Sir Steve McQueen's 'Uprising' is set to air on BBC One.
Sir Steve McQueen
The three-part series will explore three events in 1981 - the New Cross Fire, Black People’s Day of Action, and the Brixton riots - and will explain how those incidents defined race relations for a generation of people in the UK.
Steve, 51 - who is directing and executive producing the series - said: "It is an honour to make these films with testimonials from the survivors, investigators, activists and representatives of the machinery of state.
"We can only learn if we look at things through the eyes of everyone concerned; the New Cross Fire passed into history as a tragic footnote, but that event and its aftermath can now be seen as momentous events in our nation’s history."
Charlotte Moore, the BBC's chief content officer, is also looking forward to the powerful new series.
She explained: "It has been an honour to work with Steve McQueen to bring these powerful stories to BBC One.
"With his visionary genius as a filmmaker he has created an incredibly important and evocative series that charts events that have defined race relations in Britain today, giving a voice to the people at the heart of these stories."
James Rogan, who is co-directing and executive producing the series, observed that 'Uprising' is breaking ground in the TV industry by exploring important historical events that have previously been overlooked.
He explained: "The New Cross Fire that claimed the lives of so many young people and affected many more remains one of the biggest losses of life in a house fire in modern British history.
"What happened and how Britain responded to it is a story that has been waiting to be told in depth for 40 years. In the series, survivors and the key participants will give their account of the fire, the aftermath, the impact it had on the historic events of 1981 and the profound legacy it has left behind."