Friday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Quintus Studios, WELT partner on digital docuseries

Factual content distributor and channel owner Quintus Studios has commissioned a digital-first docuseries examining piracy and maritime crime in South-East Asia.

Pirate Coasts will premiere on the company’s AVOD channel, Free Documentary, with pilot episode Terror on the Asian Seas set to also air on German free-to-air broadcaster WELT, which has joined as a pre-sale partner.

The series, which is produced in-house by development and production executive Frederick Gillingham, explores the region’s strategic importance to global trade and investigates the ongoing risks posed by Asian maritime piracy.

Adam Jacobs, creative director at Quintus Studios, commissioned the pilot and is executive producer, while head of sales and co-productions, Anouk van Dijk, brokered the agreement with Welt and will be handling international distribution for Quintus.

Federation moves into Dead End

Federation Studios has secured international rights to Dead End, the dark-comedy thriller by Flemish creator Malin-Sarah Gozin (Bad Sisters, Clan).

The 6 x 52-minute series, which is part of the official competition at Canneseries, is written by Gozin, who directs with Hans Vercauter. It stars Peter Van den Begin, Elise Schaap, Emilie De Roo, Marjan De Schutter and Ward Kerremans.

The series follows a man who has a peculiar eating disorder: whenever he tastes something, he’s able to see flashes of what happened to it in the past. He uses this ability to running a one-man business called The Aftertaste, helping grieving families cope by reconstructing the final moments of their loved ones by tasting something they have used such as a toothbrush.

The series was released in 2025 on Play Media & Streamz in Belgium and is produced by Lompvis for Caviar, PlayMedia and Streamz. Federation Studios holds worldwide rights.

All3 picks up Oxford’s Otter Diary

Distributor All3Media International has partnered with Oxford Scientific Films and Aranya Parva Creations to sell documentary My Otter Diary to global buyers.

The 1 x 60-minute show was shot over five years and follows wildlife filmmaker Sugandhi Gadadhar as she explores the playful and resilient lives of an otter family residing in one of India’s most rapidly changing waterways, the Cauvery River (also known as Kaveri River). 

The doc debuted on Arte and was filmed, narrated and directed by Gadadhar. Producer was Raghunath Belur (Aranya Parva Creations), and executive producers for Oxford Scientific Films are Caroline Hawkins and Helen Conlan.

OUTtv launches on YouTube

LGBTQ+ streamer OUTtv has launched on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels in the US, with subscribers able to access original series, documentaries, reality shows and films celebrating queer voices for $5.99 per month.

Brad Danks, chief exec at OUTtv, said the deal would allow “more people to discover the passion, humour and heart behind our queer-led storytelling in one convenient place.”

OUTtv recently expanded into Asia, partnering with Chunghwa Telecom to launch OUTtv in Taiwan, available as a linear offering for audiences. The service is also available in New Zealand through a partnership with Prime Video, while it has also rolled out a rebranded European SVOD service, OUTflix.