The BBC have some really interesting documentaries airing over the next few months

Paul Moore

The most critically acclaimed TV series of 2016 will also be returning.

While Netflix have established a strong foothold in the documentary sub-genre of true crime, there’s a distinct lack of shows which address the changing nature of global politics.

To counteract this, BBC Two have announced a number of new titles that will examine some of the big issues that are facing contemporary Britain.

If you’re not interested in politics, you should be pleased to know that the new version of the critically acclaimed American Crime Story will also be shown.

Here’s a taste of what’s in store.

Breadline

Britain is the world’s fifth richest nation, and yet, at some schools, one in five children arrive at school hungry every day. Low wages, zero hours contracts and the new ‘gig economy’ mean that an estimated 1.7 million families are living in poverty in the UK despite having full time jobs.

This new series aims to give those people a voice, and will show the reality of what it means to be living – and working – on or below the poverty line.

20 days – Battle For Supremacy

This new drama documentary tells the story of the Conservative Party’s 2016 leadership campaign, from the day David Cameron resigned to the day Theresa May became Prime Minister.

Based on exhaustive research and first-person testimonies, this dramatised narrative goes beyond the headlines to lay bare the politicking and positioning, betrayals and blunders of this extraordinary political time.

The programme also features key interviews with people who were intimately involved in the campaigns of the main contenders.

Jo Cox: Death Of An MP

On 16 June 2016 the murder of Jo Cox – in the heat of EU referendum campaigning – shocked the nation. Jo Cox: Death Of An MP tells the story of this horrific attack and events surrounding it through the testimony of those closest to it, including Jo Cox’s family, eye witnesses and those who knew the murderer, Thomas Mair.

With unique access to West Yorkshire Police’s murder investigation the programme draws together for the first time all the CCTV, archive footage and other evidence that was gathered by the investigating officers.

The result is a forensic exploration of what the prosecutors at Mair’s trial called a ‘terrorist’ murder’. The programme asks, what led a man with no history of violence to brutally murder a female MP whom he had never met?

Brexit Means Brexit

Double Bafta-winner Patrick Forbes follows up the candid, revelatory Brexit: A Very British Coup? with Brexit Means Brexit.

This new programme traces the turbulent months since 23 June 2016, with unprecedented access to all the leading protagonists in Westminster, around the UK and beyond. All of them talk openly and honestly as they grapple with the most significant political decision this country has made for a very long time.

Katrina: American Crime Story

This will focus on Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005, and its catastrophic aftermath.

With a star-studded cast including Annette Bening and Matthew Broderick, the new season will follow on from the multi award-winning The People vs O.J. Simpson.