Turns out TV is also like a box of chocolates.
BritBox has ordered period drama Chocolate Wars (working title) alongside UKTV and Sony Pictures Television. The scripted series is inspired by a book chronicling confectionery empire-building in the 19th-century, during which time British Quaker dynasty the Cadbury family established themselves among Britain’s biggest chocolate makers.
Sony-backed Fable Pictures is producing in association with Freddie Highmore’s Alfresco Pictures, with Chloë Mi Lin Ewart (All Creatures Great and Small, Beyond Paradise) writing. The series will premiere in 2027 on BritBox and on UKTV streamer U and U&Drama in the UK.
Deadline revealed BritBox was nearing a deal for the series back in January, with The Good Doctor star Highmore attached. As we reported at the time, the drama has been in the works for more than eight years, is inspired by the 2010 historical book of the same name by Deborah Cadbury, an Emmy-winning TV producer who belongs to the Cadbury dynasty. Highmore will be an exec producer on the project.
BritBox is billing Chocolate Wars as “a warm-hearted family drama following the visionary Cadbury family, the underdogs of the cocoa world, on their journey towards creating the world-famous Cadbury’s chocolate bar.”
Per the logline: “In 1860s Birmingham, when chocolate as we know it doesn’t yet exist, two very different brothers, Richard and George Cadbury, find themselves in charge of their family’s failing cocoa business. Between them, they have the radical genius and burning ambition to turn Cadbury’s into one of the world’s most beloved confectioners. But first, they must learn to trust and rely on each other. And to stop bickering for long enough to actually invent some chocolate.”
The series will run to six parts, with exec produucers comprising Faye Ward, Highmore, Hannah Price and Claire Londy, with Jess O’Riordan and Jon Farrar executive producing for BritBox and Helen Perry for UKTV.
Directors for the series will be Tom McKay (After the Flood) and Jill Robertson (Ludwig), with Hannah Farrell from Fable the series producer. Chloë Mi Lin Ewart leads the writing team, alongside Eve Hedderwick Turner and Karim Khan.
Casting is underway, with filming in Birmingham, UK, near the home of the Cadbury factory, set to begin this summer. Sony Pictures Television will handle worldwide sales as international distributor and plans to introduce it buyers at the LA Screenings at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City on Sunday (May 17). Creative UK has provided regional support through the ERDF-funded West Midlands Production Fund.
Jess O’Riordan, Commissioning Executive and executive producer at BritBox said: “Full of warmth and charm, this true story brings the Cadbury family story to life with depth and imagination. We’re excited to partner with UKTV, Sony Pictures Television and Fable Pictures on a period drama we know BritBox audiences will truly savor.”
“I can’t wait to unwrap the story of the Cadbury family and for viewers to be captivated by the delicious tale of the underdogs in the cocoa world,” added Emma Tibbetts, Director of Scripted Programming at BBC Studios-owned UKTV.