Pubcasters CBC and BBC have commissioned a new docuseries from Zinc Media’s brand-led content label Supercollider and actors and producers Idris Elba and Sabrina Elba (pictured).

The 3 x 60-minute Paid in Full: The Battle for Payback (working title) will detail the history of Black artists’ exploitation for the music industry, and how the landscape would be changed if these artists were to receive reparations for what they’re owed.

The series is being produced by Supercollider, Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures and Sabrina Elba’s Pink Towel in association with Catalyst, the Toronto-based content company for women creators.

It is being funded and coproduced via a partnership between Media Musketeers Studios and Abacus Media Rights (AMR), with AMR distributing the series internationally, according to a news release.

Tracing more than a century of Black music history, from jazz to rock, soul and rap, Paid in Full will explore how Black artists have been systematically disenfranchised from procuring the rightful share of profits due to them from their music, even as their art has shaped and driven popular music. Bringing the story to the present day, the series will examine the current state of play in the industry, and spotlight artists who are fighting for real change to the system.

“Far from being a straight music documentary, this series will explore the music industry within a racial context and reflect the history of exploitation within the industry. It will also [focus] in on conversations of structural racism and those who have worked so hard to expose them,” Zinc Television managing director Tanya Shaw said in a release.

Paid in Full: The Battle for Payback was commissioned for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer by Jonathan Rothery, head of pop music, TV, with Rachel Davies as commissioning editor.

For CBC and CBC Gem, the series was commissioned by Sally Catto, general manager of entertainment, factual and sports, and Jennifer Dettman, executive director of unscripted content, with Michelle McCree as executive in charge of production for CBC Docs.

Executive producers are Greg Sanderson for Supercollider, Idris Elba for Green Door Pictures, Sabrina Elba for Pink Towel, and Julie Bristow for Catalyst. David Upshal serves as showrunner. Abacus Media Rights is handling international distribution.

This story originally appeared in Realscreen

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images