Wednesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

All3 expands FAST offering in UK

Distributor All3Media International is expanding its portfolio of FAST channels with the launch of Demand Drama, which will be available in the UK this month.

The channel’s offering will include ‘cosy crime’ series such as Rose and Maloney, crime thrillers including Jimmy McGovern’s Accused, and crime drama Above Suspicion. 

SAS action-drama Ultimate Force and Wild at Heart are also on the launch schedule, along with seasons 1 to 3 of youth hit Skins, plus global English-speaking dramas including New Zealand’s Outrageous Fortune and Irish soap Red Rock.

Gary Woolf, exec vice president of strategic development at All3Media International, suggested further expansion for the channel could be expected, adding the service would ”initially” be launched in the UK but that the brand would “evolve as we look at additional markets”.

UK’s Curious ups development duo

Boyzone: No Matter What producer Curious Films has bolstered its development through promotions for Andrew Slater and Holly Davidson.

Slater has been appointed to the newly created role of head of development while Davidson has been made development executive.

The former joined the indie three years ago as a development exec and has since produced its debut Netflix commission Running with the Devil and exec produced Channel 4’s Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube. 

Davidson joined the indie’s development team in 2021 and originated its Netflix true crime doc Lover Stalker Killer, as well as two projects currently in production for the streamer.

Netflix orders Blink doc

Fred and Rose West are the subjects of Netflix’s latest A British Horror Story true-crime strand.

Produced by Blink Films, Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story is a three-part documentary billed as the “definitive” account of the lives and crimes of the prolific serial killer couple.

The series follows on from Netflix’s first instalment of the true-crime strand – 2022’s Broadcast Award-winning Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which was produced by 72 Films. Read more

MGM+ lands Laura Linney for American Classic

Linear channel and streamer MGM+ has confirmed Laura Linney (Ozark) will star alongside Kevin Kline (Disclaimer) and Jon Tenney (The Closer, Scandal) in American Classic, its upcoming half-hour comedy series from co-creators Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin.

The series is from Fifth Season, with Mar-Key Pictures, Likely Story and Anonymous Content producing. 

American Classic centers on Broadway star Richard Bean, who suffers a public meltdown and returns to his hometown where he helps return his family-owned theatre to former glories. Production starts in New Jersey this summer.

UK’s ITV to close ITVBe

ITV in the UK is to retire linear network ITVBe in June, with tentpole brands The Only Way Is Essex and The Real Housewives set to move to ITV2.

The flagship titles will join ITV2 to help supercharge the youth-skewing channel, which will now be the linear home of all of ITV’s best-known reality series, sitting alongside the likes of Love Island and Big Brother. Read more

Kanal D’s Turkish duo land in Croatia

Kanal D International has sold Turkish series Love and Hate, and Sunshine Girls, in Croatia,

Sunshine Girls follows a devoted mother and high school teacher whose life changes dramatically when she moves to Istanbul after accepting a marriage proposal, unraveling secrets and tensions between families.

Love and Hate tells the story of Tolga, a famous actor, and Asya, a humble young woman with big dreams. Their worlds collide unexpectedly, leading to a journey of transformation, conflict, and romance. Boradcaster/streamer details have not been revealed.