All the latest news from the global content industry on Thursday, 6 February

 

BBC Select, Curiosity Stream lands All3 shows 

BBC Select is among companies to have picked up a raft of shows from All3Media International.

BBC Studios-owned BBC Select has acquired SVOD rights in the US and Canada to seven factual titles, including Raw’s true crime series The Body Next Door and Keeping It Up.

Streaming service Documentary+ has acquired AVOD rights to feature-length docs Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy Case, from 72 Films, and Paul Kemp Productions’ Searching for Satoshi: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Bitcoin Creator. The latter has also been acquired by SVOD platform Curiosity Stream.

Finally, AVOD and linear platform Earth X has secured rights to all four seasons of Coming up Roses’ travel series Big Adventures and Betty TV’s two-part series Gino and Fred’s Emission Impossible (for ITV, UK). All series will be available for the platform’s US audience.

 

France TV preps Désenchantées series

France Télévisions has ordered an adaptation of Marie Vareille’s best-selling 2022 novel, Désenchantées, to be produced by Banijay Studios France.

The four-part drama is the creation of Claire Kanny and Solenn Le Priol, and will be directed by David Hourrègue.

The story is set in the French coastal town of Bouville-Sur-Mer and follows the mysterious disappearance of 15-year-old Sarah Leroy, a case that shocked the nation. Though a suspect was quickly arrested, the series explores the unanswered questions and speculation that remain.

 

Jesse Collins, Concord prep Robert johnson biopic 

US production company Jesse Collins Entertainment is partnering with Concord Originals, the production arm of music firm Concord, on a biopic on legendary blues player, Robert Johnson.

The untitled Robert Johnson Biopic marks the first authorised narrative feature on Johnson, known as the King of the Delta Blues. Johnson is famous for his culture-defining influence on rock legends like the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin, with the show exploring his fascinating, real-life story.

The Untitled Robert Johnson Biopic is written by Ridgeway Wilson, who wrote and produced Black Girls Rock!.

 

Get Me Out, Hyde Park prep ultra running doc 

Unscripted production company Get Me Out Productions (A Recipe For Murder) has partnered with Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group to produce two documentary projects featuring athletes competing in the extreme sport of ultra running.

The projects are in pre-production and have been brought to NATPE Global for sales, with the first project - Ultra - exploring the endurance sport of ultra running as it follows some of the world’s toughest athletes.

Where are the Kenyans? has been developed by Hyde Park Entertainment and Adharanand Finn and follows the fortunes of a small, elite team of Kenyan runners - five women and five men - and their Swiss manager as they train for trail running’s major competition, the gruelling UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc).

 

Filmrise strikes Millionaire Murders deal with UK’s Phoenix

New York City’s FilmRise and UK-based Phoenix Television have struck a partnership to co-produce true crime series Millionaire Murders.

FilmRise will handle all US and Canadian distribution rights to the series, with each episodie depicting a murder case where either the killer or the victim lived a life of wealth.

The deal was negotiated by Katie Carroll, Senior Manager, Co-Productions for FilmRise and Jonathan Ford, Managing Director for Abacus Media Rights.

 

Paramount launches Tony Robbins FAST channel  

Paramount Global Content Distribution is partnering with author, coach and speaker Tony Robbins for a new FAST channel to launch this year.

The new channel will offer access to Robbins’ seminars and over 45 years worth of content, with distribution on Paramount’s Pluto TV, Prime Video, Plex and Roku.

Previously launched FAST channels from Paramount Global Content Distribution include the Miramax Channel and National Lampoon.

 

Silver Mountain unveils doc trio

Silver Mountain Distribution, the sales & marketing arm of Carey Fitzgerald’s Irish Silver Mountain Productions, has slated three new feature documentaries for this year’s European Film Market in Berlin.

Nick Kelly’s The Song Cycle follows the journey of veteran rocker Nick, who cycles from his home in Dublin to perform with his musical partner Seán Millar at the Glastonbury Festival, while Garo Berberian’s Married To The Music takes viewers into the world of House Music as he follows the first lady of British House Music, DJ Sam Divine.

Elliot Gonzo’s Tight - The World of Indian Bodybuilding explores what it means to be a young man in India. All three will be available at EFM.

 

Dori takes horror Soul Sucker global

Dori Media Group (DMG) is launching horror comedy series Soul Sucker for internaitonal acquisition.

Soul Sucker, which is set to launch on HOT in Israel) later this year, is created, written and stars Bat Hen Sabag, who was behind Israeli series Dumb (recently remade in Germany as Rampensau).

The series is co-created, written and directed by Daphna Levin, who created, directed and served as executive producer on Euphoria and co-writer on In Treatment.

Dori Media is prepping a screening of Soul Sucker at Mip London on Tuesday, 25 February. The family drama is inspired by Sabag’s life and follows three generations of an oppressive matriarchal family.

 

Hearst unveils Kursk docuseries

Hearst Networks EMEA has unveiled a two-part docuseries that explores the sinking of Russian submarine, Kursk.

Kursk: 10 Days That Shaped Putin is being co-produced with Sky and explores what happened onboard in August 2000, when an explosion trapped a group of Russian submariners at the bottom of the Barents Sea.

It is produced by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s HiddenLight, with Sphere Abacus selling globally.

 The show will premiere on 25 February on Sky History in the UK and later on The History Channel in Sweden, Norway, Benelux, CEE, and the Middle East.

 

Arrested Industries moves into talent

Anthony Kimble’s Arrested Industries has launched a new talent division.

Arrested Industries Talent aims to help identify and curate talent from smaller markets and expand their careers in the international marketplace.

Kimble, who currently manages his business between the US, the UK and South Africa, has launched his new venture with a roster of British and South African talent comprising four writer/directors and three actors. These include Christiaan Olwagen, Etienne Fourie, Tina Gharavi and Lyndon Chapman.