AFTER MANY FALSE starts and fan disappointments over the years, a potential remake of the Terry Nation created BBC space-opera Blake’s 7 (1978-81) now appears to be moving towards production.
Blake’s 7 was Survivors creator Terry Nation’s next project for the BBC after his creative connections with Survivors ended at the close of the first series.
The four series of Blake’s 7 told the story of the efforts of a group of rag-tag rebels — led initially by the indomitable Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas), and later by the steely Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) — determined to challenge the galactic tyranny of The Federation, epitomised by the ruthlessness of Space Commander Travis (Brian Croucher, Stephen Greif) and Supreme Commander (and later President) Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce).
A two-season ‘reimagining’ of Survivors was produced for the BBC in 2008-10. Long after the transmissiobn of Blake’s 7 fourth and final series on BBC 1 in 1981, the property was licenced from the Terry Nation estate by audio-drama company Big Finish, who have gone on to produce numerous full-cast dramas and audio-books set in the universe that Nation devised.
The prospect of Blake’s 7 returning to the small screen, in a fresh guise, was given a significant boost on 19 January 2026 when it was announced that new genre TV company Multitude Productions had licensed the rights for a reboot.
At the centre of the new pitch were Emmy-nominated director Peter Hoar (who’s recently worked on both The Last of Us and Doctor Who), and producers Matthew Bouch and Jason Haigh-Ellery (the managing director of Big Finish Productions). Lizzie Worsdell has also signed on as executive producer.
“The Blake’s 7 story is legendary because they were given the… slot that was intended for police drama with a budget intended for one big set and a few location shoots,” Hoar explained to Deadline. “At the time it felt like it meant something. Those shows got into my veins. I could tell they didn’t have money but I was able to compartmentalize and enjoy the ride knowing that the sets wobbled.”
Bouch confirmed that the team are “looking to the international market and seeing if there is a way of dovetailing that British low-budget sensibility with international markets. We know in the U.S. there’s a big contraction and we all need to think about finding ways to make things more economical.”
There’s no word yet on the new series’ likely format, production partners, new and returning characters, casting or scripts.
Multitude Productions remain optimistic, convinced — in Bouch’s words — that “there is a gap in the market in terms of what we are doing… Our expertise straddles both international and British lower budget material. Obviously the proof will be in the pudding.”