Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Scorpion TV strikes raft of global doc sales

UK-based Scorpion TV has added documentary Better Off Dead? from Burning Bright Productions to its slate and secured multiple international sales.

The doc, which is presented by disability rights activist and actor Liz Carr, takes a deep dive into the global debate on assisted suicide, questioning its impact on disabled communities and exploring the ethical, legal, and social complexities of the issue.

It has been acquired by AMI in Canada, NRK in Norway, PTS in Taiwan, LTV in Latvia, and Proximus in Belgium.

The David Cornwall-led distributor has also closed a raft of deals for other docs, including Theaters of War from Chiasmus Films, which has been acquired by Planete Poland, RTVE in Spain, Proximus in Belgium and Al Jazeera.

Open Citadel’s doc The Lesson, which follows four German schoolchildren over five years as they learn about the Holocaust, has been acquired by Planete Poland, RTP in Portugal, and AMMO in the USA.

Other sales have seen A President, Europe and War, from France’s Elephant et Cie, sold to Rialto in New Zealand and AMMO in the USA, while New England’s Wildlife Wonders, produced by Equilibrio Films, has been picked up by RTVE in Spain and Shine in China.

Sphere Abacus takes Making Manson to UK, Canada 

Channel 5 and Paramount+ in the UK, as well as Canada’s Bell Media, have picked up true crime docuseries Making Manson, which has been acquired for worldwide distribution by Sphere Abacus.

The show is produced by Renowned Films and offers exclusive, unfiltered insights into America’s most notorious killer, cult leader Charles Manson.

It features never-before-heard audio of Manson culled from more than 100 hours of intimate conversations recorded over 20 years up until his death in 2017. The show debuted on Peacock in the US in November 2024.

Banijay’s Bergerac sells across Europe

NPO in the Netherlands, VRT in Belgium and a slew of Nordic broadcasters have picked up new six-part drama series Bergerac ahead of this month’s London TV Screenings.

The show, sold by Banijay Rights, is produced by Banijay UK’s BlackLight TV and Jersey-based Westward Studios. It sees Damien Molony (The Split) star in the iconic role of Jim Bergerac in a reimaging of the original series created by Robert Banks Stewart that ran on the BBC between 1981 and 1991.

SVT in Sweden, YLE in Finland, NRK in Norway and DR in Denmark have also acquired the show, along with BBC First in Poland and TVNZ in New Zealand. ABC in Australia has also acquired the series, as previously announced.

Jane Tranter named as Edinburgh TV Festival advisory chair

Bad Wolf chief executive Jane Tranter has been appointed as the advisory chair for this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, which is marking the 50th anniversary of the MacTaggart Lecture.

Tranter takes on the mantle of advisory chair from Amazon exec Harjeet Chhokar. In the role, she will work closely with creative director Rowan Woods to set the editorial agenda and lead the curation of this year’s festival.

Edinburgh TV Festival is also set to overhaul its programming approach, with a new series of tools designed to foster better openness and inclusivity at this year’s festival.

As part of this, the festival is set to introduce an open call for session ideas, inviting anyone from the industry to submit ideas for sessions via the festival’s website with submissions open from today and will close on 4 April.

Global buyers pick up The Gold

All3Media International has landed European and US sales for the first and upcoming second series of BBC1 drama The Gold, produced by Tannadice Pictures.

Inspired by the true story of the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery, both series will head to PBS’s Masterpiece for audiences in the US and English-speaking Canada, with CBC Gem securing VoD rights for the latter.

MagentaTV/Telekom in Germany, Stan in Australia, Rialto Channel in New Zealand, BBC Studios for Asia and India and ERR in Estonia have also acquired both series.

Meanwhile series one will also travel to Portugal on RTP2, E to Ireland on RTE and Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Pickbox NOW and Pickbox TV in. Season 2 will air on NPO in the Netherlands, Cosmote TV in Greece and MTV in Finland.

Italy’s Mediaset visits Turkey’s Valley of Hearts

Mediaset in Italy has acquired Turkish drama Valley of Hearts from Inter Medya.

The show, which debuted at Mipcom last year, is from Tims&B Productions and follows the lives of a twins who are abandoned by their mother.

The deal is the latest between Inter Medya and Mediaset Italy, which previously acquired fellow Tims&B Productions show, Deception.