Hot Picks: Plan B

Anthology series Plan B, from KOTV in Quebec, Canada, focuses on the idea of time travel across three standalone series.

The first six-part series aired in Canada on SériesPlus, while series two and three aired on ICI Radio Canada. Each follows a distinct set of characters, with the common thread being the mysterious Plan B agency, which sends one ‘lucky’ protagonist back in time.

The protagonists comprise a mother desperate to save her daughter’s life, a husband battling to save his relationship and business, and a police officer trying to prevent a crime that has haunted her. Each soon learns there are unexpected consequences to meddling with the future.

“It’s a time-travel series that’s not really about time travel,” says Red Arrow Studios International (RASI) senior acquisitions and co-productions manager Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia.

“Plan B commercialises the idea of time travel to make it available to everyday people, but the logistics remain a mystery throughout. Instead, we focus on the characters and their desire to correct their past mistakes.”

Herrera Ibarguengoytia adds that “the universality of the feeling” of wanting to be able to go back and change a situation is what makes the series “so relatable and offers endless possibilities for new storylines”.

One of the unique features of the drama, he says, is the way that all three series are tied together by the mysterious time-travel corporation; in other anthology series, such as FX’s Fargo and AMC’s The Terror, there is no such thread.

However, each series stands out individually by adopting a different scripted genre theme: the first is a romantic drama, the second a family affair, and the third a crime story.

“The anthology structure gives buyers the flexibility to find the best storyline and genre that fits their brand and the flexibility to go back and forth between different series,” says Herrera Ibarguengoytia. “As a result, it caters to a large audience. We fully expect to continue seeing that flexibility being used by buyers, and there is always the potential for them to produce new stories.”

RASI is selling the drama both as finished tape and as a format, with a Franco-Belgian six-part adaptation of KOTV’s second series, already broadcast on La Une in Belgium and TF1 in France, having been co-produced by Lupin indie Gaumont Television with TF1, Be-Films and RTBF. With the series now available on European SVoD Salto, the drama sits across both linear and streaming.

Herrera Ibarguengoytia credits KOTV with creating a high-quality production attractive to buyers, and says further adaptations are in the pipeline.

“Plan B has an independent cinematic look that suits the narrative well,” he says. “The look of the show is something that stood out the very first time we saw it and has remained consistent across multiple seasons.”

With KOTV working on another series in Quebec, Herrera Ibarguengoytia says the show has potential to “grow with new perspectives and storylines”.