'12 Years a Slave' Helmer Steve McQueen to Explore the Black Experience in New BBC Drama

'12 Years a Slave' helmer Steve McQueen will develop a drama series for the BBC which will take a look at the black experience in Britain, according to Variety.

McQueen will assemble a group of actors for a series of workshops to create the series which will be set in West London, the section of England where he was born. The project, which is described as "epic in scope," is expected to focus on the lives of a group of friends and their families from 1968 to 2014.

"I don't think there has been a serious drama series in Britain with black people from all walks of life as the main protagonists," McQueen told the UK's Daily Mail. Filming may be ready to get underway as early as next year.

Commented BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson, "It is incredibly exciting to be working with this hugely talented British director who has rapidly become one of the finest directors in the world."

McQueen is currently working on an HBO drama which will "explore a young African-American man's experience entering New York high society."

In 2008, McQueen's critically acclaimed first feature Hunger won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, among countless other international prizes. He followed with 2011's Shame, a provocative drama about addiction and secrecy in the modern world. The film received numerous accolades and awards with McQueen winning the CinemAvvenire Award and FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival as well as nominations from BAFTA, the British Independent Film Awards, the London Film Festival, Evening Standard British Film Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards.