Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Tuesday, 4.50pm: NPACT, Critical Content tie for global format push

NPACT, the trade association representing US-based nonfiction production companies, has partnered with Jenny Daly’s Critical Content to offer members an international pipeline for formats.

Critical Content, which has been behind shows such as Catfish and Great Food Truck Race, will connect NPACT’s members with its global network of first-look partners, including Dubai’s Blue Engine Studios, Germany’s Leonine Studios, Australia’s Warner Bros. International Television Production, Korea’s Something Special, Singapore’s Refinery Media, Belgium’s Be-Entertainment and France’s ITV Studios France.

Stéfanie Gelinas, who runs Critical Content’s global initiative, will help oversee this new partnership.

Tuesday, 4.20pm: RTL Deutschland buys from Big Media

RTL Deutschland has struck a multi-year output deal with producer/distributor Big Media that will see shows airing on free-to-air news channel NTV.

The broadcaster has acquired exclusive rights to two new series totalling 14 hours that are currently in production: Has#Tag Homicide and Breaking News/Decoded. 

Both shows will be delivered by Q3 2025 and are available for global pre-buys now.

Has#Tag Homicide explores the dark intersection of social media and true crime, where the virtual world becomes the stage for murder, investigation, and justice. 

Breaking News/Decoded is part of Big Media’s Decoded strand and will focus on a specific category of news events, offering an in-depth exploration of the most poignant incidents.   

Tuesday, 3.11pm: FilmRise promotes Wohl and Gagliardi

New York City-based streamer and producer FilmRise has upped two of its senior execs.

Melissa Wohl moves to exec vice president of global distribution partnerships and content sales, while Daniel Gagliardi moves to exec vice president of global streaming distribution and strategy.

Wohl has been with FilmRise for over eight years, joining shortly after the company’s foundation, while Gagliardi landed at the company in December 2021. Both report directly to chief exec Danny Fisher.

Tuesday, 2.10pm: Scandi Alliance unveil first project

TV4 in Sweden and TV2 in Denmark and Norway have unveiled their first joint drama as part of commissioning club Scandi Alliance.

Royal Blood (Blått Blod) is in early development with Fremantle’s Miso Film and was picked from 75 submissions. It is written by Stephen Uhlander and Emma Broström, with the story exploring the battle for between the royal families in Sweden and what was then Denmark-Norway.

The show was unveiled on the first day at Göteborg’s TV Drama Vision, which takes place this week in Sweden.

Tuesday, 11.59am: The Traitors Uncloaked indie taps ex-Paramount exec

The company behind BBC2’s The Traitors: Uncloaked has appointed a former Paramount executive as executive producer to continue the push into visual podcasts.

Jonathan Pascoe joins Listen having served as series producer on the latest series of Uncloaked, which concluded its record-breaking run last Friday with an overnight audience of 4.8m on BBC1.

He previously executive produced Disney’s official Rivals companion podcast - the first visualised podcast available on Disney+.

Until last year, he spent four years at Paramount, latterly as senior director of digital content and production, shaping series for MTV and Comedy Central.

Tuesday, 10.44am: Disney’s Jennifer Rogers Doyle joins Sony 

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has hired Jennifer Rogers Doyle to lead its franchise business.

Rogers Doyle becomes exec vice president of franchise management at SPT Studios, reporting into president, Katherine Pope. She was most recently senior vice president of Disney Entertainment franchise, licensing and planning.

The Disney alum will be based out of Culver City and work on expanding SPT’s franchises. The company has already secured a second season for The Boys spin-off Gen V on Prime Video, while Outlander-inspired Blood of my Blood will land on Starz later in the year. 

Tuesday, 10.28am: Blink49 hires Lionsgate’s Andrew Nissen

Blink49 Studios has appointed Lionsgate’s Andrew Nissen as vice president of scripted TV.

Nissen, who was most recently director of scripted development at Lionsgate, reports to global scripted exec vice president Carolyn Newman and will be based in Los Angeles.

Fifth Season-backed Blink49 has also promoted execs including: Allison Brough, who becomes senior vice president of unscripted TV; Lucy Galstyan, who becomes senior vice president of business & legal affairs for unscripted; Grainne Moley, who becomes senior vice president, finance; and Daphne Park, who is now senior vice president of production finance.

Tuesday, 10.13am: ITVS Nordics lands The League Of Extraordinary

LA-based TGC Global Entertainment, the distribution company launched last year by US format veteran Phil Gurin, has struck an option deal with ITV Studios Nordics for The League Of Extraordinary in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

The show launched on CBC as Canada’s Ultimate Challenge and was sold as a format at MIPCOM under its international name, The League of Extraordinary.

It takes teams of strangers and places them in iconic locations around a nation to create intense, geographically specific physical and mental challenges. The League of Extraordinary has also been optioned for Germany by Leonine Studios’ Madame Zheng Production (part of Mediawan). CBC recently announced a third season of Canada’s Ultimate Challenge.

The CBC series was originally produced by Insight Productions and The Gurin Company.

Tuesday, 10.10am: Netflix preps manga adaptation

Netflix has picked up rights to Quiztopia, a live-action adaptation of cult favourite manga, Kokumin Kuizu.

The show is from Japanese production firm The Seven and will be directed by Teruyuki Yoshida, who directed the NHK historical drama The 13 Lords of The Shogun.

It will star Takayuki Yamada and follows a quiz show in which winners can have any wish granted by the government. Losers, however, face severe consequences ranging from fines to forced labor or conscription.

Tuesday, 8.51am: Fremantle global drama exec departs

Fremantle’s vice president of editorial, global drama Julie Hodge has left the super-indie after eight years.

Hodge joined Fremantle in 2016 as editorial manager, global drama, working her way up to vice president of editorial for global drama, a title that was newly-created when she assumed it in 2022. Read more

Tuesday, 8.47am: Dancing Ledge bolsters team with exec producer hire

Fremantle-backed Dancing Ledge Productions has hired an executive producer as it expands its drama department.

Lotte Beasley Mestriner served as an exec producer on the first series of Dancing Ledge’s Channel 4 comedy Big Mood. She most recently served in the same role on four series of Workshop Pictures’ The Young Offenders for BBC/RTÉ.