“Dope Girls” Drama About Soho’s Criminal Underbelly in the Works at BBC

A female-led “spiritual successor” to “Peaky Blinders” is in the works at BBC One. Deadline reports that “Dope Girls” will delve “into the history of Soho’s criminal underworld.”

Set in the early 20th century, the six-part series is reportedly partly based on “the true story of conservative, god-fearing 42-year old single mother Kate Meyrick, who builds a nightclub empire and criminal family enterprise and becomes the most dangerous woman in London as well as a competitor to Brilliant Chang, the baron of Soho’s gritty underworld. Her nightclubs are fuelled by drugs and alcohol that allow for a generation of World War I veterans and survivors to forget their trauma and break through the rigid patriarchal structures of the era to allow women to dance, have sex, and do drugs with whoever they want.”

Written by Polly Stenham (“The Neon Demon”) and Alex Warren (“Eleanor”), the series is inspired by Marek Kohn’s non-fiction book “Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground.”

“Dope Girls” doesn’t have a U.S. home yet, but talks with co-production partners and global streaming services are underway.