Tara Lynne O’Neill (Hope Street, Derry Girls), Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones, The Power of Parker, Moonflower Murders), Nathan Braniff (Blue Lights), Anna Healy (Showtrail, Small Town Big Story), and Amal Mustafa (You Will Die At Twenty) are among the cast of the three latest successful projects from the Green Lit initiative - a collaboration between BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.

The three 15-minute ‘proof of concept’ pilots, jawbox, Splendid Mutation and Kill Or Be Killed will be available to view on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland from Wednesday 11 November.

• jawbox, from Long Story TV, is written by Stuart Drennan and John Fox and features Tara Lynne O’Neill, Nathan Braniff, Conleth Hill and Dearbháile McKinney.
• Splendid Mutation, from Dumbworld Productions, is written and directed by Alessandra Celesia and stars Rawan Dablouk, Cillian Muldoon, Amal Mustafa and Frankie McCafferty.
• Kill Or Be Killed, from Deadpan Pictures, is written by Claire Rafferty, directed by Oisín Kearney and stars Claire Rafferty, Anna Healy and Paddy Raff.

The three successful projects have been selected from the second year of the Green Lit initiative, opened in late 2025.

Green Lit is a collaboration between Northern Ireland Screen and BBC Northern Ireland, launched in 2024 to support emerging Northern Ireland resident* writing, directing, producing and acting talent. Submissions to the scheme were made by production companies with a substantive base in Northern Ireland. Six projects were shortlisted for an initial phase of funded development, with three scripted comedy or drama projects then selected to proceed to full production. These projects will ultimately be considered as ‘proof-of-concept’ works for a longer one-off or series commission for BBC TV.

Kill Or Be Killed

Kill Or Be Killed, is on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland at 11.10pm on 11 November.

The comedy short from Deadpan Pictures invites viewers to join a west Belfast family’s weekly Sunday lunch - where it’s not just the chicken that gets a good roasting. Written and created by Claire Rafferty, the comedy explores the family dynamics of an Irish working-class family born and raised in a small community in West Belfast and stars Claire and her real-life brother, stand up comedian, Paddy Raff.

Ma Deirdre (Anna Healy) is ‘up to high doh’ about her best frenemy Brenda, who's always finding out who died before she does. Ma Deirdre needs a strategy to get ahead. Meanwhile, every second counts for eldest daughter, Niamh (Claire Rafferty), who is up against the clock on her intermittent fasting quest. And then there is Jimbo Jambo (Paddy Raff), who would’ve helped do the back guttering…but he’s getting his nails done.

The production also stars Charlotte McCurry, Paul Reid, Clara Rafferty, Matthew Cavan and Paddy Jenkins. Made by Deadpan Pictures North Ltd, Kill Or Be Killed, is written by Claire Rafferty and directed by Oisín Kearney. The Producer is Janine Cobain and Executive Producers are Ailish McElmeel and Paul Donovan.

Splendid Mutation

Splendid Mutation follows on BBC One NI at 11.25pm.

Written and Directed by Alessandra Celesia and made by Dumbworld, Splendid Mutation is a story of connection between a young man and woman; Nafisa (Rawan Dablouk), a Sudanese refugee and Michael (Cillian Muldoon), a resident of the New Lodge flats. They have both lost loved ones and are working to overcome their grief.

Nafisa has fled a war in Sudan. Camera in hand, she climbs a Belfast tower block still marked by The Troubles, needing to meet a deadline for art college. Her mother’s ghost guides her upward, towards Michael, a young man lost in his own grief. The drama is the story of two young people from two different countries, both a product of a conflict that began before they were born.

Splendid Mutation was made by Belfast indie, Dumbworld. The producers are Lia Campbell and John McIlduff and it also stars Amal Mustafa, Frankie McCafferty, Wa'ad Ahmed, Ciaran George and Omaia Abdalla.

jawbox

jawbox follows on BBC iPlayer and BBC One NI at 11.40pm

The third instalment from this round of Green Lit is jawbox, written by Stuart Drennan and John Fox. In this crime caper, made by Long Story TV and directed by John Carlin, bouncer Danny McQuaid (Nathan Braniff) is found standing over the body of his murdered boss, Frank (Matthew Forsythe). The only hope Danny has of proving his innocence is to work alongside the two private investigators who discovered him - combustible mother and daughter duo Mary (Tara Lynne O’Neill) and Charlie (Dearbháile McKinney) from jawbox investigations.

Can Danny convince Mary and Charlie that he didn’t kill Frank? Can they all work together to catch the real culprit? And can they figure out why the last thing Frank said was ‘Strudel’? And just as Mary is starting to believe she has found a new recruit, Danny discovers jawbox investigations connects the three of them in an unimaginable way.

Donna Wiffen and Paul Marquess are the Executive Producers and it also stars Conleth Hill and Aoibheann McCann.

Jason Butler, BBC Northern Ireland Commissioning Editor, said: “The Green Lit initiative goes from strength to strength and is a terrific platform to bring audiences the next generation of emerging film-making talent from right here in Northern Ireland. And alongside Northern Ireland Screen, we have commissioned these three brilliant ‘proof of concept’ episodes in this phase – featuring new and established acting talent, new writers and fresh ideas. It’s a perfect illustration of what the Green Lit initiative is for – nurturing our brilliant resident creative talent that we have across the creative sector in Northern Ireland.”

Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen, said: “Building on the success of the first round, Green Lit continues to showcase Northern Ireland’s emerging screen talent. We’re delighted to see these three original stories coming to BBC and BBC iPlayer, giving audiences the opportunity to discover the work of talented local writers, directors and producers. Through our partnership with BBC Northern Ireland, we continue to create opportunities for new voices to develop their craft and take the next step in their careers.”

The first three successful pilots from Green Lit; Rewarding, Helpless and Mourning Glory were broadcast last year.