The BBC plans to examine the life and career of JK Rowling in a two-part documentary likely to attract increased scrutiny.
The British channel has ordered Rogan Productions (Grenfell: discovered) to produce Rowling (working title), exploring the author’s dramatic rise, cultural influence, and contested legacy.
The first episode will highlight the creation of Harry Potter and the stratospheric success of the wizarding universe created by Rowling.
The second episode will examine her interventions on Scottish independence, feminism, free speech and gender identity, which put her at the heart of increasingly bitter online exchanges.
The documentary will draw on “rare” archive material, Rowling’s own words and interviews with people who worked with her during her career. Rowling will not be interviewed for the documentary, but is aware it is in production.
Rowling has a mixed relationship with the BBC. She successfully collaborated with the BBC to adapt it Strike novels, but she criticized the company’s reporting on trans rights.
Rowling is on sale at MIPCOM and will premiere on the BBC next year. That means it will come after HBO’s. Harry Potter the series will air in December.
Simon Young, head of historical commissions at the BBC, said: “Thirty years after the publication of the first Harry Potter book, there seems to be no better time for the BBC to explore one of the defining figures of British literature.
“No cultural history of Britain in the 21st century would be complete without the story of the young wizard JK Rowling created, the publishing and film phenomenon she spawned, or the polarizing public figure she became.”
Rowling has been greenlit by BBC Two, BBC Scotland and iPlayer, and is made by Rogan Scotland. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Specialist Factual Commissioning, and Louise Thornton, Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning, BBC Scotland. Executive producers are James Rogan and Mark Hedgecoe. The commissioners are Young and David Harron, BBC Scotland.
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