Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim.

Matthew Graham
OccupationScreenwriter and television producer.
Period1990–present
GenreDrama, adventure, science fiction
ChildrenSam Graham, Daisy Graham

Career edit

Graham began his career writing for the Children's ITV bicycle courier teen drama Streetwise in 1990, co-penning every episode of its second and third series.[1] Following this, he moved to the BBC to write for fellow children's dramas Byker Grove and The Biz, as well as EastEnders. Graham then wrote for the popular BBC Two drama series This Life, and created and wrote the post-apocalyptic drama serial The Last Train for ITV. He also wrote episodes for Spooks and Hustle, and "Fear Her", an episode of the 2006 series of Doctor Who.

Ashes to Ashes, a Life on Mars sequel which he co-created with Life on Mars writer/co-creator Ashley Pharoah, was first broadcast on BBC One on 8 January 2008, to an audience of 7 million, according to overnight figures.[2] In the US, ABC commissioned a remake of Life on Mars, also to be called Life on Mars, developed by David E. Kelley, creator of Ally McBeal, for broadcast in the 2007/08 midseason.

In 2006, Graham formed Monastic Productions with Pharoah (co-creator of Life on Mars). Monastic Productions are involved in the Life on Mars spin-off Ashes to Ashes, as well as in co-producing Bonekickers, a 6-part drama series about archaeology set in Bath. Both series are productions for BBC One. Bonekickers was not renewed after the first series, but Ashes to Ashes completed its third and final series in May 2010.

In November 2010, Graham announced the production of a new television series co-created with Pharoah for ITV. Eternal Law tells the story of two angels who are sent to Earth to assist in the salvation of mankind as lawyers in a York law firm. He also confirmed that he would be returning to the world of Doctor Who in 2011, writing the fifth and sixth episodes of the sixth series, a two-part story entitled "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People".

His adaptation of the novel Childhood's End aired on Syfy in December 2015.[3]

He wrote “The Hood Maker”, the first episode in the Channel 4/Amazon Video series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, which first aired in September 2017.[4][5]

Writing credits edit

Production Notes Broadcaster
Streetwise
  • 14 episodes (1990-1992)
ITV
EastEnders
  • 12 episodes (1992–1995)
BBC One
Byker Grove
  • 6 episodes (1992)
The Biz
  • 2 episodes (1995)
This Life
  • 4 episodes (1996–1997):
  • "Cheap Thrills" (1996)
  • "Just Sex" (1996)
  • "The Bi Who Came in from the Cold" (1997)
  • "How to Get in Bed by Advertising" (1997)
BBC Two
Thief Takers
  • "One Last Hurrah" (1997)
ITV
City Central
  • "Justice to Be Done" (1998)
  • "Throwing It All Away" (1998)
BBC One
The Last Train
  • 6 episodes (1999)
ITV
Reach for the Moon
  • Television miniseries (2000)
EastEnders
  • 9 episodes (2000–2002)
BBC One
EastEnders: Return of Nick Cotton
  • Television film (2000)
The Gentleman Thief
  • Television film (2001)
Impact
  • Television film (2002)
N/A
Spooks BBC One
POW ITV
Hustle
  • "Picture Perfect" (2004)
  • "Confessions" (2005)
BBC One
Walk Away and I Stumble
  • Television film (2005)
ITV
Doctor Who BBC One
Life on Mars
  • 16 episodes (2006–2007)
Bonekickers
  • 6 episodes (2008)
Ashes to Ashes
  • 24 episodes (2008–2010)
Eternal Law ITV
R'ha
  • Short film (2013)
N/A
Childhood's End
  • Television miniseries (2015)
Syfy
Kat & Alfie: Redwater
  • 1 episode (2017)
BBC One
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams
  • "The Hood Maker" (2017)
Channel 4/Amazon Video
The Spanish Princess
  • 12 episodes (2019–2020)
Starz

Awards and nominations edit

Year Award Work Category Result Reference
1997 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award This Life TV – Original Drama Serial (with Richard Zajdlic, Mark Davies Markham, Joe Ahearne, Ian Iqbal Rashid, Amelia Bullmore, Eirene Houston, Annie Caulfield, Jimmy Gardner and William Gaminara) Won
2006 TV Quick Awards Life on Mars Best New Drama (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) Nominated
2007 British Academy Television Awards Best Writer Nominated
2007 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Writer's Award (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) Won
2007 TV Quick Awards Best Loved Drama (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) Nominated
2007 Edgar Allan Poe Awards Life on Mars: "Episode 1" Best Television Episode Teleplay Won
2007 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Life on Mars: Series 2 Soap/Series (TV) (with Chris Chibnall, Mark Greig, Ashley Pharoah, Guy Jenkin, Tony Jordan and Julie Rutterford) Nominated
2008 Banff Rockie Award Life on Mars: "Episode 8" Best Continuing Series (with S. J. Clarkson) Nominated
2008 Cinéma Tous Ecrans Ashes to Ashes Audience Award for Best International Television Series (with Ashley Pharoah) Won
2008 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Television Drama Series (with Ashley Pharoah, Mark Greig, Julie Rutterford and Mick Ford) Nominated
2010 TRIC Awards TV Crime Programme (with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) Nominated
2010 TV Quick Awards Best Drama Series (with Ashley Pharoah) Won
2010 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Television Drama Series (with Ashley Pharoah, Julie Rutterford, Tom Butterworth, Chris Hurford, Jack Lothian and James Payne) Nominated
2011 TRIC Awards TV Drama Programme of the Year (with Ashley Pharoah) Nominated
2011 SFX Awards Ashes to Ashes: "Finale" Best TV Episode (with David Drury) Won
2011 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Doctor Who Best Television Drama Series (with Steven Moffat, Richard Curtis, Stephen Thompson, Gareth Roberts and Neil Gaiman) Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ "Stars of Genome: Matthew Graham". BBC Genome. 1 May 2016.
  2. ^ Ashes burns up the opposition, The Guardian, 8 February 2008
  3. ^ "Sci-Fi Classic 'Childhood's End' TV Miniseries Debuts Tonight". Space.com. 14 December 2015.
  4. ^ Cynthia Littleton (14 February 2017). "Amazon Grabs U.S. Rights to Bryan Cranston's 'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams' Anthology Series". Variety.
  5. ^ Nellie Andreeva (14 February 2017). "'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams' TV Series From Ron Moore, Michael Dinner & Bryan Cranston Picked Up By Amazon". Deadline Hollywood.

External links edit