Image: BBC Press
By Jon Donnis
After more than 20 years on screen, River City will be coming to an end in 2026. The long-running BBC Scotland drama, which first aired in 2002, has been a staple of Scottish television, following the lives of Shieldinch residents. But with audience habits changing, the BBC is shifting its focus to shorter, high-impact dramas, and River City will bow out with a final series next autumn.
Instead of one ongoing show, the BBC is putting its investment into several new Scottish dramas. Three fresh series, Counsels, Grams and The Young Team, have been announced, alongside the return of Granite Harbour, Shetland and Vigil. The previously announced Mint is also in production, adding to the lineup. The aim is to tell a wider range of stories, made in Scotland, for audiences across the UK.
This is part of the biggest investment in Scottish drama in the last decade, with more than £95 million expected to be spent between 2026 and 2028. The BBC is also launching a new training plan to help build careers in the industry, expanding on the work River City has already done to support new talent.
The new dramas all bring something different. Counsels is a legal drama following young lawyers in Glasgow, Grams is a darkly comic thriller about gang violence in Springburn, and The Young Team, based on Graeme Armstrong's novel, takes a hard-hitting look at youth and gang culture in North Lanarkshire.
BBC Scotland's Director, Hayley Valentine, said River City will get the send-off it deserves, but this shift is about keeping up with what audiences want. Head of Commissioning, Louise Thornton, acknowledged the show's impact and the training opportunities it has created, but said the new dramas will bring fresh chances for Scottish storytelling.
Filming on these new series starts later this year. River City may be coming to an end, but BBC Scotland clearly isn't slowing down when it comes to making dramas that put Scotland front and centre.
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