by Bel Knight & Clare Hoey (Tavistock Wood)
Producers: Big Talk Productions
Form: TV Genre: Comedy Drama
Summary: A lonely and intense working-class girl wins a bursary to an elite girls’ boarding school where she meets teen dream Delilah. She doesn’t know whether she wants to be Delilah or fuck her, but her killer crush metastasises into a lethal obsession. of some but the future of all.

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