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DAY
Tuesday 17 October 2017
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OPENING NIGHT PARTY
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A galaxy of stars and leading international executives walked the red carpet to last night’s Opening Night Party
MEDIA MASTERMIND
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Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave a Media Mastermind Keynote yesterday
WORLD PREMIERE
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Sreda Production’s Trotsky is tonight’s MIPCOM World Premiere TV Screening
MEDIA MASTERMIND
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HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler accepted the Variety Vanguard Award before his Media Mastermind Keynote yesterday
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CONTENTS NEWS
MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES 11.20-12.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM
COURTENEY MONROE, CEO, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GLOBAL NETWORKS
8 Opening Night Party; Media Mastermind Keynotes; market news; World Premiere TV Screenings; and more...
SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDE: PETER KOSMINSKY, WRITER/DIRECTOR OF ‘THE STATE’ MICHAEL KELLY, LEAD CAST OF ‘THE LONG ROAD HOME’
PRODUCT NEWS
17.00-17.45, GRAND AUDITORIUM
SEAN MILLS, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CONTENT PROGRAMMING, SNAP INC. SPECIAL GUEST INCLUDE: LAUREN ANDERSON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING, NBCUNIVERSAL
60 A round-up of what’s for sale in Cannes
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FEATURES 75 Friends in the right places
82 Dramatic entrants
91 Go on, make us laugh
Great partners make for great content in today’s competitive global market
New platforms with big budgets have entered the market for premium content
There are ways to get over and around the barriers to international comedy exports
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Join us for the highly anticipated advanced screening of The Miniaturist
coming soon
STARRING:
ROMOLA GARAI ALEX HASSELL HAYLEY SQUIRES, PAAPA ESSIEDU
Tuesday 17th October at 14:30 Audi K, Palais des Festival This is a B2B screening with special thanks to the BBC and WGBH
EMILY BERRINGTOn, Geoffrey Streatfeild,
THE
and
MINIATURIST Based on the best-selling book by Jessie Burton, Screenplay by John Brownlow
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Aislín McGuckin
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ANYA TAYLOR-JOY The Forge production for the BBC Co-produced with MASTERPIECE in association with all3media international and Lemaise Pictures
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Opening Night Party Following the World Premiere TV Screening of Britannia stars in Cannes walked the red carpet into the Carlton hotel for the Opening Night Party co-hosted by MIPCOM and Russia’s NTV Broadcasting Company
Actor Sidse Babett Knudsen (left) Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk and CANNESERIES festival president Fleur Pellerin
Top Gear America’s William Fitchner (left), The Stig and Tom Ford
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Brand New Drama
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mipcom
NEWS
Juliet Rylance of the BBC Worldwide’s McMafia
In Cannes to promote Sky Vision’s Britannia: Nikolaj Lie Kaas (left), Donovan, Eleanor Worthington Cox and David Morrissey
A+E Networks executives join Catherine Zeta-Jones in Cannes to promote new Lifetime movie, Cocaine Godmother. Tanya Lopez (left), Edward Sabin, Patrick Vien, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Cohan
Stars of NTV’s The Road To Calvary: Anna Chipovskaya (left) and Yulia Snigir
In Cannes with Fox’s Deep State: Alistair Petrie (left), Karima McAdams, Joe Dempsie, Mark Strong, Lyne Renee and Anastasia Griffith
Co-stars of ABC Commercial’s medical drama Pulse: Claire van der Boom (left) and Pallavi Sharda
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mipcom
NEWS
‘You have to be the next big thing’
G
ORDON Ramsay’s Media Mastermind Keynote contained all the f-bombs and nightmare kitchens he’s world famous for — “There was a dead freakin’ mouse in the toaster: long tail, crispy,” he said, about a recent restaurant visit for new series 24 Hours To Hell And Back — but the award-winning chef and Emmynominated TV star had much more to share. His first visit to MIP was in 1992, as a self-confessed “spotty” 25-yearold chef on Reg Grundy’s yacht. Ramsay said the Australian media mogul introduced him to the TV world but confessed he’d thought there was “no way on earth” he’d ever star on the small screen.
But the TV business suits Ramsay as well as the chef business — he has 31 restaurants, seven Michelin stars and eight shows on Fox US alone, which bring in $150m in advertising — and he drew parallels be-
tween the two. “There are so many synergies between TV and running a restaurant business, because you have to stay fresh, you have to be the next big thing, you have to raise the bar,” he said, adding: “You can be the best chef in the world but if you have a bad business behind you then you’re also the most stupid.” Ramsay’s new joint venture with all3media, Studio Ramsay, is producing 24 Hours To Hell And Back, as well as Gordon On Cocaine, a serious documentary on a drug that he said blights the restaurant industry. He added that he plans to produce more shows and “to pull back from fronting [TV] and get creative with all this experience I’ve had over the past three decades”.
Gordon Ramsay
‘Let’s hope that dinosaur is extinct’ INTRODUCING yesterday’s Women In Global Entertainment Power Lunch, Reed MIDEM’s Laurine Garaude said that recent news headlines had “exposed the hurdles that many women still face” and reinforced the importance of MIPCOM’s annual thought-leadership and networking event, now in its sixth incarnation. In the Q&A that followed, Academy Award-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones told Lifetime/A+E’s Lea Goldman, that she hoped Harvey Weinstein’s dramatic fall from grace represented “a tipping, or at least a turning point” in the treatment of women in “any industry, corporation, school, college or corner store”. “It’s hard to think that, in 2017, we’re still talking about this, but it’s right we are,” she added. “Let’s hope that big old dinosaur of men thinking they can get away with that sort of behaviour is extinct as of now.
Otherwise we truly are stuck in a world that’s very sad and very destructive.” Zeta Jones’ advice to young actors in the “post-Harvey world” was to dare to be vulnerable: “Never lose your vulnerability as an actor — it’s essential to your craft. Vulnerability is a beautiful character trait and we should have it and be allowed to have it. But it’s important that we know it’s protected.” At the subsequent panel debate, New Pictures’ Willow Grylls made the point that fixating on one man and one industry “missed the point”. “It’s much wider than that,” she said. “It’s about the abuse of power.” Moderator Marisa Guthrie of The Hollywood Reporter then asked the panelists what they were doing to “send a ladder down” to younger generations of women entering the industry. “We must check our behaviour constantly and ask ourselves
whether we are helping people up the ladder,” said author and film producer Farah Abushwesh, who produces sketch content for online platform PYPO. “I remember the people who helped me up — and I certainly remember the people who didn’t.” Korelya Capital’s Fleur Pellerin, president of CANNESERIES, said that sharing experiences could help young women negotiate such issues as striking a healthy life-work balance. Grylls added: “For a long time, I was waiting for somebody to give me permission to be strong and take control. I’d like to tell the younger women coming up behind me not to wait for permission, but to Catherine take it now.” Zeta-Jones
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PICTURES
13/10/2017 15:44
mipcom
NEWS Quality brands are sacred, says HBO chief Plepler
Small changes leading to big results for TV Azteca
HBO’s Richard Plepler
TV Azteca, CEO Benjamin Salinas
I
N AN INDUSTRY that is increasingly driven by technology disruptors, HBO has survived and prospered because of the strength of its brand and the quality of the talent it works with, said HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler in his MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote, in the Grand Auditorium, on Monday, October 16. On the HBO brand, he said “what matters is the sacredness of quality brands. HBO is about curated excellence and as long as we continue to deliver that there will be a market for it, whatever changes we see in content distribution.” HBO has been a regular award winner in recent years thanks to shows like Game Of Thrones, Veep and Big Little Lies. Looking ahead, Plepler talked enthusiastically about the upcoming second series of Westworld and new family drama Succession. “We are always looking to ele-
AFTER two years at the head of Mexican broadcaster and producer TV Azteca, CEO Benjamin Salinas has already made profound and effective changes to the company. One of the most significant of those is the recent launch of Dopamine, an entirely independent producer of top-tier original content with its own budget, strategy and managerial team. “When I joined the company, the working culture there was a mess,” he said. “There was a lot of individualism, and pretty much no creative ideas flowing around, so it was important to initiate deep changes by building the idea of team work and teaching people that criticism is a necessary tool for improving performance. We also did some hiring because we want the best people, but a lot of the people already working there embraced this new culture. They are seeing the results and they are
vate our brand. We don’t always get it right but we have a good track record. Importantly for us, the talent lining up at our door to work with us is bigger than it has ever been — which is key.” Plepler, who collected the Variety Vanguard Award at the start of his keynote, has proved very adept at taking HBO into new forms of distribution and sees nothing to fear from the growth of SVOD or the emergence of new skinny channel bundles. Quizzed on the Netflix threat, he said “it has never been about us or them, it’s us and them”, meaning that subscribers often buy both services. The HBO chief said he welcomed the upcoming acquisition of HBO parent company Time Warner by telco AT&T. He said the consumer data that is likely to come out of that deal with be a “terrific benefit for us in terms of how we make our service stickier, reduce subscriber churn or improve our user interface.”
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also enjoying their jobs much more.” What Salinas refers to as relatively small changes have had some big results: “We still have a lot of work to do but already our share of the primetime audience has jumped from 28% to 35%, and for the first time ever we beat Televisa for audience share with Rosario Tijeras, our own production.” The decision to start producing shows rather than acquiring them is about to take a major leap forward: “Having successfully produced and exported three dramas of our own, we are now looking at the complex environment and its very demanding viewers that we all have to face,” he said. “So we have upped our game in terms of our usage of audience data in order to be able to provide advertisers with information which helps them optimise their marketing spend.”
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mipcom
NEWS Moviestar+ has the formula for success: act local, think global
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T DOMINGO Corral’s Media Master m ind keynote yesterday, the Movistar+ head of original programming revealed the strategy behind the company’s decision to produce 10-12 original series each year. “We all have the same challenges of an overcrowded, fastchanging and fragmented marketplace that is also extremely competitive,” he said. “And for Movistar+ you have to add to that the question of how we, as a local operator, compete with big conglomerates and their budgets.” Following audience studies, one thing became clear: “To reduce churn we absolutely have to remain in the TV game because clients who have our TV service are much more likely to stay with us,” he said. “So then the question is, how do we differentiate ourselves?” Corral’s choice was to com-
mission several of Spain’s best writers to script shows that are both very Spanish, reflecting the country’s reality and traditions, but that also have international production values. “Having made that decision, we sent some of our first scripts to Jane Millichip at Sky Vision and to
Jan Mojto of Beta Film,” he said. “And they both agreed to become production partners immediately, which was hugely encouraging to us because we had invested a lot of time in creating strong, character-driven shows that would engage the audience emotionally. We decided to avoid
formulaic ideas in favour of taking risks, and we employed some of the best writers in Spain, then challenged them to really get the best possible work from them.” Joining Corral on stage, Sky Vision managing director Jane Millichip said telecommunications companies were likely to become increasingly important in the world of premium pay content: “Movistar+ has been a brilliant partner for us because, just like Sky Vision, they want to produce highly engaging, leanforward shows.” Movistar+ head of original programming Domingo Corral
YULIA Snigir (left) and Anna Chipovskaya, who play Katia and Dasha Bulaviny in Road To Calvary, the TV adaptation of the trilogy of novels by Alexey Tolstoy, on stage at yesterday’s MIPCOM screening. The two lead actresses were joined by Timur Weinstein of Russia’s NTV, which produced the 13-part series, and Maria Perez Campi of distributor Dori Media. Tolstoy’s epic story is set between 1914 and 1919, during the first world war and the civil war which followed the Russian revolution in October 1917. Weinstein said: “The 100th anniversary of the revolution naturally called for a new adaptation. This is a key landmark in Russian history and reminds us of the hardships people overcame.” The series was directed by Konstantin Khudyakov.
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mipcom
NEWS
MENA plays its part in global trend for high-quality drama
T Bruce L Paisner, president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
EMMY KIDS AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED AT MIPCOM NOMINATIONS for the International Emmy Kids Awards were announced yesterday by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at a press conference at MIPCOM. There are 28 nominees in seven categories with the nominations spanning 16 countries. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, South Africa and the United Kingdom all produced nominated producers this year. “The Academy is proud to be the pre-eminent platform for showcasing and recognising the remarkable wealth and geographic spread of quality kids programming produced around the world,” said Bruce L Paisner, president & CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “We congratulate the nominees for their outstanding talent and for setting the high standard we all expect for children’s content.” The International Emmy Kids Awards at MIPTV presenting partners are Ernst & Young, MIPTV, Shaw Rocket Fund, TV Kids and WDR. The winners will receive their award at MIPTV in Cannes, France on Tuesday, April 10, 2018.
HE MIDDLE East may be a region with unique media characteristics — very low pay TV penetration, for example, and a prime TV season based around the holy month of Ramadan — but it is playing its part in the global trend for high-quality drama. The audience at Global Content Trends: Successful Content In The Middle East was treated to a taste of drama series — and formats — from the MENA region. Foremost among them was panArab hit Al Hayba, from Lebanon’s Cedars Art Production, a tale of love, conflict and honour in an outlaw-smuggling family, which at its peak was receiving up to 34 million social media mentions. “As a producer I had a social responsibility to discuss these issues, and we wanted to find a subtle way to make this story a reality,” Cedars Arts’ Sadek Sabbah said. Talal Adnan Awamleh, of Jordan’s Arab Telemedia Group,
Talal Adnan Awamleh speaks at Trends: Successful Content In The Middle East
which made The Invasion (the first Emmy Award-winning telenovela), said that political uncertainties and other factors made planning for and financing bigbudget TV drama difficult: “The reality is we don’t have too many TV channels that can support big dramas,” he said. “As producers we have to start thinking internationally, how to fly with our stories outside the Middle East.” Fadi Ismail, MBC Group (Dubai) agreed, adding: “We have eve-
rything in the Arab world to do what Denmark, Israel and many countries are doing.” Khulud Abou Homos of Saudi Arabia’s Arab Format Lab presented the company’s plans to produce drama and doc formats to an international level, and lamented “Where is the kids content?” Amalia Martinez de Velasco of Viacom, meanwhile, talked of Comedy Central’s plan to “foster and develop the local comedy in the region”.
Why quality will define future of 4K UHD
THE INTERNATIONAL penetration of 4K Ultra HD TV is growing but the required nextgeneration content with ultra-clear images continues to fall somewhat short, according to speakers at yesterday’s session called UHD: MIPCOM’s Global Update. “By 2022, we’ll no longer talk of 4K or 8K but of excellent quality, okay quality or small-device quality. A viewer won’t know they’re buying an 8K TV set at a store,” said moderator Chris Forrester, the UK journalist and industry consultant. “In terms of equipment, the numbers are starting to look really good,” said Claudia Vaccarone, director, global market research and customer experience at French satellite service provider Eutelsat. Vaccarone noted that 8% of western European TV households are already UHD-equipped, while 14% are planning to buy the hardware in the next 12 months.
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The awareness rate in the region is now over 50%. Globally, UHD is served across 41 channels or 68 feeds. But “lack of pervasive content makes it hard for consumers that are not equipped to fully embrace this,” she said. “We need you to make great 4K content,” Sony Corporation’s senior producer Yoshiaki ‘Joe’ Nakata told MIPCOM delegates. The popularity of major sports events in 4K UHD is opening doors for other genres. The 2018 South Korean Winter Olympics will be the fourth Olympic Games to carry the even higher definition 8K content. But the industry needs to produce premium shows more consistently for 4K UHD screens. Rian Bester, CEO of Netherlands-based Insight TV added: “What people need is a story. You can’t stay for four hours in front of a 4K TV set if you don’t have a story to listen to, if you don’t have a programme.”
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ZDF Enterprises celebrates its 25th company anniversary with award-winning actress Veerle Baetens at the ‘Sundowner’
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lexander Coridass, President and CEO, and Fred Burcksen, Executive VP and COO, started off the market at a jam-packed event location with a presentation of the firm’s drama highlights TABULA RASA, BRON III BROEN, ZARAH and SUMMERTIME MADNESS; the factual hits SIZE MATTERS and PROJECT NAZI; the game show formats CASH OR TRASH, YOU’LL NEVER GET IT and the docutainment show THE MANIPULATION GAME; as well as SCHOOL OF ROARS, the latest addition to the children’s animation catalogue, and a new season of the live action series WOLFBLOOD.
Long-time business partners: Sean Cohen, President, International & Digital at A+E Networks and Alexander Coridass, ZDF Enterprises’ President and CEO.
Amazon Instant Video’s Mirjam Laux (General Manager Video Subscriptions Germany) with Sabrina Tsambikakis (Content Partner Acquisition Manager) and Rousseau Dasgupta (Content Acquisition Manager).
Totally crazy about ‘Scream Street’: Coolabi’s Chief Executive Jeremy Banks with Atlantyca Entertainment’s Claudia Mazzucco (CEO), Caterina Vacchi (Head of Production & Distribution Department), Alessandra Dematteis (Distribution Manager) and Niccolo Sacchi (Executive Producer).
Arne Lohmann (ZDF Enterprises’ VP ZDFE.junior) with Australian producers Julia Adams (Executive Producer, Shiff & Company), Suzanne Ryan (COO and Executive Producer, SLR) and Fred Burcksen (Executive VP and COO, ZDF Enterprises).
Jan-Frederik Maul (Director ZDFE.junior, ZDF Enterprises, left) with Martina Pestaj (Head of Children & Youth Programmes Dept., RTV Slovenija).
Advertorial
ZDF Enterprises‘ President and CEO Alexander Coridass with Alan Griffiths (CEO World Media Rights) and Nikolas Huelbusch (Director ZDFE.factual, ZDF Enterprises, right).
Sebastian Krekeler (Director ZDFE.drama, ZDF Enterprises) with Giorgio Buscaglia (Buyer, Rai 2) and Robert Franke (VP ZDFE.drama, ZDF Enterprises).
TABULA RASA’s leading actress Veerle Baetens (right), with Sarah Eichenlaub (Director ZDFE.drama, ZDF Enterprises), Bo De Group (Head of Films, Caviar Films) and Leonie Gysel.
Katharina Pietzsch (Director ZDFE.junior, ZDF Enterprises, right) with Ben Butterworth (Director Snapper Productions, left) and the producers of the latest animation series ‘School of Roars’, Jo Killingley and Alan Robinson (Dot to Dot Productions).
Mirela Nastase (Director ZDFE.drama, ZDF Enterprises) with Tim Werner (COO, Mainstream Networks Holding).
Sylvia Brucker (VP ZDFE.entertainment, ZDF Enterprises) with Marko and Sabina Tomazin from Gute Laune TV.
mipcom
NEWS WHY INDIGENOUS SHOWS ARE COMING IN FROM THE COLD
Crossing borders in search of global scripted success
Brittany LeBorgne
“SHOWS LIKE ours are helping change the narrative of the Hollywood Indian,” said First Nation actor Brittany LeBorgne. “The indigenous character isn’t just a secondary role or a plot twist in the story any more. We are the story.” LeBorgne is a Kahnawake woman and the star of the multi-award nominated Canadian comedy-drama series Mohawk Girls. Made by aboriginal-owned Rezolution Pictures and often described as an “indigenous Sex And The City”, Mohawk Girls follows four twentysomething indigenous women living, loving and dealing with the pressures of family and community expectations. Australian comedy-drama The Warriors ploughs a similar furrow on ABC. Produced by Arenamedia, and launched in April, it follows three rookie members of an Australian Rules football team as they struggle to succeed in the world rife with racism, and humour. Co-creator and director Robert Connolly of Arenamedia said success hasn’t come overnight for indigenous film-makers. “We’re starting to see the results of several decades of investment behind the camera,” he said. “And not just in serious documentary. Cleverman and The Sapphires show what indigenous film-makers can do. “We’re at a great moment,” he said. “Here at MIPCOM buyers want to see diversity. UK/ US voices are not as dominant as they once were.”
Banijay’s Takis Candalis
StudioCanal’s Rola Bauer
Lionsgate’s Steve November
HREE leading players in the international scripted business yesterday discussed the kind of creative and commercial alliances they have formed to take their shows to the global market. During a conference entitled Beyond Co-production – Making Global Creative Connections, Rola Baeur, managing director of StudioCanal TV, talked about Safe, a crime story set in a gated community. “The story came from Harlan Coben, is produced by Nicola Shindler and stars Michael C Hall,” he said. “It is for Channel 8 in France but it felt like a global event so we also did
a deal with Netflix to give the project the scale it needed.” Steve November, creative director of Lionsgate TV in the UK, said his company was working on an ambitious scripted series called Jerusalem, based on the acclaimed factual work by Simon Sebag Montefiore. He described how international co-production meant “UK producers can now make this kind of epic dynastic show. Even a few years ago it wouldn’t have been possible to bring it to screen and do it justice.” Banijay Group head of scripted, Takis Candalis gave examples of the various ways co-productions came come together, citing Eng-
lish-language French production Versailles, Nordic series Occupied and Irish series Rebellion. He also revealed that the company was going to shoot a series in China next year about the 30,000 Jews who fled to Shanghai during the Nazi era in Germany. Candalis talked about the importance of finding “brands” that would be well-known globally. But Bauer and November said local stories with universal themes could travel well. Bauer cited Sunny March’s The Child In Time, while November said: “If you worry too much about whether a show is going to travel it can trip you up before you start.”
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More is better for scripted content ACQUIRING premium scripted content is turning complex but in a way that can only benefit the international TV industry, declared speakers during the panel called Power Shifts: Who Will Take The Throne Of Drama? “At this market, I’ve had meetings with two European companies about co-productions,” said Patrick Vien, executive managing director, international at USbased A+E Networks. “We no longer limit our ambitions exclusively to big US companies for projects that may or may not find a home in the US. That is how complicated our work has become.” Audiences will be spoilt for choice
just because the quantity of highend dramas is increasing. “The volume will continue to grow. The volume is here to stay because it is very rich,” Vien added. The availability of more nonEnglish language dramas is making the international market more productive, said Maria Kyriacou,
Beta Film’s Moritz von Kruedener (left) and A+E Networks’ Patrick Vien
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ITV Studios’ president, international. “The language spoken matters less than the quality. And that is benefiting the industry.” Cathy Payne, Endemol Shine International’s CEO, said the emerging internet-distributed SVOD platforms have helped. “In the past, many shows would have had only two buyers. Now that number is expanding.” Such developments are also influencing how today’s drama specialists do business, observed Moritz von Kruedener, general manager of Germany-based Beta Film. “Ten years ago, the industry wanted access to everything done well. Today, it is about getting access to the right things.”
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From the Executive Producers of The Good Wife, Wolf of Wall Street and Game of Thrones and the Writers of True Story and The Whispers
COMING SPRING 2018
mipcom
NEWS Minister’s visit turns spotlight on Singapore’s media sector
C
HEE HONG TAT, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Communications, Infor mation and Health was welcomed to MIPCOM yesterday by Reed MIDEM’s Jerome Delhaye, before starting on an official tour of the Palais. Tonight he will be hosting The Singapore Party, a cocktail reception that celebrates the best in Asian storytelling. The event will take place tonight from 19.30 at the Carlton hotel. The minister will be giving a speech at the networking cocktail, highlighting the progress made by Singapore’s media sector, especially the recent
Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Communications, Information and Health
milestone signing between Singapore’s Tiny Island Productions, Thailand’s Shellhut Entertainment, and China’s WingsMedia, for the production of 10 feature films. This is one of the largest animation film deals in Asia to date. Singaporean producers and distributors are at this year’s MIPCOM with over 450 hours of programming from around Asia. He will also be inviting attendees to the cocktail to join Singapore at the next edition of the Singapore Media Festival. The event continues to celebrate the diverse talent and content that Asia has to offer. It brings together international creators and media businesses to harness the abundance of creative and commercial opportunities through crossmarket collaborations and innovative stories that embrace new technologies
CANNESERIES makes global launch
CANNESERIES, the new international series festival, was officially launched yesterday in the presence of former French
minister Fleur Pellerin, president of the new event, and the Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard. The acclaimed actress
Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen, Westworld) was named as the festival’s patron. Running alongside MIPTV
CANNESERIES’ Albin Lewi (left), Cannes Mayor David Lisnard, CANNESERIES’ Fleur Pellerin, CANNESERIES’ Benoit Louvet and Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk
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2018, CANNESERIES will consist of five key elements that were explained in detail by managing director Benoit Louvet and artistic director Albin Lewi. These are: CANNESERIES Addict, a series of public screenings and masterclasses; CANNESERIES Digital, a focus on short-form series; the Official Competition, a selection of 10 international series; In Development, a creative forum held in partnership with Reed MIDEM’s MIPTV; and the out of competition screenings — which will focus on three further quality shows. Lewi also revealed details of another initiative called CANNESERIES Institute, which will see eight French and international writers spend several weeks preparing a treatment and pilot script for a series. The best project will be offered a development agreement by Canal+ Group.
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Free & Easy 2017 Sundance Film Festival
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NEWS TF1 HELPS WALTER PRESENT EVEN MORE TF1 STUDIO has extended its licensing agreement with Channel 4’s VOD service, Walter Presents, to encompass new titles and territories. The crime drama Killer By The Lake (6 x 52 mins), soon to air on TF1, has just been added to the multi-territory deal. And existing titles such as Luc Besson’s No Limit and Olivier Marchal’s Elite Squad will be available in Australia and the US. Sabine Chemaly, executive vice-president international distribution at TF1 Studio, said. “The team at Walter Presents is fantastic and we are proud to be part of the best foreign-language dramas the service has on offer.” TF1 Studio has also licensed its new crime drama series Just One Look to Polish pubcaster TVP. The second adaptation of a Harlan Coben bestseller, it joins feature films and TV movies from TF1, including No Second Chance and Bright-Eyed Revenge.
Sabine Chemaly (left) TF1 Studio, with Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp of Walter Presents, and Alice Damiani of TF1 Studio
BBC explores what it takes to really make the grade in space
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T’S GROUND control to Chris Hadfield: the Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station (ISS) is at MIPCOM to promote Astronauts: Toughest Job In The Universe, a new six-part documentary from the UK’s BBC Studios. Hadfield, who fronts the series that examines what it takes to become an astronaut, became a household name in 2013 when he released a video of himself singing David Bowie’s Space Oddity on the ISS. Although he retired after three missions in his 21 years as an astronaut, Hadfield said he is amazed at the number of people who apply to go into space. He said Astronauts: Toughest Job is a realistic portrayal of the immense physical, cerebral and psychological strength required to survive a flight, let alone a career. “This series gives them a real insight into the type of person we’re looking for.” With only a handful chosen from the 18,300 people who applied for Nasa’s latest selection, for
Celebrated astronaut and musician Chris Hadfield
example, he believes that viewers will be fascinated to see how some applicants in the show did not make the cut. They struggled to cope mentally and physically, despite having a PhD and/or having climbed Everest.
Hadfield, who is also a professional musician, explained his Space Oddity on YouTube: “It is using media technology to let people see an environment that they might otherwise never feel a part of.”
THE CAST of new BBC crime drama McMafia came to Cannes yesterday. James Norton plays the role of Alex Goodman, whose determination to detach himself from his father’s important role in the Russian mafia is challenged as his family’s past returns to threaten him and his loved ones. The hard-hitting series is co-produced by BBC, AMC, and Cuba Pictures and is being launched by BBC Worldwide at MIPCOM.
The MIPCOM Newsroom is located on the first floor of the Palais
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The official MIPCOM daily newspaper Tuesday 17 October 2017
Director of Publications Paul Zilk EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editors Neil Churchman, Neil Crossley, Nigel Wilmott Reporters Kristine Clifford, Ben Cooper, Andy Fry, Emelia Jones, Juliana Koranteng, Max Leonard, Rachel Murrell, Gary Smith, Joanna Stephens, David Wood Editorial Management Boutique Editions Head of Graphic Studio Herve Traisnel Graphic Studio Manager Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designers Muriel Betrancourt, Veronique Duthille, Carole Peres Head of Photographers Yann Coatsaliou / 360 Medias Photographers Christian Alminana, Patrick Frega, Phyrass Haidar, Michel Johner. PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France). ADVERTISING CONTACT IN CANNES Silvia Ferreira: +33 7 78 35 43 99 Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNEBILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557. Contents © 2017, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 4th quarter 2017. Printed on FSC certified paper.
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NEWS Japan puts its faith in regional content and the growth of OTT
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HE EXPORT of Japanese content has a key role to play in the future economic growth of the country, according to Masahiko Tominaga, Japan’s vice-minister for policy co-ordination (international affairs), in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Tominaga said: “The government sees the export of content as a way of showcasing the attractiveness of Japan and we believe there will be a way to connect those activities with future economic growth in Japan.” The Japanese government has set the goal of attracting 40 million tourists in 2020, he said. “Japanese content overseas will be a key way of contributing to that goal.” He added that the impact of being Country Of Honour at MIPCOM last year was significant. “It was a great opportunity to showcase the
Masahiko Tominaga, Japan’s vice-minister for policy co-ordination (international affairs): the export of content is a way of “showcasing the attractiveness of Japan”
Great wave of 4K begins with Hokusai
A DRAMA about the daughter of one of Japan’s most famous artists provides the “perfect content” for 4K, NHK producer Hidenobu Miyazaki said. Kurara: The Dazzling Life Of Hokusai’s Daughter is the Asian World Premiere TV Screening today at MIPCOM. Based on a book by Makate Asai, the film charts the life of Oei, the daughter of Katsushika Hokusai, the legendary artist who created influential works of art in the 18th and early 19th century. The role of Hokusai’s daughter has become better understood and her input to her father’s work is becoming more recognised. Kurara tells the story of how she
NHK’s Hidenobu Miyazaki:”Kurara is the perfect content for the occasion”
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visual culture of Japan.” He continued: “Exports to Asia have been impactful, but we haven’t been as active in the west. We hope that a number of local stations which do not yet have the expertise of deploying abroad will get on board the train.” Part of the ministry’s efforts can be seen in the setting up of the Japanese Regional Pavilion, which features local broadcasters showcasing the attractiveness of each region of Japan. There has been an upsurge in the number of local stations exhibiting at the market, with the pavilion boasting 13 local broadcasters and three cable stations this year. Tominaga said that the growth of OTT services in Japan would offer viewers more choice and rights holders the possibility to communicate more of their content to the rest of the world: “We believe these developments will further strengthen the content industry as a whole.” In 2015 the Japanese content market was worth nearly 29 billion yen. Tominaga predicted that OTT services would make up an increasing share of the market.
helped her increasingly frail father to produce the works that made him famous, including the iconic The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. The screening is being hosted by Japanese broadcaster NHK. Miyazaki, a producer in NHK’s global content development division, said: “NHK is honoured to be able to host the first-ever official premiere 4K screening at the Palais during MIPCOM 2017. And we think Kurara is the perfect content for the occasion.” He added: “Of course, 4K and 8K will be adopted for many uses. But since we are a broadcast company right now, we’re concentrating on television. NHK will start airing programmes regularly in 4K and 8K over its satellite channels in 2018.”
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NEWS Trotsky’s true self comes out in new drama
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ODAY sees the World Premiere TV Screening of Trotsky, Channel One/Sreda Production’s powerful portrait of one of the architects of the Russian Revolution and the flagship event of MIPCOM’s Russian Content Revolution showcase. The docu-drama, whose release coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution this month, explores the extraordinary life and tragic fate of the man who changed the course of world history. Alexander Tsekalo, founder of Sreda and producer of the 8 x 52 mins series, said Trotsky aimed to “fully reveal Trotsky’s ambiguous personality”. He added: “We explore his memories as he revisits the major events of his life, which unfold against the backdrop of the genesis of the USSR.” Trotsky is the latest Sreda series to be sold to Netflix, which has also acquired Gogol — also making its international debut at MIPCOM — The Territory, Sparta, Method, Fartsa and its biggest international hit to date, Silver Spoon, now in its second season on Netflix. “We owe our relationship with Netflix to our distributor, Eccho Rights, and our agent Roy Ashton from Gersh Agency,” Tsekalo said, explaining how Sreda became the first Russian production company to sell content to the streaming giant. “They introduced us to each other and then we made deals.” Tsekalo reports that Sreda is now in discussion with Netflix about the possibility of producing a US version of psychological thriller Method, which centres on a young woman’s apprenticeship with a successful but mysterious private investigator. “Ed Bernero, Criminal Minds showrunner, wants to make an American version, so we’ve been pitching the project to Netflix,” he added. Also set for local adaptation is procedural drama Silver Spoon, the format rights to which have been sold to the US, Germany and the Netherlands. In terms of Sreda’s international expansion strategy, Tsekalo said: “There are four stages: sales of ready-made projects; sales of formats; international co-production; and production for the international market.”
Alexander Tsekalo: revealing Trotsky’s “ambiguous personality”
Konstantin Khabensky as Trotsky
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NEWS New formats and streaming services to feature after Fuji TV’s restructure
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HE recently-restructured Fuji Television Network (Fuji TV) is at MIPCOM to highlight its growing business in China, promote its formats division, and market its streaming-TV platform as part of its ambitions in the domestic and international markets. “At MIPCOM, we have two strategies,” said Toru Ota, the Tokyobased senior executive managing director. “We want to form partnerships in China and other countries to make new programmes and formats that will eventually lead to merchandising. The other is to sell our reality show, Terrace House, which is already a hit in many countries.” At Cannes, Fuji TV will also offer six new format titles for variety shows, including No Rumble No Food, a current food-quiz hit show in Japan.
Like several Japanese broadcasters, Fuji TV is streamlining its operations by consolidating different activities under one unit.
In 2017, it combined its nonbroadcast and non-cinema businesses, including its streaming platform, with the unit that han-
Fuji TV’s Toru Ota
Bellon highlights power of the people
SOCIAL MEDIA has transformed the way that content makers interact with buyers and broadcasters, the distributor behind one of the world’s most popular fitness challenge shows has said. Speaking to MIPCOM News, Gregory Bellon, president of Bellon Entertainment, said that “grassroots” videos and socialmedia posts from ordinary people are influencing the way buyers find and choose content as never before. “It’s a new way of showing your relevance,” Bellon said. “Often it’s accidental; we’ve had videos which have had millions of hits that have brought buyers to us. If something resonates with people social media can help share that; it finds a way to get out to people.” Bellon has overseen global distribution for Tokyo Broadcasting
System’s (TBS) hugely-popular Ninja Warrior show, in which contestants battle around famously difficult obstacle courses. Ninja Warrior, which has received a huge social-media following worldwide, has been picked up in 165 countries and regions, with 18 local productions to date reaching audiences throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. Production is currently under way for a fourth season in the UK, with a 10th season of American Ninja Warrior also in the pipeline. Makito Sugiyama, chief executive and vice-president of TBS’ global business department, within the company’s media business division, said that the show’s huge international success is partly down to its wide appeal across platforms.
He said: “You have to make shows that are translatable across multiple platforms, not
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dles format sales, merchandising and its former international division. Fuji On Demand (FOD) is the only on-demand video service in Japan offered by a major broadcast company and been successful on its own terms. Whereas other broadcasters usually hook up with established streaming services, “it’s our own system,” Ota said about FOD. “And since SVOD is one of the most popular content-delivery systems in Asia, Fuji TV is working on creating partnerships in China.” He added: “We’ve had a lot of success with streaming, and what we’re looking for is good partners and new content. We want something stable and durable, and look forward to working with new people.” In the past, most of Fuji TV’s revenue came from DVD sales and other merchandise. “But now, we have to develop digital services like streaming, as well as international programmes and format sales,” Ota said.
just television. Ninja Warrior has been watched millions of times online and in YouTube videos; one of our videos was watched more than 100 million times in just a few days.”
Bellon Entertainment’s Gregory Bellon, left, with Makito Sugiyama of TBS
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NEWS
Revolution consolidates its TV and digital deal with Miramax
R The Final Four (Armoza Formats)
CONTEXT GETS THE FINAL FOUR FOR NZ ARMOZA Formats’ primetime singing contest The Final Four has been acquired by Context Media for New Zealand and pan-Asia. The show offers a new twist on the traditional format by allowing anyone at home to become a contestant at any point during the season. Viewers challenge for a place among the four on-screen singers by sending in their own submissions via a dedicated app. The season finale sees the surviving four battle it out to find the overall winner. Context Media’s director of content, John Leahy said: “A viewer with real potential is at home one week and can be challenging and performing on stage the next. This is a game changer for shiny floor formats.” Avi Armoza, CEO of the Tel Aviv-based company also hailed the strength of the format. “Only a few months after its launch, the show is already in production in major territories,” he said. “We are thrilled to be expanding to pan-Asia and New Zealand with Context Media,” he said.
EVOLUTION Studios has extended its exclusive global television and digital distribution deal with Miramax. Under the deal, Miramax will continue to represent Revolution’s top-tier library, including titles such as Black Hawk Down, America’s Sweethearts, 13 Going On 30, Maid In Manhattan and Daddy Day Care. Also included in the agreement are feature films Revolution has acquired through its purchase of the Morgan Creek International library. Those include Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and The Last Of The Mohicans. Miramax has represented Revolution’s titles domestically since 2012 and internationally since 2014. Scott Hemming, Revolution president and chief operating officer said: “The Miramax global sales team is among the
Miramax’s Joe Patrick (left), Revolution’s Vince Totino and Scott Hemming, with Miramax’s Bill Block
most respected and creative in the industry, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to enhance the worldwide reach of Revolution’s catalogue.” Joe Patrick, Miramax’s executive vice-president of worldwide TV
sales and home entertainment, added: “The Revolution and Morgan Creek International titles continue to be in high demand from partners across the globe, and their catalogue is an excellent complement to the Miramax library.”
RAI in Atlantyca Scream Street deal ITALIAN broadcaster RAI is set to show hit kids comedy series Scream Street after signing a deal with distributor Atlantyca Entertainment. Atlantyca has secured the deal with RAI to run the full 52 episodes of the show, produced by Coolabi Group, on the channel starting this autumn. The stop-motion animation tells the story of a young werewolf who moves into a street where the whole neighbourhood is made up of horror story-worthy characters. Based in part on the British horror comic series of the same name, written by Tommy Donbavand, Scream Street is an allegory of growing up, with comedy elements based on the scrapes the main character gets himself into while learning the art of the supernatural. Caterina Vacchi, Atlantyca’s head of animation department, executive producer and distribution director said: “This series is filled with fast and furious stories,
packed with lots of fun, horror and humour delivered with warmth and heart — even if some of those hearts have stopped beating. “We are excited to be able to partner with RAI once again, they’re the ideal broadcaster to bring this wonderfully innovative and creative animated series to Italy’s young audiences who are certain to become quick fans.”
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Atlantyca, RAI and Coolabi are in Cannes to announce the deal to the market along with ZDF Enterprises, which holds worldwide distribution rights for the show, excluding the UK, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Atlantyca is responsible for distributing the show in Italy, and acts as licensing agent for Coolabi in the country.
ZDF’s Peter Lang (left), Luca Milano of Rai Ragazzi, Atlantyca’s Caterina Vacchi and Jeremy Banks from Coolabi
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NEWS MIKHAIL Kovalchuk, CEO of Signal Media International, introduces Heroes Of Envell, the MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening, which follows the fortunes of four junior high students transported to a mysterious and dangerous game world. “The kids audience is the most demanding, the most progressive and also the most grateful,” Kovalchuk said. The screening was presented by Digital TV Russia, the producer, and Signal Media, which is distributing the 26 x 11 mins series. It appears as part of MIPCOM and MIPJunior’s Russian Content Revolution Spotlight 2017.
BRITISH producer Reza Kio of Advantage Digital Entertainment flew to Nice on Friday to attend MIPJunior. But money’s tight, and it was a nice day, so he scooted the 25km to Cannes. After a five-hour journey, the self-confessed optimist spent the weekend seeking partners for his first animated series, Big Ears Planet (52 x 6 mins). He plans to scoot back to Nice. If you pass him, give him a wave.
REBECCA Ash, editorial director at Total Licensing, presented new animation from Russia at MIPJunior. The showcase was hosted by Russian Export Center, organiser of the Made In Russia pavilion, and featured series from Riki Group, Wizart, Melnitsa, among a host of other companies.
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“BLENDED families are normal in Canada. And where they aren’t, we want kids to understand that they can be,” Malabar Marney, director of TVOKids, told the MIP Junior session Are We There Yet? Diversity, Inclusion And New Family Structures. Marney called on kids’ broadcasters not just to reflect diversity on screen, but to help drive the agenda as well. But it has to be an organic part of the story, she said, not just a box-ticking exercise.
“HELL YEAH!”, was the response of Polygon Pictures’ president Shuzo Shiota (right) when asked by NHK’s Keisuke Tsuchihashi (left) if he wanted to help reimagine Pingu for the 21st century. In Pingu In The City (52 x 7 mins), the new dialogue-free CGI preschool series, the accident-prone Pingu tries to help adult penguins in their work. The series is co-produced by Mattel Inc, NHK Enterprises and Polygon Pictures.
PITCHERS get up close and personal with CBeebies head of production Alison Stewart (centre) at the MIP Junior Buyers’ and Commissioners’ Matchmaking on Sunday.
CHARACTERS from Hong Kong-based Fun Union’s BabyRiki series took up residence in the JW Marriott for MIPJunior. Rosy (pink) and Krashy (blue) were joined for a celebration picture by Fun Union CEO Christine Brendle and Imira Entertainment’s Sergi Reitg to mark the signing of a multi-territory distribution deal. The partnership kicks off with Spain’s Imira handling the international sales for Spanish-, Portuguese- and Italian-speaking territories for BabyRiki (104 x 5 mins), a pre-school edutainment series that mixes 3D CGI and live action; KikoRiki (216 x 6.30/52 x 11 mins), which captures the lives of the BabyRiki characters as they grow up; and PinCode (104 x 13 mins), an edutainment comedy targeted at primary-school children, which explores the principles of physics, chemistry and biology while following a bunch of heroes across the globe.
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NEWS IT’S IN THE BAG FOR 9 STORY 9 STORY Media Group has rebranded its Toronto animation studio as Brown Bag Films with 9 Story Media Group remaining the parent company. 9 Story acquired Dublin- and Manchester-based Brown Bag Films in 2015 and has been undergoing a process to integrate its three animation studios. Brown Bag Films will operate as the company’s creative hub for both 2D and 3D animation across Toronto, Dublin and Manchester. “Renaming our Toronto studio Brown Bag Films is an important step in our integration,” said Vince Commisso, 9 Story president and CEO. “All three locations have benefited tremendously from sharing best practices, talent and infrastructure.”
LADIES FIRST FOR FIGHTING SPIRIT FIGHTING Spirit, a combat sports-programming specialist based in Toulouse, France, has been attending MIPCOM since 2005 and is in Cannes this week with its new venture, Ladies First Distribution. Ladies First offers a wide range of programmes dedicated to the female and family audience. A priority is Ask Dr Nandi, an American medical lifestyle talk show, for which Ladies First has rights for all seasons. “Ladies First decided to exhibit for the first time as we have the honour to host Dr Nandi, who will be with us this afternoon to sign his new book which is already a bestseller in the US, UK , Canada and Australia,” said Fighting Spirit CEO Laurent Pourrut.
Two Brothers’ Liar is true sales hit for all3media International
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LL3MEDIA International has concluded a host of new deals for cr itically acclaimed thriller Liar from Two Brothers Pictures. Following its ratings-winning debut on ITV in the UK last month, the six-part drama has been secured by SVT in Sweden, and by Germany’s SquareOne Entertainment, in a deal including rights for the Germanspeaking market. Other broadcasters picking up the drama include 365 (Iceland), DBS Satellite (Israel) and TV3 (Ireland), alongside a pan-regional deal with BBC Global covering Africa, Benelux and the Middle East. Created for ITV (UK) and SundanceTV (US), Liar has already been acquired by TF1 (France), Seven Network (Aus-
All3media’s Peta Sykes with SVT International’s Stephen Mowbray
tralia), TVNZ (New Zealand) and HBO (Spain, CEE and Nordics). Liar is also featuring at numerous international festivals, including the Cologne Conference, as well as the inaugural Tribeca TV Festival, in conjunction with SundanceTV. “Liar achieved incredible ratings and wide critical acclaim
on its launch in the UK, gripping audiences with its intriguing storyline and compelling performances,” said Louise Pedersen, CEO at all3media International. “This success will only serve to further strengthen the appeal of the show with our global clients, and we’re looking forward to finalising more deals in Cannes.”
Regal deals for TCB Media Rights
TCB MEDIA Rights has closed pre-sales for two of its royalthemed MIPCOM launches. SBS Australia has invested in Elizabeth, produced by ITN Productions for Channel 5 in the UK, and The Private Lives Of The Monarchs from Like A Shot Productions. Elizabeth is new documentary series that follows the British monarch over the course of her nearly seven-decade rule. She has been served by over a dozen prime ministers, met the world’s greatest leaders, and become the adored great grandmother of a grateful nation. “This landmark series offers unprecedented access to the inner circle of the most famous woman in the world, about who we know very little. This is the story of Queen Elizabeth told by the people closest to her, who in some cases have never before spoken on camera,”
TCB’s Katy Llewellyn-Jones (left), SBS’ Peter Andrews and TCB’s Claire Runham
Peter Andrews, head of network programming, television and online for SBS Television Australia, said. The Private Lives Of The Monarchs was already pre-sold to UKTV and Viasat and now also counts SBS Australia as a part-
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ner. “As with Elizabeth, Private Lives Of The Monarchs focuses on what the day-to-day lives of the royals were really like. This reflects the audience’s current fascination with the minutiae of the lives of historical, iconic people,” Andrews added.
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WILD IRELAND 1 x 52 min.
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THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
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NEWS
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CTOR Kristin Kreuk (Smallville, Beauty And The Beast) plays the fearless city lawyer Joanna Hanley in a new legal drama and CBC original series, Burden Of Truth (10 x 60 mins). Kreuk walked the red carpet in Cannes last night to celebrate the launch of the series at MIPCOM, currently in production in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ahead of a winter 2018 debut. “My character doesn’t care what people think, she has no inherent desire to be likable and she’s absolutely fearless in terms of achieving her goals and not being afraid to be herself. These are qualities I would personally love to emulate,” Kreuk said. Lawyer Hanley returns to her hometown to take on a case she thinks is simple, only to find herself in a fight for justice for a group of sick girls. “There is a huge amount of discovery in the first series as she learns about the secret of her past and grieves for a lost image of her family. This is a complex and nuanced look at the legacy of corruption and abuses of power within communities and by individuals. I think audiences will be completely hooked with the cliff-hanging suspense.” Burden Of Truth is produced by ICF Films, Entertainment One (eOne) and Eagle Vision. The series is created by Bradley Simpson (Rookie Blue, King) and executive produced by Ilana Frank (The Eleventh Hour, Saving Hope, Rookie Blue), Linda Pope (Saving Hope, Rookie Blue), Jocelyn Hamilton (Mary Kills People, Cardinal) and Kristin Kreuk. The cast joining Kreuk includes Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue, Camelot, Heroes Reborn), Alex Carter (NCIS, Ransom, Saving Hope) and Ben Ayres (Saving Hope, Bitten).
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NEWS
Beyond’s documentary offers a unique perspective on Escobar
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EYOND Distribution is in Cannes with Escobar Exposed (2 x 60 mins), a documentary that casts new light on the extraordinary life of Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar. Key to the
production’s appeal is the direct involvement of Pablo Escobar’s son, Sebastian Marroquin, who teamed up with Canadian producer Eric Hebert on the project. Marroquin is at MIPCOM this week to promote the documen-
tary. “I wanted to make this film because so many lies have been told about my father,” he said. “There are so many stories in the media from people who didn’t even drink a cup of coffee with Pablo Escobar.”
Eric Hebert (left) and Sebastian Marroquin
Atrium TV rosters high-end dramas
ACTORS Charles Dance and Peter
Dinklage have signed up as executive producers on Quasimodo, one of the six high-quality drama projects unveiled at MIPCOM by the new “commissioning club” called Atrium TV. Spearheaded by Sir Howard Stringer, the former chairman/ CEO of Sony Corp and former president of CBS, Atrium TV is also run by its CEO Jeremy Fox, the former CEO of independent international distributor DRG. It was launched only six months ago at MIPTV, but it has already gained 10 small- to medium-sized OTT and telecom platforms as members. They include France’s Orange, Spanish platform Movistar+ and Asian SVOD operation iflix. Another three are coming on
board in the next few weeks. At its inaugural meeting at MIPCOM, high-profile writers and showrunners of drama in development were invited to pitch to club members, who then decide if
they wish to invest in or license the premium dramas on offer. “All our six projects are being scripted, some are beyond the first episode and are very much primetime-ready,” said Fox to il-
Charles Dance presents Quasimodo at Atrium TV’s meeting
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Marroquin’s participation is proving of interest to buyers, with Telemundo having already picked up the show. Marroquin said there were other elements that made the show stand out: “There is my mother’s testimony, because she hasn’t spoken to the media for many years. And we also have personal archive of my father from before he became so famous. A lot of this kind of material was destroyed because it can be very dangerous to keep memories. But we have photos, letters and recordings that were never previously seen.” In addition, Hebert said: “Sebastian was able to secure private access to people and places that others wouldn’t be able to get to.” It is 24 years since Pablo Escobar died, during which time Marroquin has grown up and established himself as an architect in Argentina. Until recently, he says, it was too dangerous to talk about his father’s time at the head of the Medellin cartel because of the risk of repercussions from rival gangs. “I used to be afraid, but I don’t feel the same fear anymore. I feel safe now to tell the true story.”
lustrate how quickly the Atrium TV business model is developing. In addition to Quasimodo, Atrium TV’s current projects include Jerusalem, the 10-part epic being written by Russell Rothberg, formerly Universal Television’s head of drama development. Once club members make an offer, they are given 90 days “to pay or play”. Those who acquire the rights are able to exploit the show in their local markets for a specific period of time or exclusively, depending on the agreement. After members’ rights are established, DRG is free to sell the remainder to the rest of the world. Stringer said: “We want something to be proud of. These are substantial shows worthy of 10 hours of production. And from the quality of the pitches made here, the buyers were quick to believe in them.”
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BRAND NEW FACTUAL CONTENT FOR MIPCOM
THE INSIDER :
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A Year of the Tribe:
In search of the Real Korowai
HAT TRICK INTERNATIONAL
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NEWS CINEFLIX TAKES FRENCHLANGUAGE TV TO THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE QUEBEC-headquartered producer and distributor Cineflix Media is on a drive to encourage the “untapped potential” of French-language TV content on the global stage. In partnership with the Societe de Developpement des Entreprises Culturelles du Quebec (SODEC), Cineflix has launched the International Development Initiative for Quebec Content, designed to nurture talent and creativity in the region. Cineflix and SODEC have jointly funded the initiative, with an initial outlay of $750,000 to develop existing French-language shows and adapt them for global audiences. Commenting on the scheme, Cineflix Media vice-president for commercial affairs Pablo Salzman said: “Producers in Quebec are creating innovative and highly-successful scripted and factual series for the Quebec market, which also have great untapped potential in the international market”. The organisers of the initiative are encouraging Quebec-based TV creatives to come forward with ideas and content with potential for global promotion. As part of a push to increase its global exposure, Cineflix has also entered into a partnership with Montreal producer Ideacom International, which specialises in factual content. The companies will work jointly on developing documentary content aimed at broadcasters in France, Canada, Europe, the US and the wider market.
Screentime and Mastiff’s ‘sassy’ drama launch is Straight Forward
Viaplay/Viasat Nordic’s Fredrik Ljungberg (left); TVNZ’s Cate Slater; Banijay Rights’ Chris Stewart; Screentime New Zealand’s Philly de Lacey; Mastiff’s Mia Marie Borup; and Yellow Bird’s Line Winther Skyum Funch
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NEW Danish-New Zealand coproduction has been unveiled at MIPCOM that will see two of Banijay’s most successful production companies – Mastiff and Screentime New Zealand – come together to produce 8 x 60 mins drama Straight Forward, billed as a mix of “crime caper and voyage of discovery”. The series, which will start shooting in New Zealand in February, will be co-produced by broadcasters Viaplay and TVNZ, in association with Acorn Media Enterprises and North American streaming service Acorn TV. Created by award-winning writer John Banas (Blue Heelers), the story centres on a Danish woman’s attempts to leave her criminal past behind her by starting a new life in a small town in New Zealand. “It’s a wonderful, exciting, sexy, sassy drama that should have great global appeal,” said Screentime CEO Philly de Lacey, who first pitched the idea at MIPCOM 2016. “Mastiff
Love Island looks set for Nordic debut TV4 SWEDEN has commissioned ITV Studios’ Love Island, taking the number of territories to air the hit format to four. The series, which will be produced by ITV Studios Sweden, will air on TV4 next year. The deal follows last week’s announcement that Nine Network in Australia has commissioned the show, which finished its recordbreaking third series on ITV2 this summer. The format, which sends a group of singletons
to a glamorous villa to find love in the sun, is the UK’s number-one reality show for 16to 34-year-olds. It also launched last month on RTL2 in Germany, where it is the moststreamed RTL2 format ever on TV Now. Fredrik Arefalk, head of channels at TV4Group, said: “Love Island is one the largest initiatives ever for TV4 Play. The fact that it’s a live event, in which our viewers and users can affect the outcome of the show, will
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jumped on it immediately and, within literally a few days, we got the project off the ground. I’ve never had an international drama co-pro come together so easily and so quickly, which says a great deal about the strength of the concept.” Takis Candilis, head of scripted at Banijay Group, added: “This is a compelling story that delivers an enticing and unusual blend of New Zealand and Scandinavian narrative.” Viaplay will retain the rights to Straight Forward in Scandinavia, with TVNZ taking first-window rights for New Zealand. Acorn Media has the first-window rights for North America and the UK, and second-window rights for Australia and New Zealand. Banijay Rights will license the series worldwide in the remaining territories. Straight Forward is a Viaplay Original, produced by De Lacy, Riccardo Pellizzeri and Bridget Bourke for Screentime, as well as Line Winther Skyum Funch and Mia Marie Borup for Mastiff.
contribute greatly to TV4 Play’s position as the natural starting point for new television experiences.” Mike Beale, ITV Studios’ managing director, Nordics and global creative network, said there that there was “strong momentum” around the format on the back of the Swedish and Australian deals. “The everyday ups and downs of the islanders is something that younger audiences everywhere can relate to, and this makes it an appealing proposition to global broadcasters,” he added.
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NEWS FIRST TIME AT MIPCOM
Green Gold follows up Netflix success with new kids series
Siddharth Kumar Tewary Founder and chief creative, One Life Studios, India What brought you to MIPCOM? MIPCOM is the perfect place to introduce One Life Studios’ content to the international content industry, where all the important industry players come together. We are also interested in hearing about the latest programming and digital trends at the conferences. We have been a force to reckon with in the business of creative and production in India over the past 10 years with shows like Mahabharat and Shaani, and MIPCOM was the perfect place to launch our foray into international distribution. What are you bringing to MIPCOM? We’re excited to share our biggest epic drama series to date, the story of Porus, one of ancient India’s most iconic rulers. With shooting spanning multiple countries, we’ve created a narrative that will be exciting for audiences across the globe. We’re also showcasing formats (Dropout), doc series (Hip Hop Homeland) and scripted (Bachelors). We’re delighted to share Indian stories with an international audience.
Green Gold in Cannes: content sales manager Desmond Aram (left), CEO Rajiv Chilaka, vice-president content sales Bharath Laxmipati and head of US operations Marc Lumer
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REEN Gold Animation has followed up its success with Netflix’s first original Indian animation, Mighty Little Bheem, with the launch of three new animated series at MIPCOM. Green Gold CEO Rajiv Chilaka said that all the shows are distinctively Indian-themed, but are internationally styled. Last year Green Gold opened a Los Angeles studio headed by Mark Lumer to focus on visual development and enhance the international appeal of the company’s output. The new series include Kalari Kids, a 60 x 11 mins series aimed at four- to eight-yearolds, based around the ancient Indian martial
Good serves up Thai food and nature
What type of people/professionals are you hoping to meet at MIPCOM? We are looking to meet with global distribution and co-production partners from all territories outside of India. What are your goals for MIPCOM? What would you like to have achieved by the end of the market? The goal is to build the foundation for longstanding relationships with our international partners and hopefully make some great programming deals. We are also seeking to work with a select set of partners on co-productions and ideas that are global in nature.
art of Kalaripayattu. The show has already been acquired by Amazon Prime India. High fashion meets psychedelic spy adventure in Duchess: Saving The World In Style, (26 x 22 mins), a 2D series about an heiress and fashion icon who is really the mastermind of an undercover spy network. Green Gold’s fourth series is Jungle Trouble: Nature Sucks, described as a slapstick comedy about four jungle animals who are pitted against a greedy high-tech penguin and his thuggish rhinoceros sidekick. Chilaka said that the company was aiming to raise the bar on the fledgling Indian animation industry with a focus on quality 2D work in HD.
Good TV’s Jirathiti Rochananond (left), Amornphat Chomrat and Paisarn Charurattanarong
GOOD TV, veterans of MIPCOM as buyers, this year attend as sellers for the first time, with two new series about the rich cultural heritage of their native Thailand. “We have bought programming here for 17 years,” managing director Amornphat Chomrat
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said. “It’s wonderful for us to attend MIPCOM for the first time with high-quality documentary series of our own to sell.” Thailand From Above (6 x 30 mins) showcases the beautiful natural landscape and buildings of the country. It is shot in 4K HD, and has no presenter, so lends itself to international sales. Food To Die For (5 x 50 mins) follows food blogger Mark Wien as he travels the country’s markets and restaurants tasting — and smelling — its traditional food. His signature of “tipping” the camera with his hand at the end of each shot gives the show personality and informality. Good TV also has bigger ambitions. “We are a social enterprise using television to improve the lives of Thai people,” Chomrat said. “That’s not just the viewers. We want to become a hub for documentary talent in the region.”
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GErMAn P A V|L|O n COME V|S|T US PALA|S-1, J24/K23
JOin US AT MiPCOM rECEPTiOn Tuesday, 17 October 2017, 6-7PM
Contact: runze & Casper, mips@runze-casper.de
NEWS BAVARIA FILM IS BACK WITH LEGAL COMEDY BAVARIA Film is back at MIPCOM as a stand-alone company after leaving Global Screen, a 50:50 joint venture with Telepool created in 2013. According to Carlos Hertel, director of international sales at Bavaria Media: “Bavaria Film is a very solid brand internationally. As one of Germany’s leading producers of AV content across all segments, it was a logical decision to continue Bavaria Media’s successful tradition of content distribution.” The company will be premiering two new shows this market. “Falk is a legal comedy in which Jupiter Award nominee Fritz Karl (Maximilian) plays a lawyer turned restaurant owner who has to return to his old job in order to save his restaurant from bankruptcy,” Hertel said. He added: “Coast Guard Constance is a crime series starring Floriane Daniel as a single mum who moves to Lake Constance, where she takes up the job as head of the Constance water police.” The titles will be joining Bavaria’s Storm Of Love, which has been sold to over 25 territories and is now in its 13th season; and critically acclaimed series such as Vienna Crime Squad, Young Doctors and Circle Of Life, part of the company’s library of 20,000 titles.
Falk (Bavaria Media)
Electus deal with Complex kicks in with youth offering
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LECTUS International, the distribution arm of production studio Electus (Running Wild With Bear Grylls, The Toy Box, Flaked) has struck an international distribution deal with youth-culture brand Complex Networks. Electus International will aim to form partnerships with broadcasters and platforms to create Complex programming blocks, as well as individual licence deals. The deal was brokered at MIPCOM by Electus’ John Pollak, president of worldwide television and international, and Complex Networks’ senior vicepresident, content, Myles O’Connell. Complex series to be distributed by Electus include Why We Fight, a show about the motivations and struggles of fighters, executive produced by Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first female bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey. Other shows include Sneaker Shopping, in which sneaker aficionado and Complex’s head of content strategy, Joe La Puma, puts a spotlight on the styles of sneaker culture. La Puma also hosts Complex Closets, which takes audiences inside celebrity closets.
Electus president of worldwide television and international John Pollak
The distribution slate also includes music series Magnum Opus, survivalist series Going Cambo, professional bull-riding series I Got Wrecked, and For The Win, in which Brodie Smith embarks on a road trip to explore unusual destinations.
Gamerz adds reality elements to eSports
GAMINGZONE Entertainment (GZE) has entered into a distribution partnership with Singapore’s Bomanbridge Media and UK’s Passion Distribution, to represent the live eSports reality format Gamerz. Bomanbridge Media will be distributing the format in Asia Pacific, while Passion Distribution will be distributing across the rest of the world, including Australia and New Zealand. The format is being launched a MIPCOM. Produced by the GZE, Gamerz offers online gaming talent the chance to become eSport professionals. Twelve top amateur talents live together in the Gamerz house, where they will be pushed to their mental, physical, and gaming limits. Well-known professional gamers will support them during the competition. Viewers get to witness the drama, emotions and humour of the contestants as they share the same living space and form alliances and bonds. To add further drama, players at home will have surprise opportunities to enter the Gamerz house during the competition. “It’s incredibly exciting to apply successful elements of reality TV to eSports. The hardto-reach target group of young gamers aged
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15 to 35 loves to watch fast-paced, fun and entertaining content. But they consume it on their own terms – whenever and wherever they like. The first Scandinavian season of Gamerz was a success and perfectly tailored for this audience,” Robert Jonsson, creative director of GZE, said.
GZE’s Robert Jonsson (left), Passion Distribution’s Emmanuelle Namiech and Bomanbridge’s Sonia Fleck
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Tencent and BBC ink deal to bring Blue Planet II to China
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BC WORLDWIDE has signed a co-production deal with Tencent, the leading internet valueadded services provider in China, for Blue Planet II, the BBC’s landmark natural-history series this year. The agreement was sealed yesterday at MIPCOM. “Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Blue Planet II is set to be another game changer. The team has spent four years mounting 125 expeditions, visited 39 countries, and filmed off the coast of every continent and across every ocean,” said David Weiland, executive vice-president, Asia, BBC Worldwide. “We are very excited to be co-producing this landmark series with Tencent whom we have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship. This production partnership is an affirmation of the shared commitment we have in producing ambitious natural-history content. Tencent’s involvement will bring
James Honeyborne, executive producer for Blue Planet II (left), Tencent’s Lexian Zhu, BBCWW’s David Weiland and Julian Hector of the BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit
this series to a wider audience in Greater China.” “We’ve been partnering with BBC Worldwide for some time to bring premium documentaries to our audiences in China,” said Lexian Zhu, deputy director of Tencent Penguin Pictures Documentary Studio. “Last year, we co-produced Planet
Earth II which did extremely well — the entire Planet Earth II album online was viewed over 230 million times in China. We are looking forward to this new co-production partnership for Blue Planet II, and look forward to working with BBC Worldwide on more fruitful and successful partnerships.
Drama gets under skin of hospital life ABC COMMERCIAL is Pulse stars Pallavi Sharda (left) launching Australia’s new and Claire van der Boom hit medical drama Pulse at MIPCOM. The series is set in the high-pressure world of the cardiothoracic and renal wards of City West, a major teaching hospital. Stars Claire van der Boom (Hawaii Five-O, The Pacific) and Pallavi Sharda Van der Boom, who plays lead (Begum Jaan, Lion) are in Cannes to talk about the show character Dr Frankie Bell, said that lifts the lid on a chaotic she had been humbled by the insights the role had given her into healthcare system. “Australia is not alone facing the stressful lives of doctors. Her these challenges — all the com- character is based on the true stoplex medical narratives that are ry of Mel Hill, who is also a coexplored in Pulse will resonate creator and writer on the series. “Pulse explores the psychologiwith audiences globally who have navigated a struggling healthcare cal impact of being a care practitioner in a highly pressured work system,” Sharda said.
environment — I can see how it is extremely difficult for doctors to put up their hand and admit psychological distress,” she said. Sharda said this is the first time that an Australian TV series has represented a cross-section of society. “I’m delighted to be part of a show that incorporates ethnic groups, disability issues and also diversity in healthcare.” Others behind the series include co-creator, writer and producer Kris Wyld (East West 101, Wildside), Antony I Ginnane (High Tide, The Lighthorsemen) and executive producer David Ogilvy (The Code, Rake, Paper Giants, The Straits).
KEW MEDIA READY TO ROCK WITH ROLLING STONE DOC KEW MEDIA Group is to distribute Rolling Stone: Stories From The Edge, the new series documentarian Alex Gibney. Made for HBO and Sky Arts, and co-produced by Gibney’s Jigsaw Production and Nevision, the six-part series examines the iconic magazine and features early interviews with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and writer Hunter S Thompson. The series will air on Sky Arts in November to mark the 50th anniversary of the magazine’s launch, and it comes a year after it was put up for sale by its publisher and co-founder, Jann Wenner, an executive producer on the series. “Rolling Stone has played a significant role in the lives of people around the world,” said James Cabourne, executive chairman of Nevision. “We are very proud to have this superb Alex Gibney series as a centrepiece of our November schedule,” Jack Oliver, acquisitions manager at Sky Arts, said. “Its exclusive insight into the world of music transcends borders.” added Jonathan Ford, executive vice-president sales and distribution at Kew Media Group. Jigsaw’s Alex Gibney and Blair Foster will direct and executive produce with Rolling Stone’s Wenner, and Nevision’s executive chair James Cabourne.
Kew’s Jonathan Ford (left), Sky Arts’ Jack Oliver and Nevision’s James Cabourne.
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NEWS ANIBALL ISLAND IS FIRST OUTPUT FROM LARKSHEAD CO-PRO DEALS MEDIA services company Larkshead Media has announced collaborative deals with UK-based producer I’m Hungry Studios and Luxembourg-based content producer Fabrique d’Images. The first output from the new agreements will be a 52 x 11 mins 3D series for four- to six-year-olds from I’m Hungry, called Aniball Island, for which Larkshead will undertake development, distribution, investment, strategy, and licensing and merchandising. A trailer of the series about a group of cheerful, energetic, shape-changing spheroids who crash, bounce, spin and dance, is available at MIPCOM. Martin Athanasiou, director of I’m Hungry said: “We were keen from an early stage to bring our ideas to Larkshead Media, a company that we knew had the expertise and experience to take our work to the next level”. Fabrique d’Images, whose portfolio includes TV series, films, digital books and apps is collaborating with Larkshead to take innovative family entertainment to a global market. The first projects will be announced soon. Tim Patterson, CEO, Larkshead Media, said: “I’m Hungry and Fabrique d’Images bring powerful creative energy to a kid’s programming marketplace where you really have to be good to stand out.”
Aniball Island (I’m Hungry Studios)
Step Dave continues global march with next appearance in Hungary
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U N G A RY ’s T V 2 has closed a scripted format deal with all3media International for Step Dave, which will debut in December under the name Korhataros Szerelem. Currently filming in Budapest, the Hungarian version is being produced by IKO Production Company in co-operation with ContentLab Factory. The deal comes on the heels of US network NBC’s acquisition of South Pacific Pictures’ sharply funny drama, which centres on 24-year-old Dave, whose life is turned upside down when he falls in love with an older woman with teenage kids. “Step Dave is a perfect mix of comedy and heart strings,” said Kelly Martin, CEO and executive producer of New Zealand’s South Pacific Pictures, whose credits include The Brokenwood Mysteries and 800 Words. “We’ve got great writing talent in New Zealand and we’re really good at telling human stories that can travel.
South Pacific Pictures’ Kelly Martin (left) and all3media International’s Lucy Roberts
Step Dave is the perfect example. It’s a story that could happen in any country, which makes it a strong international proposition.” The TV2 deal was brokered by Lucy Roberts, all3media International’s sales manager, formats, who reported that several other Eastern European territories are interested in the drama. “Local broadcasters are looking for ideas that lend themselves to ad-
aptation, are relevant to their audience and bring proven success from other markets. Step Dave strongly delivers on all those qualities,” she said. Originally produced for TV2 New Zealand, Step Dave has also been acquired by Kiev-based FILM.UA, which produced a 16-episode series for Ukraine’s STB. It has also been optioned for France/Frenchspeaking territories and Greece.
Kansai TV’s mystery series heads for France’s J-One VIACOM-owned French satellite channel Game One has ordered its second youth drama from Japanese producer Kansai TV for its Japanese content channel J-One. School Counselor is a 10part mystery series about a new school counselor at the centre of the unexplained death of one of her students. The series starts this month on Game One’s Japanese channel J-One and follows the successful airing of Fugitive Boys, another 10-parter from Kansai TV, which aired in July. Kansai TV general manager content business department, Miho Okada, said: “We are really happy to see our Japanese drama on J-One and hope it might start a new trend for Japanese drama on youth channels in Europe.”
Kansai TV’s Miho Okada and Viacom’s Jean-Marc Dupire
Fugitive Boys, in which four young students go on the run after a prank goes badly wrong, setting fire to a school, performed well on J-One, according to Viacom France’s youth con-
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tent director Jean-Marc Dupire. “It went really well. The fact that Netflix is screening more Japanese content is really helping to make Japanese drama more popular.”
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MIPCOM 2017
Indigenous Content That Speaks to the World
Eric Myre
A showcase of successful drama series that convey unique stories.
Mohawk Girls
Season 5, 33 x 22 minutes Production Rezolution Pictures (Canada) International Sales GRB Entertainment
SEE BIG.
The Warriors
Season 1, 8 x 30 minutes Production Arenamedia (Australia) International Sales eOne
mipcom
NEWS
Crime pays for Rellik as deals closed across Europe and Asia
A Aquatic Films’ Silvia Angrisani
WOMEN HELP AQUATIC TO MAKE A SPLASH UK-BASED boutique distributor Aquatic Films makes its MIPCOM debut with a slate of award-winning documentaries directed by women. The company, launched in January by partners Silvia Angrisani, Lorenzo Cioffi and Armando Andria, is showcasing films including The Snake Charmer, directed by Nina Maria Paschalidou, in which Bollywood actor Aamir Khan journeys through the Indian film and TV industry, challenging the way in which it perceives and treats women. Also on the distribution slate is Jennifer Townsend’s Catching Sight Of Thelma & Louise, in which viewers who had a visceral reaction to the ground-breaking film 25 years ago are revisited to investigate the film’s enduring legacy. Parkour film Etre Et Durer, directed by Serena Mignani, and Sparks In The Dark, written and directed by Ilaria Urbani, are also available. Angrisani said that Aquatic was also looking to do pre-sales deals on its latest film Vittorio Giardino, about the work of the well-known Italian comic artist.
LL3M EDI A has concluded a series of deals across Europe and Asia for crime thriller Rellik. HBO Asia has signed a pan-territory deal for the six-part series, following its acquisition by HBO Europe earlier this year. Tele Muenchen has signed the show for Germany and the German-speaking territories. It has also been picked up by Israel’s DBS Satellite and Belgium’s VRT, and a DVD/video rights deal has been closed with Dazzler Media for UK and Eire.
Produced by New Pictures and Two Brothers Pictures for the UK’s BBC One and Cinemax in the US, Rellik stars Richard Dormer (Game Of Thrones) and Jodi Balfour (The Crown). It is written by Harry and Jack Williams (The Missing), and executive produced by Willow Grylls (The Missing), Charlie Pattinson (Indian Summers) and Elaine Pyke (The Take). Grylls said the “brilliantly bold and compulsive show turns every dramatic and crime convention on its head” with a narrative that
starts at the end and a prime suspect that has already been caught. The series moves backwards in time through a string of gruesome murders, gradually unveiling the truth. Michael Ivert, managing director of Concorde Home Entertainment — Tele Muenchen’s independent home-cinema provider in the German-speaking territories — said he believes the series could gain a cult following: “We have been really excited by the trailer snippet in advance. It promises incredible twists and turns.”
Concorde’s Michael Ivert (left), Tele Muenchen’s Henriette Gutmann and all3media International’s Jonathan Hughes
Taking organ donation to heart ARMOZA Formats has closed its first deal for new docu-reality series Back To Life, which tells the emotionally charged stories
of patients waiting for life-saving organ donations. Polish production company Rochstar has taken the 60-minute
Back To Life (Armoza Formats)
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format, described by CEO Avi Armoza as a “unique opportunity for television to truly have a positive impact on people’s lives”. He added: “Back To Life shows audiences the emotional journey of those on the transplant list in a way that highlights this important social issue.” Rinke Rooyens, CEO of Rochstar, agreed, saying: “The issue of organ donation is something we’ve been concerned about for a long time, not just as TV producers but also from a humanist point of view. Accompanying patients as they await a transplant is an incredibly emotional experience, both for the viewers and for those working on the show.”
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PRODUCT NEWS MEDIA RANCH
PAY IT Forward is a format that claims to have transformed the lives of over 10,000 people so far in Quebec under its original title Donnez Au Suivant. The basis for the show is to find people that need help, whether it’s advice, medical treatment, family reunions, financial help, donation of time or expertise. Friends, families and communities rally together to help and once a person has received help, he or she must pass on the goodwill. The Montrealbased distributor also brings panel show Who Am I?, featuring two teams of celebrities; and The Eyes Of The Sea, in which 10 ordinary people compete to become the next great under-ice photographer.
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PARALLAX FILM PRODUCTIONS
4K MEDIA
4K Media, the Konami Digital Entertainment subsidiary that manages the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand outside of Asia, brings the first season of Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains (49 x 30 mins) to MIPCOM, available to all markets outside of Asia. Vrains is the sixth Yu-GiOh! anime series which began airing in Japan on TV Tokyo earlier this year. The series stars young Yusaku Fujiki, takes place in a high school and features virtual-reality duels in a cyberspace constructed with Link Vrains, the latest in virtualreality technology. Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains introduces a new type of summoning known as Link Summoning.
THE SECOND season of Hell Below (6 x 60 mins), which chronicles untold stories of deep-sea warfare, features re-enactments filmed on three authentic WWII submarines. The series, now in post production, includes battle scenes and dramatisations of some revolutionary tactics invented during WWII. Parallax is at MIPCOM looking to engage other partners for terrestrial sales of the series.
MARVISTA ENTERTAINMENT
MARVISTA Entertainment returns to MIPCOM with a slate of TV movies headlined by disaster thriller Eruption L.A., in which struggling screenwriter Josh finds himself the star of his own disaster movie when super volcanoes begin erupting in LA. With whacko scientist turned novelist Quinn and Hollywood diva Kat, Josh must get Quinn’s research to the mayor and save the city.
Hell Below (Parallax Film Productions)
CALM ISLAND Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains (4K Media)
FILMRISE
Eruption L.A. (MarVista Entertainment)
FILMRISE is at MIPCOM with a catalogue of over 15,000 titles, including: HBO’s Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief; Janis: Little Girl Blue, produced by Alex Gibney; Julie Delpy’s Lolo; and Sundance hit White Girl. Television titles include the Robert Stack-hosted Unsolved Mysteries and Showtime’s Years Of Living Dangerously. FilmRise’s recent acquisitions include true-crime documentary I Called Him Morgan; Truman; Harry & Snowman; Manifesto; sci-fi drama Marjorie Prime, starring Jon Hamm and Tim Robbins; My Friend Dahmer and Vengeance: A Love Story.
BADANAMU Cadets (52 x 11 mins) is a CGanimated series brought to MIPCOM by Calm Island. The world of Badanamu was created in 2011 as a pre-school learning programme. Calm Island is also highlighting Bada’s Learning Adventure, available at the App Store and Google Play, featuring over 50,000 activities and exercises, including over 100 animated music videos organised into structured learning themes.
NBCUNIVERSAL
THE NBCUNIVERSAL roster for MIPCOM includes: Making It, featuring executive producers and hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, a lighthearted competition series focused on craft and artisans; World Of Dance, in which dancers compete for a life-altering sum of money; Singer Auction, a primetime entertainment format co-developed with Thailand’s Zense Entertainment, in which five celebrities go head-to-head in a bidding war for four singing contestants; and Top Chef Junior (14 x 60 mins) which features 12 chefs aged nine-14.
Vengeance: A Love Story (Filmrise)
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Badanamu Cadets (Calm Island)
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PRODUCT NEWS JOURNEYMAN PICTURES
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TOEI ANIMATION
UK-BASED documentary distributor Journeyman Pictures returns to MIPCOM with a line-up including: festival hit A River Below (1 x 86 mins), which follows two activists deep into the Amazon, where raising public awareness to protect the endangered pink river dolphin becomes increasingly complex; Wildlands (1 x 139 mins), which delves deep into the savage world of cocaine traffickers and the agents battling to stop them; Spookers (1 x 52/82 mins), featuring amateur performers in a New Zealand horror park; and Motorkite Dreaming (1 x 52/90 mins), about flying microlights across Australia.
THE NEXT chapter of the classic Mazinger Z anime series, Mazinger Z: Infinity takes place 10 years after the last series ended, and is brought to Cannes by Toei Animation. In the feature-length film Koji Kabuto now lives in peace as a scientist. However, with the return of Dr Hell, and a series of new threats, Koji has to reawaken the hero inside. Mazinger Z: Infinity will be the first Toei property to debut in Europe instead of Japan.
Mazinger Z: Infinity (Toei Animation)
DHX MEDIA
A River Below (Journeyman Pictures)
HALIFAX, Canada-based DHX Media is showcasing Creeped Out, an anthology of spooky tales for youngsters, at MIPCOM. Commissioned by, and coproduced with, CBBC in the UK, the show will also air on DHX Television’s Family Channel in Canada. Creeped Out is a 13-part series shot on location in the UK and Canada. The stories combine sci-fi, horror, adventure, suspense, fantasy and mystery. The stories are introduced by The Curious, a story collector who appears at the beginning and end of each episode.
AVALON DISTRIBUTION
THE BUTTON, an Avalon production for the UK’s BBC One, is a new game show in which the interactive Button lives in five different households who then face spontaneous challenges against the clock to win a cash prize. Teams keep an eye on the Button which turns from green to red when it’s time to play as it’s a race against time to hit the Button and start the game. The Button delivers the task, interacts with the players and reveals their rivals on screen as well as the results.
The Button (Avalon Distribution)
RTVE
Creeped Out (DHX Media)
ZIG ZAG PRODUCTIONS
RTVE (Corporacion Radio Television Espanola) brings a range of Spanish programming to Cannes, including: I’m Alive (13 x 70 mins), a drama in which a police inspector dies while pursuing a serial killer, but five years later returns in the body of another policeman; and To Serve And Protect (65 x 50 mins), about the everyday life at a police station in a southern suburb of Madrid, with cases including social problems including immigration issues, lack of resources, gender violence, neighbour disputes, evictions, assaults and small drug offences.
THE NEXT Jamie Vardy (6 x 60 mins) is a fly-on-the-wall documentary following Leicester City and England soccer striker Jamie Vardy, as he searches for the next big star from non-league football, with behind-the-scenes access to his V9 Academy. Other Zig Zag priorities include: Blink (6 x 30 mins), a pop culture quiz played at break-neck speed; and Trivial Takedown (20 x 30 mins) in which two celebrity contestants face a series of high-speed audio and visual music challenges.
I’m Alive (RTVE)
The Next Jamie Vardy (Zig Zag Productions)
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MEDIA PROGRAMME BEYOND 2020 CONNECTING CONTENT, FINANCING AND AUDIENCES WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2017 10.00 ∠ 11.30 PALAIS DES FESTIVALS AUDITORIUM A MIPCOM 2017 CANNES
PRODUCT NEWS ALBATROSS WORLD SALES
GERMAN factual distributor Albatross’ MIPCOM catalogue includes: 4K series A Glimpse Of Paradise - Garden Culture In The Islamic World (5 x 52 mins), looking at gardens from North Africa across Central Asia and to India; Water Is Our Future (5 x 52 mins), about man-made issues including polluted rivers and sea-level rises; science documentary The Black Tears Of The Sea – The Lethal Legacy Of Wrecks (1 x 52 mins), looking at the problem of sunken wrecks that still contain oil more than 70 years after World War II; and Wild Holland – The Living Delta (2 x 52 mins/90 mins), celebrating the natural heritage of the diverse Dutch delta region.
BLUE ANT INTERNATIONAL
HIGHLIGHTS from the factual and lifestyle slate of Canada’s Blue Ant International include: Orangutan Jungle School (10 x 60 mins/4K/HD), which follows the antics, triumphs and tragedies of orphan orangutans in a unique forest school; Rooted (5 x 60 mins/4K/HD), profiling five iconic trees in South Africa; Sarah Off The Grid (6 x 60 mins/HD), about a family attempting to live off the grid; celebrity investigations Broke And Famous (10 x 60 mins/HD) and Famous Feuds (10 x 60 mins/HD); UFOs: The Lost Evidence (6 x 60 mins/HD), Wildest New Zealand (5 x 60 mins/4K); and Crazy Beautiful Weddings (10 x 30 mins/HD).
Orangutan Jungle School (Blue Ant International)
EARTH TOUCH
Wild Holland – The Living Delta (Albatross World Sales)
ANIMATION STUDIO VANDAL
KOREA’s Animation Studio Vandal brings HD series Hello Dino Friends (104 x 5 mins) to the international market in Cannes. Aimed at three- to eight-year olds, the series features the mischievous dinosaur Dino and the fun adventures of his family. The stories also contain educational content.
Hello Dino Friends (Animation Studio Vandal)
TVN
A MIPCOM highlight for Washington-, Durban- and London-based wildlife and factual entertainment producer and distributor Earth Touch is Smithsonian Channel’s Epic Yellowstone (4 x 60 mins), a 4K series from Grizzly Creek Films. The series, for which Earth Touch holds worldwide rights excluding North America, follows life in Yellowstone National Park in the US. Filmed over two years and delivering in April 2019, episodes cover the return of wolves to Yellowstone, the grizzly bear population, the river, the seasons, bird diversity, and how animals survive in the coldest seasons.
POLISH commercial broadcaster and distributor TVN is bringing new drama series Diagnosis (13 x 44 mins) to MIPCOM, in which Anna, who suffers from amnesia, tries to discover her real identity, step-by-step. Also from TVN comes returning series: Second Chance (52 x 44 mins), about a star agent facing major changes in her career and personal life; the ninth season of travel and adventure series Woman At The End Of The World (67 x 25 mins); and 18 Wheels Across America (7 x 32 mins), about big trucks.
Epic Yellowstone (Earth Touch)
Diagnosis (TVN)
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HOHO ENTERTAINMENT
CURRENTLY in development, Toddler Time (52 x 7 mins) is an animation series from Hoho Entertainment based on books illustrated by Katie Saunders, which sold over three quarters of a million copies. Featuring twins, Amy and Archie, the stories capture a toddler’s busy world and appeal equally to boys and girls aged three to five years. Each episode concludes with a quiz where simple picture clues refer back to the story told and test memory skills, building confidence with learning and encouraging independent thinking. Toddler Time (Hoho Entertainment)
KINGS Of The Ring (working title) is a trans-Atlantic drama series set in the world of international boxing, and is in development by the UK’s World Media Rights. Inspired by the life and career of boxing manager and promoter Frank Warren, the series profiles his early days in London, promoting unlicensed fights, rubbing shoulders with politicians, celebrities and gangsters and the glamour of Las Vegas. Warren’s story embraces the careers of boxing stars including Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno and celebrities like Don King and Frank Sinatra.
Kings Of The Ring (World Media Rights)
JOHN MCLEAN MEDIA
RED ARROW INTERNATIONAL
STUDIO MOGGOZI
RED ARROW International is at MIPCOM to launch a slate of new shows. Reality formats include: Buying Blind, in which a family allows a team of experts to buy them a home; The Spouse House, which follows 14 single people searching for love who move into a house; Pregnant With A Stranger; and State Of Hate. New entertainment formats include: Music Of The People; and Shop! Cook! Win!. The factual line-up includes: A Matter Of Life And Debt; The Story Of Toys; and Strike Carrier, about life on board the most powerful warship in Britain. The drama slate is led by crime-lawyer series Stella Blomkvist (6 x 60 mins/ 3 x 90 mins), and the second season of crime procedural Einstein (20 x 60 mins).
PRIORITIES for Korean animator Studio Moggozi include Go Go Dino (104 x 11 mins), a series aimed at pre-schoolers in full 3D CGI. Dinos from the Department of Space Safety and Management help children cope with difficulties and though they come from a faraway planet they help children understand the diversity and beauty of life. Bugstron (22 x 22 mins/1 x 80 mins), also 3D CGI, features insect-like humanoids. Each tribe uses powerful machines that share the same characteristics as themselves to battle and to preserve peace.
Stella Blomkvist (Red Arrow International)
Go Go Dino (Studio Moggozi)
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VITCH is a documentary about Eddie Vitch, the Polish Jewish caricature and mime artist who survived the Holocaust by performing under orders for Nazi leaders, while most of his family was deported, arrested or murdered. He had lived for a while in the US but was deported back to Europe in the 1930s and began performing in Paris, where he was seen by Nazi officers who sent him to perform in Germany. The Seattle-based company also brings Pioneers In Aviation which uses newly recovered footage from the archives of plane-makers including Boeing, Douglas, McDonnell and North American Aviation, dating back to the First World War, as well as new footage from The Wright Brothers Family Foundation.
Vitch (John Mclean Media)
PRODUCT NEWS DISTRIBUTION360
TORONTO-based Distribution360 is bringing a varied slate to MIPCOM. In the kids and family genre are market debuts for Give (26 x 30 mins), available as a show or format, in which a celebrity helps overlooked charities; pre-school animation Genius Genie (78 x 5 mins); and pre-school liveaction series I’m Ready (40 x 2 mins). Unscripted highlights include: WW2 Treasure Hunters (8 x 60 mins); paranormal series Terror In The Woods (8 x 60 mins); American Ride (117 x 30 mins); Random Acts (20 x 30 mins); The New Creatives (10 x 30 mins); and Titanic: Stories From The Deep (4 x 60 mins).
EONE
AT MIPCOM eOne is showcasing a slate of new and returning series including: Burden Of Truth (10 x 60 mins), starring Kristin Kreuk as city lawyer who returns to her hometown for a mysterious case; comedy drama The Other Guy (6 x 30 mins), created by and starring comedian Matt Okine as a newly single man, navigating the pitfalls of modern dating; 1970s thriller Caught (5 x 60 mins), featuring an escaped convict who with a corrupt cop is on the hunt for his ex-partner; and female-driven police procedural, The Detail (10 x 60 mins). Returning series include: Designated Survivor (44 x 60 mins); Cardinal (18 x 60 mins); and Ice (20 x 60 mins).
KESHET INTERNATIONAL (KI)
DOMINATION (5 x 30 mins/60 mins/1 x 100 mins) is a game show produced by Keshet Broadcasting in which a studio contestant competes against different themed groups across the country. Players at home can take part via an app. KI also brings new format launch from Keshet UK, Celebrity Showmance (6 x 60 mins). Three unlikely celebrity couples attempt to convince the public that they’re in a real relationship. The public become the unwitting judges, awarding points by socialmedia likes, comments and shares. INK GLOBAL
Give (Distribution360)
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TWO SHOWS are the priorities for Ink Global in Cannes. Moonzy (52 x 6 mins/26 x 13 mins) is a Russian animation about a little alien who finds a home among the inhabitants of a forest meadow, learning about love, the importance of respecting elders and the difference between good and evil. The Barkers (26 x 6 mins) features a canine family on vacation and their adventures, including digging for dinosaurs, exploring a deserted island and attic and fighting imaginary monsters.
Burden Of Truth (eOne)
RAYDAR MEDIA
APPLE Tree House (30 x 15 mins) is a scripted, live-action and mixed-media series aimed at the older pre-school audience. Set on an inner-city estate, the series follows a young recent arrival from Mali and his best friend. Together they solve problems and overcome dilemmas, within the safety of their loving families and the inspirational and diverse community that surrounds them. Currently airing on the UK’s CBeebies, it has been recommissioned for a second series.
THE BUTTON IS COMING TO A COUNTRY NEAR YOU
Apple Tree House (Raydar Media)
SIDEWAYS FILM
THE END Of Truth is an investigation into kidnapping for financial or political gain and what happens when negotiations and rescue missions go wrong. Other titles from London-based Sideways Film include: Undercover Jihadi, an investigation into so-called home-grown jihadis in the US, Canada, the UK, France and Germany; Body Language Decoded; Body A La Carte, about cosmetic procedures; Foul Play, about football corruption across Asia; The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire, about British financial power; Desert Coffee, about a squatter community in the Sonoran Desert; The Coming War On China; and Bad Hombres.
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BRAIN POWER STUDIO
BASED on the book by Victoria Carson, The Ponysitters Club (20 x 22 mins) follows 12-yearold Skye who lives at Rescue Ranch, which boasts a stable that houses rescue horses and ponies. A Witches’ Ball (1 x 90 mins) is a liveaction film based on a children’s story by David Steinberg, featuring 12-year-old Beatrix who has just passed her Witches’ exam, but with her pet rat has to solve three magical riddles. The Canadian company also brings Santa’s Castle (1 x 90 mins), about the kidnap and rescue of Santa by mythical creatures.
PERNEL MEDIA
GREEN Eden (1 x 60 mins), originally produced for Ushuaia TV, is a documentary film exposing the illegal timber trafficking trade in Gabon. With unprecedented access to the work of American environmental activist Mike Fay, director of Gabon’s nature reserve Lee White and the police force patrolling the forest, Green Eden explores the human stories at the heart of an unfolding environmental catastrophe. Another highlight for France’s Pernel Media is Extreme Earth (2 x 60 mins), which explores human ingenuity in some of the earth’s most extreme environments. The series will air as part of France 5’s new Spectacular Science strand that features premium budget documentaries for a primetime audience.
ORANGE SMARTY
BRITISH factual specialist distributor Orange Smarty brings a range of programming to Cannes. Bear About The House: My Super-Sized Pet examines why some people seek the domestic companionship of a killer pet. True Vision’s Catching A Killer series now includes The Search For Natalie Hemming, The Wind In The Willows Murder and The Eaglestone Shooting, which are available as a series or stand-alone shows. Army: Behind The New Frontlines (3 x 60 mins) looks a the British Army’s role in tackling the rise of terrorism, Eastern Europe and conflict in Africa. Other titles include Stacey Dooley Investigates: Mums Selling Their Kids For Sex and Stacey Dooley Investigates: Kids Selling Drugs Online. AMC STUDIOS
The Ponysitters Club (Brain Power Studio)
Green Eden (Pernel Media)
MEDINA MEDIA
SPAIN As Never Seen Before (4 x 52 mins/90 mins) is a 4K series which covers the most popular celebrations and landscapes in Spain. Events profiled include the Carnival of Cadiz, Holy Week and El Rocio. Using a narrator and original soundtrack, the non-scripted culture and travel series also includes unique aerial footage of stunning landscapes.
SCRIPTED highlights from AMC Studios include: two series of Stan Against Evil (16 x 30 mins), a comedy in which a former sheriff and the new chief fight a plague of demons haunting the town; Dietland (10 x 60 mins), a funny story featuring powerful female characters against a backdrop of provocative social commentary; Unspeakable (8 x 60 mins), chronicling the emergence of HIV and Hepatitis C in Canada in the early 1980s; Circus Kid (1 x 70 mins); and Brockmire (16 x 30 mins). Non-fiction titles include: Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders (4 x 60 mins/2 x 120 mins); Robert Kirkman’s Secret History Of Comics (6 x 60 mins); James Cameron’s Story Of Science Fiction (6 x 60 mins); and three seasons of Ride With Norman Reeds.
PRISA PRODUCCIONES DE VIDEO
THE BEST Day Of My Life is a 100-minute documentary filmed in 4K around the World Pride event in Madrid, directed by Spanish film director Fernando Gonzalez Molina. The film celebrates human rights, music, artistic expression, food, sports and fiesta, not forgetting what day-to day life can be for some of the characters who come from Spain, Uganda, Russia and France, and often live in tough circumstances.
The Best Day Of My Life (Prisa Productions De Video)
Stan Against Evil (AMC Studios)
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PRODUCT NEWS FLAME DISTRIBUTION
FLAME Distribution is launching over 200 hours of new content at MIPCOM. Lead titles include: A Stitch In Time, which recreates the clothing of prominent historical figures revealing stories of the societies in which they lived; Scrap Kings, a new series that follows various demolition teams; The Lion Queen, featuring a South African lion sanctuary run by Andi Rive; science series Real Future; and Bike World, a show for bike enthusiasts. Documentaries include: The Dinosaur Echo; Dark Secret; War/Peace about the radical political movement The Weathermen in the 60s; Frank Lloyd Wright: The Man Who Built America; The Surgeon & The Soldier; and Data Mining The Deceased.
ZDF ENTERPRISES (ZDFE)
THE HIGHLIGHTS from Germany’s ZDFE include: Size Matters (2 x 50 mins), a documentary that explores scientific concepts; Tabula Rasa (9 x 50 mins), a psychological thriller about a young woman with amnesia in a secure psychiatric hospital; School Of Roars (52 x 7 mins), the animation series that helps children prepare for school life through the relationships and experiences of mini monsters; and The Manipulation Game - How Social Media Influence Our Views (1 x 60 mins).
VIVICAST MEDIA
VIVICAST Media is at MIPCOM with a slate of new 4K UHD and HDR series. Priorities include: travel series Road Less Traveled (10 x 60 mins) and Beyond Moscow (5 x 22 mins), which deviates from the normal tourist destinations to explore locales from the Black Sea to Siberia; and Big Engineering (1 x 22 mins, with a forthcoming series), looking at mega engineering projects. Vivicast Media also represents an array of linear channels that deliver full-time schedules via 4K and HD technology, including: The Country Music Network and #C4K360, a lifestyle and entertainment pay-TV channel, totally 4K UHD native.
Size Matters (ZDFE)
MEDIABANK
SPAIN’s MediaBank is a TV and film rights trading platform which comes to MIPCOM with a catalogue that includes children’s animation, documentaries, feature films as well as food programming and sports, from various countries, especially Spain and Latin America. The B2B platform is now ready for launch. TRADE_N2_DEMI HORIZONTALE_COM_17 A297_TAIWAN Stitch In Time (Flame Distribution)
Road Less Traveled (Vivicast Media)
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RAINBOW
RAINBOW brings new pre-school show 44 Cats (52 x 13 mins) to MIPCOM, a CGl series about a music band named The Buffycats. The four homeless musical kittens take over a garage, transforming it into a clubhouse where neighbourhood cats get together. Rainbow also brings new seasons of Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends and Regal Academy to Cannes. With 78 half-hours available, and two specials set in Lake Como and Paris, Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends is a mix of fashion, friendship and music. Regal Academy follows Rose Cinderella at the school for fairytale characters. In the second series Rose discovers a mysterious new student, a new hero teammate and the evil Snow Queen who wants to trap them all in her snow globes.
44 Cats (Rainbow)
ONE LIFE STUDIOS
MUMBAI-based distributor One Life Studios is showcasing new drama series and formats in Cannes. Historical drama Porus concerns an iconic Indian leader who fought Alexander, the mightiest leader of the West, culminating in one of the greatest battles in world history. Hip Hop Homeland takes a journey across Mumbai’s slums through rap, dance and the visual arts, revealing its growing influence. Comedy series Bachelors features four flatmates as they face the daily struggles of bachelorhood, family, work and dating. Dropout is a fast-paced competition reality series, following ‘dropouts’ in real-world business challenges as they are groomed by industry leaders, and are given the opportunity to transform themselves into a start-up team.
Porus (One Life Studios)
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PRODUCT NEWS STARLINE ENTERTAINMENT
LONDON-based distributor, Starline Entertainment highlights a range of original documentaries. Among the headlines is a portrait of Irish/American artist Tighe O’Donoghue/Ross, Why Is There Anythng Instead Of Nothing, which explores the life of a true original who has turned away from the art market to live, paint and sculpt in the mountains of Killarney. The company also brings; Cold-War story My Grandfather The Spy; Cuban Soul, in which actor and singer David Soul is on a mission to restore Ernest Hemingway’s classic 1955 Chrysler; and Ireland’s Greatest Loves (6 x 30 mins), which uses re-enactments to reveal some of the greatest romances of the most iconic men and women in Ireland, including forbidden loves, doomed affairs and arranged marriages.
INSIGHT TV
NEW FORMAT Thru is a seven-part reality series brought to Cannes by Insight TV. In the show teams trek across daunting landscapes following a straight line from point A to point B. Each team starts at opposite ends and travels in opposite directions. They confront obstacles and challenges by trekking directly over, under and through buildings, swamps or pools. The team that takes the shortest route is the team that wins.
Thru (Insight TV)
REVELATION FILMS
Why Is There Anythng Instead Of Nothing (Starline Entertainment)
TITLES available from Revelation Films include: Oil In The Blood, about the growing global subculture of custom bike building; Irish Gangsters: Faces Of The Underworld, an hour-long documentary presented by true-crime author Bernard O’Mahoney; American Gangsters: Faces Of The Underworld; sci-fi series Starhunter: Redux and Starhunter: Transformation; True Gomorrah, profiling the underworld of Rome and Naples; To Be The Champ, a boxing competition, with individuals from each weight winning a professional contract with an established boxing promoter; White Light, looking at the problems of child gang members; and a feature documentary about a British gangster, Freddie Foreman: Gangster Number 1.
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THE TELEVISION SYNDICATION COMPANY (TVS)
TVS IS showcasing a variety of new programmes at MIPCOM. Christmas Across America, A Small Town Big Deal Celebration (1 x 60 mins), features former Entertainment Tonight anchor, Jann Carl, and includes uplifting stories and traditions. Bishop Garage (20 x 30 mins) follows global car and bike events to meet some of the world’s biggest names and best collections. Sports Stars Of Tomorrow (13 x 30 mins) introduces up-and-coming athletes around the world. Grid (15 x 60 mins) sees two teams of men and women compete in weightlifting, body-weight and other athletic challenges.
LADIES FIRST DISTRIBUTION
SPECIALISTS in female- and family-skewed programming, Toulouse-based Ladies First Distribution is in Cannes with Ask Dr. Nandi (200 x 60 mins/100 x 2 mins). The show airs daily to 60 million homes in the US on Comcast, Dish Network and DIYA TV. Each episode is dedicated to an important medical topic with real patients and practicing physicians. Host Dr. Nandi believes that the mind and body are connected and that true healing requires treatment of both. The goal of the show is to eliminate intimidation and fear from healthcare and put the power in the hands of the patients. Ask Dr. Nandi (Ladies First Distribution)
EURODATA TV WORLDWIDE
Christmas Across America, A Small Town Big Deal Celebration (TVS)
EURODATA TV Worldwide, a specialist in TV ratings and content trends, launches NoTa Kids in Cannes, an online service dedicated to the analysis of the international performance of new kids TV launches. NoTa Kids covers eight territories across Europe, Asia and the US, and is an extension of NoTa (new on the air), a service which tracks the content and ratings of new TV and SVOD shows and web formats online, and is a complement to the Kids TV report which helps understand the kids TV market per country.
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TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER GLOBAL CONTENT TRENDS
SCREENINGS
VIRTUAL REALITY
9.00-9.45, AUDITORIUM A
8.30-9.45, AUDITORIUM K
9.30-10.00, VERRIERE CALIFORNIE
GLOBAL DRAMA: IT’S TIME FOR AFRICA!
‘GUEST LIST’
YOUR VIRTUAL COMPASS
Presented by SND - Groupe M6
Presented by Laduma
9.15-9.50, ESTEREL
FORMATS: THE NEW CREATIVE HORIZON
10.00-11.15, AUDITORIUM K
4K ULTRA HD
‘TABULA RASA’
10.00-10.40, ESTEREL
ORIGINALS: THE QUEST FOR BRAND DEFINING CONTENT
9.15-10.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
Presented by ZDF Enterprises
10.00-10.45, AUDITORIUM A
A NEW ERA FOR CONTENT AND PARTNERSHIP IN TURKEY Presented by Turkish Content
SPAIN AND ITS COMMITMENT TO UHD
MIPCOM ASIAN WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING 11.45-13.15, AUDITORIUM A - DOORS OPEN AT 11.30
10.15-11.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
KEYNOTE: GARY DAVEY SKY AND THE FUTURE OF UHD
‘KURARA: THE DAZZLING LIFE OF HOKUSAI’S DAUGHTER’
DIVERSIFY TV 13.00-14.30, VERRIÈRE GRAND AUDITORIUM
Presented by NHK
DIVERSITY SNACK LUNCH
Screening in 4K Followed by Sushi & Cocktail
Supported by A+E Networks, Viacom, EbonyLife TV, Diversify TV By invitation
NETWORKING EVENT
MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES
12.30-14.00, VERRIERE CALIFORNIE
11.20-12.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM
FEELING CHINA - SHOWCASING WHAT ORIGINAL ANIMATION FROM CHINA HAS TO OFFER!
COURTENEY MONROE, CEO, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GLOBAL NETWORKS SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDE: PETER KOSMINSKY, WRITER/DIRECTOR OF ‘THE STATE’ MICHAEL KELLY, LEAD CAST OF ‘THE LONG ROAD HOME’
By China Pavilion
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
RUSSIAN CONTENT REVOLUTION
SCREENINGS
4K ULTRA HD
14.00-15.15, ESTEREL
14.00-14.45, AUDITORIUM A
14.30-15.30, AUDITORIUM K
14.00-15.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
RUSSIAN DRAMA SHOWCASE
‘THE MINIATURIST’
Presented by All Media, Amedia, Mars Media
OTT PLATFORMS: A DISTRIBUTION EL DORADO FOR LIVE CHANNELS & NICHE CONTENT?
15.15-16.15, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE
15.40-16.55, AUDITORIUM A
‘BLUE PLANET II’ IN BREATHTAKING UHD/HDR FROM THE BBC
15.00-15.30, AUDITORIUM A
‘PULSE’
15.15-16.15, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
MEET THE RUSSIAN PRODUCERS By invitation only
SUCCESSFUL DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES IN AFRICA
GLOBAL CONTENT TRENDS 15.30-16.15, ESTEREL
HOW TO SPOT- AND FINANCETHE INDUSTRY’S NEXT TOP TALENT
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT 17.15-18.00, VERRIERE CALIFORNIE
Presented by all3media International
Presented by ABC Commercial and Screen Australia
SPECTACULAR SPORTS AND ACTION IN UHD
17.00-18.10, AUDITORIUM K
16.30-17.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
‘THE PLAGUE’ Presented by Movistar
GOING LIVE! MAKING THE MOST OF THE LIVE STREAMING BOOM By Ruptly
JAPAN’S FUJI TV NETWORK HIGH DYNAMIC STRATEGY 17.00-17.30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
NTT PLALA AND THEIR IPTV/ VOD UHD PRODUCTIONS
MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE 17.00-17.45, GRAND AUDITORIUM
SEAN MILLS, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CONTENT PROGRAMMING, SNAP INC. SPECIAL GUEST INCLUDE: LAUREN ANDERSON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING, NBCUNIVERSAL 18.00-20.00, MAJESTIC HOTEL
J CREATIVE PARTY WITH SUSHI In partnership with The International Drama Festival In Tokyo
18.30-20.30, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL
DIVERSITY COCKTAIL & AWARDS Supported by A+E Networks, Viacom, EbonyLife TV, Diversify TV By invitation
MIPCOM RUSSIAN CONTENT REVOLUTION WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING 18.30-19.45, GRAND AUDITORIUM - DOORS OPEN AT 18:00
‘TROTSKY’ Presented by Channel One and Sreda Production 19.30-21.30, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL
INNOVATIVE STORYTELLING: NETWORKING COCKTAIL In partnership with Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore
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OFFICIAL CONFERENCE & SCREENINGS HIGHLIGHTS SNAPCHAT KEYNOTE 17.00-17.45
COURTENEY MONROE - NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GLOBAL NETWORKS KEYNOTE SESSION - 11.20-12.00
COURTENEY MONROE CEO, National Geographic Global Networks
Featuring: Martha Raddatz (Moderator), Author, “The Long Road Home” Carolyn Bernstein, EVP, Global Scripted Development & Production, National Geographic Global Networks Peter Kosminsky, Writer/Director, “The State” Sam Otto, Lead cast, “The State” Mikko Alanne, Showrunner, Screenwriter and Executive Producer, “The Long Road Home” Michael Kelly, Lead cast, “The Long Road Home” Ken Biller, Showrunner and Executive Producer, “Genius” Samantha Colley, Lead cast, “Genius”
SEAN MILLS Senior Director of Content Programming, Snap Inc. Featuring: Lauren Anderson, Senior Vice President of Programming, NBCUniversal
MIPCOM ASIAN WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING
MIPCOM RUSSIAN CONTENT REVOLUTION WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING
11.45-13.15, Auditorium A Doors open at 11.30 Followed by Sushi & Cocktail Screening in 4K
18.30-19.45, Grand Auditorium Doors open at 18.00
‘KURARA: The Dazzling Life of Hokusai’s Daughter’
Presented by Channel One and Sreda Production
‘TROTSKY’
Presented by NHK
INTERNATIONAL DRAMA SCREENINGS ‘GUEST LIST’
‘THE MINIATURIST’
‘TABULA RASA’
‘PULSE’
8.30-9.45, Auditorium K Presented by SND – Groupe M6 10.00-11.15, Auditorium K Presented by ZDF Enterprises
14.30-15.30, Auditorium K Presented by all3media International
‘THE PLAGUE’
17.00-18.10, Auditorium K Presented by Movistar
15.40-16.55, Auditorium A Presented by ABC Commercial and Screen Australia
Additional information in the MIPCOM Handbook and the MIPCOM app
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COMING NEXT
WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER GLOBAL CONTENT TRENDS
SCREENINGS
4K ULTRA HD
9.15-9.45, AUDITORIUM A
8.30-9.45, AUDITORIUM K
9.15-10.15, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE
HOW WILL THE EUROPEAN DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET AFFECT MY BUSINESS?
‘WEISSENSEE’ AND ‘DEMENTIA’
FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT IN SPECTACULAR UHD/HDR #1
10.00-11.30, AUDITORIUM A
11.30-12.45, AUDITORIUM K
MEDIA PROGRAMME BEYOND 2020: CONNECTING CONTENT, FINANCING AND AUDIENCES
‘MOROCCO - LOVE IN TIMES OF WAR’
Presented by Global Screen
RUSSIAN CONTENT REVOLUTION
By Creative Europe Media
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT 10.30-11.00, VERRIERE CALIFORNIE
Presented by Beta Film
MAKE MY CONTENT MORE DISCOVERABLE… By TiVo
10.00-11.15, AUDITORIUM K
‘GOGOL. ORIGINS’ Presented by TV3 Channel
DIVERSIFY TV KEYNOTE 10.50-11.20, GRAND AUDITORIUM
SIR LENNY HENRY, COMEDIAN, WRITER AND AWARD-WINNING ACTOR Powered by Diversify TV
MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES 11.30-12.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM
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FEATURE CREATIVE CONNECTIONS
Friends in the right places
I Am Frankie, the US adaption of Nickelodeon Latin America’s Yo Soy Franky
The strapline for MIPCOM 2017 is ‘the global race for creative connections’. It underlines a basic truth about the 21st century TV marketplace: great partners make for great content and a greater chance of succeeding in today’s fiercely competitive global business. Andy Fry reports
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HERE’s no question that ‘the global race for
creative connections’ captures the essence of today’s TV business. Such is the level of noise and disruption in the international market that the ability to form strong partnerships around talent, ideas and innovation is often the competitive edge for content-owners. There is not a standardised definition for the term ‘creative connections’ but, for Shigeko Cindy Chino, senior director with Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV’s international business development division, it is encapsulated by her company’s partnership with Turkish producer MF Yapim. “For Nippon TV, it has been a key strategic goal to licence more scripted and non-scripted formats internationally,” she says. “So in 2016, we licensed the format for a drama called Mother to MF Yapim. The show, renamed Anne, was the season’s number-one drama in Turkey and led to a new deal with MF Yapim for Woman.” Chino says that Anne’s success in Turkey has resulted in several offers for the format rights to Mother. “And we have also started to have success with other shows,” she
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adds, citing scripted format Your Home Is My Business, which has been licensed to Youhug Media in China. At MIPCOM Nippon TV is launching another scripted series called My Son. Just as significantly, the success of Anne has led to a strategic reappraisal within Nippon TV’s vast production operation. “Our creatives are excited that their drama is being appreciated in different countries, and that is improving the flow of advanced information within Nippon TV,” Chino says. “We are seeing writers get involved in international discussions earlier, which is great news because it fits in with our international strategic goals.” Drama export is not an isolated goal for Nippon TV, which has also launched pan-Asian pay-TV entertainment channel GEM with Sony Pictures Television Networks and acquired SVOD service Hulu Japan. In addition, the company’s unscripted format ambitions are supported by a strategic partnership with Europe’s Red Arrow Entertainment. “This partnership combines our creativity with their expertise in the international market,” Chino says. “They know what works and are
FEATURE aging, Baxter cites Sharp Objects, a new TV project based on the novel by Gillian Flynn. “Initially, we optioned the book to make a movie, but Pancho Mansfield [eOne’s president of global scripted programming] decided it would be perfect for a closed-ended TV series. So next we brought in Jean-Marc Vallee [Big Little Lies] as director and Marti Noxon as showrunner. With Gillian Flynn writing and Amy Adams in the lead, the series was then picked up by HBO for its US and international channels.” That all sounds expensive, but Baxter says the best way to mitigate financial risk is to invest in quality. It is also important to distinguish between commercial risk and creative risk. “Part of the reason the film business has had problems is because it got too safe,” he adds. “TV is taking creative risks and it is paying off.”
Nippon TV’s Mother
closer to the clients than us.” Ask Stuart Baxter, Entertainment One (eOne) president of television, international, about creative connections and he references the heavy investment the company is putting into talent and ideas through its four international production hubs, first-look deals with thirdparty talent and company acquisitions. He cites eOne’s acquisition of The Mark Gordon Company, the production company behind Designated Survivor, starring Kiefer Sutherland as the US president, the second series of which is available at MIPCOM. Then there is eOne’s recent investment in Makeready, a new company launched by Brad Weston (The Revenant; Gone Girl) that will make both film and TV projects. eOne will handle Makeready’s global television distribution. As an example of how eOne orchestrates creative pack-
Designated Survivor from The Mark Gordon Company
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Part of the reason the film business has had problems is because it got too safe. TV is taking creative risks and it is paying off Stuart Baxter
Risk is also mitigated, Baxter says, “by staying connected to the market, so you know what networks want”. He adds: “We have series at MIPCOM like The Detail, Caught and Burden Of Truth — the kind of fresh new product buyers are asking for”. The last is a 10-part
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This is not at the expense of third-party alliances, however. Pabst cites new Icelandic drama Stella Blomkvist, produced by Sagafilm. The show will be distributed globally by Red Arrow International but, within the Nordic region, it will appear as an original on MTGowned platform Viaplay. A key selling point is that the lead part will be played by Heida Reed (Poldark). In terms of staying ahead in the global TV race, Pabst points to Red Arrow-owned digital division Studio 71, “a brilliantly talented team that is showing how to create content at a lower price than TV”. He also says it is important to focus on the power of the niche: “Like everyone, we want mainstream hit formats. But the future is also going to be about focusing more than ever on creating content for specific target groups.” BBC Worldwide’s McMafia
legal drama starring Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) as a city lawyer who returns to her hometown, where she becomes embroiled in a fight for justice for a group of sick girls. Baxter’s emphasis on creative risk is also highlighted by Red Arrow International’s managing director, Henrik Pabst, whose company is prioritising “bold original formats that challenge the status quo by asking difficult questions”. A case in point is Buying Blind, in which people ask experts to decide which home they should buy. Another is Spouse House, in which single men and women move into a shared house in the hope of leaving it married. The most controversial, Pabst says, is Pregnant With A Stranger, in which single women who want babies enlist a team of experts to find suitable fathers. “People want to see relevant TV,” he adds. “They want stories that are authentic, gripping, universal and not overly constructed by producers.” Ask Pabst about creative connections and he talks about Red Arrow’s in-house network of producers: “Twenty companies in eight countries linked by a strong central creative division means we are constantly accelerating ideas around the group. Our companies have creative freedom, but can also collaborate on ideas. So something conceived by Kinetic in Los Angeles may end up being brought to life by Snowman in Denmark.”
Paul Dempsey, president of global markets at BBC Worldwide, says his company’s creative ambition in drama is illustrated by McMafia, which it is showcasing at MIPCOM with the help of actors James Norton and Juliet Rylance, and writer Hossein Amini. “Our relationship with Curtis Brown and Cuba Pictures allowed us to be there at the beginning and we were able to shape the financial plan beyond the scope of a traditional distributor,” Dempsey says. BBC Worldwide brought AMC on board as a co-pro partner and secured a global deal with Amazon (excluding the US, the UK and China). Dempsey adds that it is exploring further opportunities at MIPCOM. The global race for creative connections is not all about drama either, Dempsey stresses: “Blue Planet II is receiving its international premiere at MIPCOM. In many ways, epic natural-history landmarks like this have been trailblazers for the way we fund event television that a public-service broadcaster such as the BBC wouldn’t be able to cover without international co-pro finance. The scale and ambition of the BBC’s naturalhistory content has meant necessity has been the mother of innovation as far as putting together creative partner-
Our companies have creative freedom, but collaborate on ideas. So something conceived by Kinetic in Los Angeles may be brought to life by Snowman in Denmark Henrik Pabst
Red Arrow International’s Stella Blomkvist
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FEATURE ships is concerned. And the partners on board for Blue Planet II read like a who’s who of prestigious international broadcasters: WDR, France Televisions, Tencent, CCTV-9 and BBC America, all of whom recognise the powerful ratings these shows deliver.” Guel Arraes, drama-series director at Brazilian production and broadcasting giant Globo, also describes how ambitious co-productions are playing a role in his company’s creative ambitions: “We have a history of great partners in telenovela co-pros, such as Telemundo in the US, TV Azteca in Mexico and SIC in Portugal. Last year, we went a step further with Supermax. This is the first original Globo production aimed at the IberoAmerican audience, recorded in Spanish and made with Oficina Burman, Mediaset in Spain, Azteca, TVP in Argentina and Teledoce in Uruguay. Projects like this represent an injection of creativity, and also illustrate Globo’s achievements in the search for a more strategic and diversified global performance.” Fadi Ismail, general manager of O3 Productions, the production arm of Middle Eastern pan-regional broadcaster MBC, is one of TV industry’s pioneers when it comes to creative thinking on an international scale. Recognising the demand for Turkish content in the Middle East, 03 set up operations in Turkey and started making shows that could air locally and also flow back in the direction of MBC. Now, however, the market has moved on, Ismail says: “Turkish drama has made it. Arabic content should be next. We are no less creative than other countries that have established an international footprint in the world drama market. So we are refocusing our strategy to become a global producer of Arab storytelling at its best. Our aim is to provide tales from the Arab lands for audiences around the world.” To this end, O3 has a dozen projects under development that combine Arabic creative talent with Europe and US talent. Heading the slate is what Ismail calls “perhaps the most controversial series ever on anti-terrorism/anti-
O3 Productions’ The Black Crows
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Nickelodeon’s Welcome To The Wayne
ISIS, The Black Crows”. He adds: “We are also filming a multi-season period drama that will tell the story of Saudi Arabia from the 1970s and how oil has changed its society. In addition, we are embarking on an innovative romance, based on a Saudi bestseller, in partnership with Image Nation. And are working with Anonymous Content on two exciting projects.” In Ismail’s view, “opening the door to innovative partnerships and alliances is what will futureproof the company’s position in a very competitive international market for content. The way forward is partnerships and the co-development of content that has its eyes on not only regional but world viewership.” Switching to children’s content, Nina Hahn, senior vicepresident of international production and development at Nickelodeon, says her company is at MIPCOM with three titles that “demonstrate our continued investment and commitment to breaking down borders, and casting our net even wider to uncover great characters, storylines and creativity”. From the animation slate comes Welcome To The Wayne, which started as a digital series then blossomed into long-form; and Sunny Day, a pre-school series that champions determination and creativity. Headlining the live-action roster is I Am Frankie, the US adaption of the Nickelodeon Latin America series Yo Soy Franky. Hahn’s view is that the industry’s overarching creative ambition remains the same: “To make the best content we can make for our audiences around the world. It’s how we do that that has been the biggest game-changer. With the proliferation of new platforms and devices fuelling the creative landscape, it’s critical we broaden our outlook and leave no stone unturned when sourcing, creating and seeking inspiration.” According to Hahn, I Am Frankie is a great example of “local to glocal”. She says: “By following its success in Latin America, we recognised its potential to be refreshed, re-energised and reincarnated with a global vision to extend its appeal to international audiences. The web also provides a vast breeding ground for new talent and story concepts, where series like Welcome
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FEATURE To The Wayne can live in digital form before launching on linear.” In terms of key business developments over the last year, Hahn points to the acquisition of Argentina’s Telefe in November 2016, the international roll-out of My Nick Jr, the recent launch of new play-along features for SVOD app Noggin, and on-going global initiatives, such as the Nickelodeon Animated Shorts Programme and Writing Programme. In kids as much as anywhere, she adds, “close collaboration and forging smart creative alliances are crucial”. Over at A+E Networks, there is a dual agenda, according to Paul Buccieri, president of A+E Studios and A+E Networks Portfolio Group: “There’s our continued ambition to create premium content across all genres, ranging from scripted series like Knightfall to TV movies like Cocaine Godmother, starring Catherine ZetaJones, to groundbreaking factual shows, such as Live PD, which is available at MIPCOM as a format for the first time.” At the same time, Buccieri continues, there is A+E’s positioning as a 360-degree media company: “This encompasses our international channels, events like AlienCon and the work done by our own digital studio, 45th & Dean, which produces content complementary to our series, as well as original content for Snapchat and Facebook. In today’s world, you need to be available to audiences in all places.” As studio chief within a vertically integrated media company, Buccieri says there is an inevitable strategic drive to control content from creation through to exploitation. But he acknowledges that this agenda cannot be delivered at the expense of third-party creative alliances: “You have to be adaptive in this market. We have a wildly successful partnership with Ben Silverman and Howard T Owens’ Propagate and a joint venture with Vice Media behind the Viceland channel. We’re in partnership with FremantleMedia North America on RJ Cutler’s The Breach: Inside The Impeachment
A+E’s Live PD
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Of Bill Clinton, and also with IM Global on the Jenji Kohan project American Princess.” Rai Com’s head of international distribution and business development, David Bogi, says Italy has contributed strongly to the “re-imagination and renewal of the crime genre” in recent years. A case in point is Close Murders, which centres on a strong woman detective who investigates crimes including domestic violence. There is also the Inspector Coliandro series by sibling directors Manetti Bros. “We’ve bought the second season to Cannes only weeks after their feature Ammore e Malavita scored big with critics and audiences in Venice,” says Bogi, who sees the interplay between film and TV as another manifestation of creative connections: “As the boundaries between the TV and movie industries become permeable, talent can switch easily between formats, ideally learning to use the best aspects of all idioms and reaching diverse audiences. As these boundaries become more fluid, TV shows express a more personal style and can be more open to a gritty depiction of society, making them more relevant, intriguing and attractive to viewers.” Bogi says being part of a larger structure such as public broadcaster Rai enables his company to stay close to developments across genres and formats. In factual, Rai Com’s MIPCOM headliners include A Night In Venice and Italy: An Open Air Treasure. “With its 53 World Heritage Sites, Italy is at the top of the UNESCO’s list,” Bogi adds. “Italy: An Open Air Treasure is a trip across history and through the country’s most amazing sites.” Pubcasters have not always been known for speed of action, but Bogi stresses that winning the global race for creative connections requires commercial agility: “Just as talent needs to be nimble on their feet to take advantage of opportunities in different formats, all players along the industry value chain have to be flexible and faster to react to a changing industry.”
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FEATURE THE NEW COMMISSIONERS
Dramatic entrants Gone are the days when the legacy broadcasters were the only game in town in terms of drama commissioning. Over the past decade, new streaming platforms with big budgets and even bigger aspirations have entered the market for premium content. Juliana Koranteng reports
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HERE is a new world order in the land of TVdrama commissioners. For decades, high-end
production companies and their associated writers and actors prayed at the altar of the legacy broadcasters. Terrestrial, cable and satellite networks had the big budgets to order quality mini-series, event serials and TV movies. They were spoilt for choice when selecting producers to bless with funding. Those cash-rich broadcasters and pay-TV networks are still around and still commissioning premium drama. Today, however, they are in competition with a new generation of commissioners with pockets as deep as theirs, if not deeper. The past decade has seen billions invested in scripted content by internet-delivered streaming platform operators Netflix and Amazon. And they have the coveted Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Oscars to show for it. Then consider that, in the past 12 months alone, these players have been joined by an even younger generation of drama investors from social media (Facebook), messaging apps (Snapchat), smartphone manufacturing (Apple), video-sharing (YouTube Red) and a once disregarded streaming-service rival, Hulu. It is possible that producers of drama, arguably the most expensive of the TV genres, have never had it so good. “This is the tipping-point year,” says Sean Cohan, president of international and digital media at A+E Networks. Although A+E Networks focuses on factual content, it launched its digital studio 45th & Dean last year to meet the different demands of digital operators. “What is clear is that, as long as you tell great stories, whatever the length or genre, you’ll be OK,” Cohan adds.
What is clear is that, as long as you tell great stories, whatever the length or genre, you’ll be OK Sean Cohan
Referring to what she calls the “global drama gold rush”, Claire Mundell, creative director Synchronicity Films, says the new players “present another golden
AMAZON
Snatch, starring Rupert Grint
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LAUNCHED in 2010 Amazon Studios is already a Hollywood power broker. It has pledged a reported $4.5bn this year on content, which is distributed on the Amazon Prime Video platform in some 240 countries. Its massive catalogue of award-winning originals includes The Man In The High Castle and Transparent. The UK’s ITV and Sky, plus Hollywood’s MGM are among its co-production partners. Amazon won an Oscar this year for Manchester By The Sea.
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FEATURE
Netflix’s Andy Yeatman
APPLE THE IPHONE maker is to invest $1bn-plus in original content. It is rumoured to be buying The Culver Studios, where Hollywood classics such as Gone With The Wind were made. What is undoubtedly true is that Apple has poached senior drama executives from Sony Pictures Television. Its drama output is expected to be accessible on its mobile devices, which include 700 millionplus iPhones, as well as Apple TV, its nextgeneration smart-TV app.
Synchronicity Films’ Claire Mundell
opportunity”. She adds: “These platforms will surely be looking for social media-savvy talent who can maximise storytelling in the best way possible for digital and social-media viewing contexts. This may open up streams of possibilities for a new generation of suppliers and talent.” Whether that means more than the estimated 500 dramas produced annually will increase is not clear. However, the concept of drama being distributed as digital-first entertainment has initiated changes in business models and strategies. Netflix and Amazon determine which commissioned shows are aired or renewed based on algorithmic data illustrating how subscribers respond to shows and whether they even bother to finish watching an episode.
FACEBOOK IN AUGUST socialmedia goliath Facebook, which claims two billion monthly active users, unveiled a new streaming platform called Watch on its website. It is ad-supported, which makes sense given that the conglomerate generated $28.9bn from social-media ads alone in 2016 — a 57% jump from 2015. Facebook’s original content budget is reported to be $1bn, and up to $4m per episode.
BBC Three original drama Murdered By My Father
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BBC Three’s Damian Kavanagh
Verizon, the US telecoms giant, has launched the mobile-delivered go90 platform. The millennial-targeted streaming service is paying for original and licensed dramas from companies including AwesomenessTV, the former YouTube channel now controlled by DreamWorks Animation, and Keshet Digital Studios, part of the Israeli group behind blockbuster dramas such as Homeland. Earlier this year, DreamWorks Animation’s founder and former CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, announced a new venture called WndrCo, which is seeking $2bn in funding to invest in original premium short-form content for viewers using connected devices. As linear TV sees its viewing figures and ad revenues weaken, it is responding with its own streaming solu-
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FEATURE
DRG’s Jeremy Fox
HULU ALTHOUGH Hulu has been somewhat overshadowed by rivals Netflix and Amazon, and is available only in the US and Japan, it is investing some $2.5bn in original and acquired content in 2017. This year, its globally acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale nabbed eight Emmy Awards, including the gong for Outstanding Drama Series. The subscriptionand ad-funded platform is jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, Comcast and Time Warner.
NETFLIX CHIEF content officer Ted Sarandos is virtually a Hollywood mogul these days. Netflix was the first online platform to prove that exclusive, exceptional drama enables streaming newcomers to challenge the old TV-entertainment order. Several Emmy and Golden Globe awards later for shows including Orange Is The New Black, Stranger Things, The Crown and Narcos, Netflix is one of the most powerful investors in international TV. By year-end, it will have spent a reported $16bn-plus on content.
Keshet International’s Sebastian Burkhardt
tions. In the US, for example, major network CBS paid an estimated $8m an episode for its new sci-fi epic Star Trek: Discovery, which is accessible only on its streaming platform CBS All Access. These developments are triggering industry disruptions unforeseen only a year ago. The Walt Disney Company is to launch its own streaming service from next year, when its agreement to license hit shows to Netflix expires in 2019. Andy Yeatman, Netflix’s director of global kids’ content and a MIPJunior keynoter, says his company has always been aware that streaming tech would eventually make it easier for content suppliers to set up their own platforms. In response, Netflix has stepped up its game in terms of content development. It has bought respected UK graphic novel publisher Millarworld, which will generate original TV brands. And it has poached Shonda Rhimes, the prolific creator of TV dramas including Scandal, from Disney’s US broadcast network ABC. At a recent media briefing Amazon Studios, announced that launching pilots would play less of a role going forward. The company has plans to go straight to series. Amazon’s advice to creators is that viewership is fundamental to the company, and it takes notice of reviews from customers around the world and conveys those
Platforms will be looking for social media-savvy talent who can maximise storytelling in the best way possible Claire Mundell
opinions to the relevant producers.” In the UK, public-broadcasting giant BBC killed its youth-focused BBC Three network in February 2016 and replaced it with an online service. Also entering the OTT space with original-content
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A+E Networks’ Sean Cohan
commissions or acquisitions are several global telecoms groups. In September, Germany-based Deutsche Telekom commissioned Germanized, the first original series for its EntertainTV streaming operation. The half-hour show, which is being co-produced by France’s respected Newen Group and Germany’s Bavaria Fernsehproduktion, is scheduled to premiere next year. BT TV, a subsidiary of British telecoms giant BT Group, has a partnership with US-based AMC Networks that gives it UK-exclusive rights to big-production dramas such as zombie epic Fear The Walking Dead; The Son, starring former James Bond Pierce Brosnan; and Snatch, with Harry Potter star Rupert Grint as the lead. But just because small OTT platforms and telecoms companies do not have the financial resources of Netflix or BT does not mean they cannot access expensive high-end shows, says Jeremy Fox, founder of distribution group DRG. Fox is also CEO of Atrium TV, a venture he co-founded in April with former Sony Corporation CEO Sir Howard Stringer to form a pioneering ‘commissioning club’ for small, regional, subscriptionfunded VOD (SVOD) platform-owners. When Atrium participants agree to commission a show, they have the right to license the completed production to exploit exclusively in their respective local territories. DRG is responsible for sales in the rest of the world. “As for our members, almost all of them are looking for high-end drama,” Fox says. “They want something to help them break through this increasingly crowded market in their territories. And that can be tough going. That is where Atrium comes in.” Content creators and owners are responding positively to these changes. A+E Networks’ 45th & Dean is an example, focusing on digital operators seeking original, mostly short-form content. Its shows are already on Facebook’s Watch and Snapchat’s Discover platforms. “We knew Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube were going to be commissioners,” A+E Networks’ Cohan says. “We also knew digital partnerships are very important and that there was a handful of players we needed to get closer to. New platforms are coming out every day and audience habits are constantly changing, so we’ve set up the right kind of framework to tell stories in many
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FEATURE
BBC Three’s transition from terrestrial to digital has given us room to experiment, innovate and take risks Damian Kavanagh
SNAP INC MIPCOM keynoter Nick Bell, vice-president of content at Snap Inc, makers of ad-funded ephemeral messaging app Snapchat, has said his company’s ambitions include ordering its first scripted shows before the end of the year. With more than 170 million daily active users, Snapchat already buys short-form content from TV networks CNN and ESPN, as well as NBCUniversal, which has poured $500m into the platform.
YOUTUBE RED YOUTUBE’s chief business officer Robert Kyncl has openly declared that the subscription-funded platform plans to aggressively chase scripted shows. It is reviving the Karate Kid brand, based on the 1980s martial-arts movie franchise, with new spin-of series Cobra Kai. Other originals are being made by Hollywood names including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Doug Liman and Dan Harmon. Parent company Google has $80bn-plus cash in the bank, while sister video-sharing venture YouTube reaches more than one billion. registered users.
BBC Three drama series Fleabag, an Amazon Studios coproduction
different ways. And from what we’ve seen, these new commissioners are ready for scripted.” Damian Kavanagh, digital controller of BBC Three, recently told journalists that millennials yearn for scripted entertainment: “They are consuming a lot of it in short forms because we’re putting young people at the heart of the stories.” BBC Three original dramas include Murdered By My Father and Murdered For Being Different. Joining them soon will be the factual drama Killed By My Debt. Another hit BBC Three drama series, Fleabag, is an Amazon Studios co-production. “This transition from terrestrial to digital has given us room to experiment, innovate and take risks and we want to go even further,” Kavanagh adds. His views are backed by Sebastian Burkhardt, head of business development and acquisitions at Keshet International, and senior vice-president of digital and acquisitions at Keshet Digital Studios (KDS).
KDS’ horror thriller Blood Bath
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“There is a lot of money being invested in youth-focused drama by digital platforms targeting millennial audiences,” Burkhardt says. “A lot of the platforms have been experimenting with formats and durations, which has moved digital content away from being a synonym for short-form. Today, you can find mid- and even longform content. Great drama doesn’t have to be expensive; it just has to be expertly crafted.”
Great drama doesn’t have to be expensive — it just has to be expertly crafted Sebastian Burkhardt
Among KDS’ drama output is vampire horror thriller Blood Bath, a modern-day adaptation based on the true story of a 17th-century female serial killer. Also in development is paranormal young-adult drama The Dead Girls Detective Agency, a co-production with US-based digital studio Insurrection Media.
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FEATURE COMEDY
Go on, make us laugh
People Just Do Nothing, a BBC Three comedy about a pirate radio station in London
Unlike love, there appears to be no universal language of laughter, which makes comedy one of the toughest sells on the global market. But there are ways to get over and around the cultural barriers to comedy exports, writes Andy Fry
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OST distribution execs agree that half-
hour comedy is not the easiest genre to export. While there are a few iconic exceptions such as Friends, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory, the prevailing view is that tastes in humour vary so much around the world that it is hard for funny shows to gain any traction outside domestic. That said, there is a growing realisation that, within the more narrowly defined parameters of premium pay-TV and SVOD, comedy can cross borders. Keith Le Goy, president of distribution for Sony Pictures Television (SPT), says his company has found several different ways to get its comedies to international audiences. “For example, we’ve had a lot of success with local adaptations, taking shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Married With Children and The Nanny into markets including Russia and China,” he says. The beauty of this formatting approach, Le Goy says, is that “the family dynamics in hit shows like these are
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relatable the world over. But by adapting them for local markets, you make them especially relevant to the local audience. The key is not just to translate the scripts, but to spend some time with the local writing team so that you get a really strong synthesis.” In terms of completed shows, Le Goy says SPT does have some titles with the kind of universal appeal that can carry them into numerous international markets — an example being ABC’s popular nostalgia sitcom The Goldbergs. “But we have also had a lot of success around the world with Kevin Can Wait, a CBS sitcom starring movie actor Kevin James. Having that kind of talent is a powerful promotional hook for a broadcaster,” he adds. Addressing the point about premium pay-TV and SVOD, Le Goy says: “There is an emerging opportunity around edgier comedies that appeal to a younger demographic around the world. They won’t necessarily hit a mainstream audience, but they can attract a passionate and loyal audience.”
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FEATURE SPT comedies that illustrate Le Goy’s point include Future Man, which debuts on Hulu in the US later this year. The show is on SPT’s MIPCOM slate, as is Loudermilk, a new comedy from Peter Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary) about a recovering alcoholic and substance-abuse counsellor. “We also have Hit The Road, a Jason Alexander comedy about a dysfunctional family of would-be pop stars,” Le Goy adds. “This one is like the Partridge family on drugs and we think it will work really well in that premium pay-TV/SVOD arena.”
Hit The Road is like the Partridge family on drugs. We think it will work really well in that premium pay-TV/SVOD arena Keith Le Goy
The pursuit of comedy that will appeal to younger demographics also means looking under new rocks for talent, Le Goy adds. A case in point is Alex, Inc, an upcoming ABC sitcom based on Alex Blumberg’s Gimlet Media podcast StartUp. Other execs in the comedy business report similar experiences. Sarah Tong, director of sales at Hat Trick International, says her company has sold sitcom Episodes to 112 countries — in large part because it stars Matt LeBlanc from Friends. “The show is superbly written by David Crane [Friends] and Jeffrey Klarik [Mad About You], but having Matt LeBlanc leading the cast is clearly attractive to buyers,” she adds. Other factors that can help sell a show, Tong says, include lots of episodes and visual or slapstick humour: “We have a sitcom called The Worst Week Of My Life that continues to get licensed around the world and has been remade in several territories, which I think is down to the fact it has a visual style. Having comedies with cross-generational appeal is also an asset. Outnumbered sells because it appeals to the whole family.”
Upcoming ABC sitcom Alex Inc.
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Hat Trick International)
Hat Trick has also had success with other forms of comedy, including the durable improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? “The US version [which airs on The CW] sells well and the show has also been remade in 13 territories, including recent versions in Holland, Israel and Vietnam,” Tong says. “Again, I think part of the appeal is seeing a group of talented stand-up comedians engaged in a fast-paced, visual style of humour.” Like Le Goy, Tong also sees room in the expanding TV universe for an edgier kind of comedy: “We’re at MIPCOM with Derry Girls, a comedy set against the backdrop of the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1990s. It’s a funny, nostalgic piece about a 16-year-old girl growing up in that era — with great music.” Derry Girls will debut on Channel 4 UK, a broadcaster with a strong track record in comedy. According to Tong, this is another factor that can catch an international buyer’s attention. This should also benefit Back, another new Channel 4 comedy starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, best known for their acclaimed series Peep Show. Written by Simon Blackwell (Veep) and produced by Big Talk Productions, Back sees Mitchell play Stephen, a serial failure who is about to take over
Back, a new comedy on the UK’s Channel 4 starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb
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FEATURE his deceased dad’s pub. It should be Stephen’s chance to shine, but he is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of the charismatic Andrew, who was briefly fostered by Stephen’s parents many years before. Back is being distributed by BBC Worldwide, whose commercial director for comedy, Jonathan Blyth, is upbeat about its international prospects: “It’s an acerbic
Trollied, a supermarket-based sitcom for Sky
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sitcom about a dysfunctional family that will appeal to young adults, combined with the brilliant writing of Simon Blackwell and global fan base of David Mitchell and Robert Webb.” Tim Sealey, co-founder of leading indie comedy producer Roughcut TV, says one of the biggest challenges for comedy producers is the speed at which shows get axed by broadcasters: “It’s a brutal world for new comedy. A lot of strong ideas don’t get enough time to take root in the mind of the audience before they are over.” Often, it is the shows that are launched away from the harsh glare of mainstream primetime slots that go on to thrive and grow. At Roughcut, an example of this is BBC Three’s Cuckoo, which was adapted as a pilot for NBC in the US and now appears in Netflix’s comedy line-up. Another strong performer, Sealey says, is Trollied, a supermarket-based sitcom for Sky that is now up to seven seasons and around 70 episodes. At that volume, he is hopeful buyers will take notice of the show. Sealey agrees with Tong and Le Goy that SVOD and pay-TV have created more room in the new TV landscape for adventurous comedy, though he stresses that niche, youth-oriented public channels like BBC Three also play a part in this. “We’ve enjoyed a lot of success with People Just Do Nothing, a BBC Three comedy about a pirate radio station in West London,” he says. “There’s room to think about who the comedy is for and be more authentic.”
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FEATURE Warner Bros International TV Production (WBITVP) is another company that has enjoyed success in changing formats, with 2 Broke Girls currently being adapted for China. However, Andrew Zein, senior vice-president of creative, format development and sales at WBITVP, says that the company’s work outside of sitcom has been just as fruitful. For example, one of WBITVP’s standout performers of recent years has been prank show
Impractical Jokers, which sells both in its completed version and as a format. “I remember we first saw the tapes six or seven years ago in an open-plan office,” Zein says. “There were people from a lot of different nationalities and they were all laughing. That convinced us it was a show worth taking out internationally.”
We first saw the tapes in an open-plan office. There were people from a lot of nationalities and they were all laughing. That convinced us it was a show worth taking out internationally Andrew Zein
2 Broke Girls (WBITVP)
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FEATURE Impractical Jokers revolves around four comedian buddies, who egg each other on to do ridiculous and embarrassing pranks. “The set-ups and scenarios for the pranks are funny and universal,” Zein says. “But what I think really makes this show stand out is the interaction between the four guys. What we’ve learned with the format versions is that you need that genuine connection.” Proof of Impractical Jokers’ broad appeal is that it has been remade in territories as diverse as Brazil, the Netherlands, Greece and Egypt. But the completed version has also aired in more than 15 territories. “Comedy Central has aired the original in a number of territories,” Zein says. “And they’ve been a good home because the show appeals to a younger audience.” Zein is now hoping WBITVP will enjoy similar success with an Australian-originated format that it picked up on the eve of MIPCOM. “The show is called True Story With Hamish & Andy,” he says. “Hamish and Andy are two popular radio and TV hosts. In this show, they sit down with everyday Australians who tell them hilarious true stories. These are then re-enacted by well-known Australian actors in filmed dramatisations.” WBITVP is not the only firm that is mining Australia for comic talent. eOne Television International is at MIPCOM with The Other Guy, a half-hour comedy written by and starring comedian Matt Okine. “The series is based on a stand-up show that I do,” Okine says. “It’s about a radio DJ whose girlfriend cheats on him with his best friend. It’s about how he deals with it, and the challenges of getting back in the dating game.” The show was produced for SVOD platform Stan, an environment that Okine says gave him a lot of creative freedom: “I think this show has the ability to travel, because it tackles themes that so many people are familiar with. But at the same time, it’s a very specific story about what Australia is really like today. I think that approach is a lot more endearing and honest than just trying to make a show that pleases everyone.” Although there is still a sense that Anglo-American comedy travels furthest, there are examples of non-
The Other Guy (eOne Television)
English-language shows doing well. Red Arrow International licences Benidorm Bastards and Safety First, both from Shelter in Belgium, while TV Denmark sitcom Splitting up Together has recently been adapted for ABC in the US. Also making its mark internationally is Our Crazy Family, a Kabo production for M6 that is now in its seventh season, with approximately 230 x 30 mins available. Kabo International managing director Arabelle PouliotDi Crescenzo says the format has also been sold to Canada and Greece, and is under option in Spain and Poland. Explaining its appeal, she cites a couple of factors: “In terms of its content, it deals with family situations that people all around the world will be familiar with. But what makes the show really distinctive is that it is produced as a series of short, minute-long sequences that can be put together in any running order.” Pouliot-Di Crescenzo calls this a “pick and mix” model, meaning that acquiring broadcasters can select their own scripts and scenarios from a pool of around 4,300 and, effectively, build their own show. “We also have a second show produced in the same way, called Cops On The Block,” she adds. “This one, about a group of over-enthusiastic yet endearing recruits, is also available as a pick-and-mix format and has been licensed to ICTV Ukraine.” If there is one final refreshing observation worth making about half-hour comedy in the digital age, it is that the shift to authentic, character or location-specific storytelling is having a positive impact on comedy’s diversity as a genre. Titles that have introduced fresh new voices include Master Of None, The Mindy Project and Insecure. The latter, on HBO in the US, stars Issa Rae and tells the story of young, single African-Americans living in Los Angeles. In a similar vein, FremantleMedia International has enjoyed success with Chewing Gum, an offbeat comedy featuring rising star Michaela Coel. Then, of course, there is Donald Glover’s Emmy Award-winning half-hour comedy Atlanta. Not only has the show been a hit in the US, but it has also found a loyal audience on pay-TV platforms around the world.
Cops On the Block (Kabo International)
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