Copyright Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: The number of Brit List scripts attached to production companies has diminished dramatically this year, analysis has found. Brit List founder Alexandra Arlango told us the trend is “another indication that we’ve gone from boom-time to a very harsh tightening of the belt” after research found only three of 15 scripts on the 2025 list are attached to a production company. These are Dylan Brady’s Discretion with Kudos, Stephanie Yamson’s For Such a time As This with Five Acts Productions, and Anoushka Warden’s I’m F*cking Amazing, which is being developed by Fifth Season in association with Amy Adams’ Bond Group Entertainment. Last year, 10 scripts were being developed by indies and the years before the number was eight and 14 respectively. In each of those years, at least half of the scripts were attached to producers. The majority of this year’s scripts were for TV. Running for almost 20 years, the Brit List seeks to platform the buzziest unproduced UK film and TV scripts from top up-and-coming talent by showcasing those with the most recommendations. With past winners including Paddington, The King’s Speech and Responsible Child, the Brit List says its scripts have generated more than £2B ($2.6B) at the international box office, winning 30 “major awards.” Many of them are promoted with a view to making it big in the U.S. In 2025, Arlango said, the going is clearly tough. “The Brit List has always been an early barometer of industry trends, and this year is no exception,” she told us. “From the moment we did our callout to the industry for their script recommendations, we had bigger than usual bouncebacks – both from companies that have reduced their staff capacity and those that had shuttered completely. The number of scripts appearing on The Brit List that are [without a production company] is another big swing we’ve seen – another indication that we’ve gone from boom-time to a very harsh tightening of the belt.” Arlango said buyers are “not paying for script commissions to the extent they once did, so, for producers, commissioning a script is a big financial commitment to a project that might very well not provide any return.” She believes streamers like Disney+ and Prime Video are pulling back from the UK and says this has had a big impact, with “knock-on effects” that are “wide and far reaching, particularly in TV.” “While streamers are still investing in the UK, the number of large investments they made over the last decade have diminished,” she added. “Rather than creating as many shows as possible to boost their subscriber base, they seem now – like everyone else – to be focusing on the bottom-line. Because of the reliance on co-producers or sales to make up budgets, a green light from the BBC, Channel 4 or ITV doesn’t mean what it used to. You’re no longer guaranteed to get your show made.” Producers, meanwhile, are becoming “more cautious,” pitching reboots and older IP rather than taking bets on up-and-coming names that are the Brit List’s bread and butter. “The result is that fewer risks are being taken. And risk is the life-blood of drama,” she added. However, Arlango struck a positive note following a Brit List event in London packed full of young talent, with scripts such as Robert Cawsey’s comedy horror Don’t Even Go There and Dylan Ritson/Blake Ritson’s dystopian feature P.O.V. garnering more than 20 recommendations. “The fact that so many of the scripts this year have not yet been placed with a producer means that there’s a huge amount of brilliant scripts available,” she added. “And availability is opportunity.”
