Hot Picks: Renegade Nell

Renegade Nell will always feel bound to Disney+’s local commissioning legacy in the UK. The swashbuckling caper was among the first slate of local orders by the streaming giant when it began flexing its UK commissioning muscles three years ago.

The series hails from Happy Valley and, more pertinently, Gentleman Jack creator Sally Wainwright, and centres on the adventures of the quick-witted titular character who, finding herself framed for murder, unexpectedly becomes the most notorious highwaywoman in 18th-century England. A chance encounter with a magical spirit reveals to Nell she is destined for a wider purpose.

If it bears even a passing resemblance to Wainwright’s period forebear, Renegade Nell will be a talked-about title in the international arena. The credentials are there. Wainwright is writer and exec producer, and it is produced by Gentleman Jack outfit Lookout Point, with the indie’s Will Johnston and Louise Mutter exec producing with former colleague Faith Penhale, director Ben Taylor (Sex Education) and ex-Disney+ exec Johanna Devereaux.

Derry Girls’ Louisa Harland stars as Nell, with Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck), Adrian Lester (The Undeclared War), Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso) and Frank Dillane (The Essex Serpent) also among the cast.

Disney is being very strategic with Renegade Nell’s distribution, according to senior vice-president of affiliate and content distribution, EMEA, Paolo Agostinelli. The title – a “premium scripted UK local production” – will premiere on Disney+ in the region but second window rights will be available to third-party broadcasters.

Besides the “standout performances from top talent”, Agostinelli says, the series is buoyed by its genre credentials in a distribution landscape littered with spy, espionage and crime thrillers.

“Audiences want variety,” he says. “We see this in viewing figures, with a broad range of genres performing well. Broadcasters need both the familiar and the surprising. From this swashbuckling adventure series to a gripping biopic in Kaiser Karl, our slate delivers on that.”

The emphasis for Disney Entertainment, Content Distribution – which is setting out its sales agenda after a sustained period of retaining programming for owned-and-operated platforms – is on broadcasters, with the distributor intent on not cannibalising the first and premiere window from its flagship streamer.

As such, the sales strategy for Renegade Nell is centred on “satisfying broadcaster programming needs on a market-by-market basis”.

The US giant’s sales arm has begun distributing Disney+ UK titles, with deals in place with ITVX for superhero comedy Extraordinary and Star original Under The Banner Of Heaven, while epic 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea adaptation Nautilus is heading to AMC Networks in the US.

Speaking about the ITV deals at the time, Agostinelli said it was an “example of our content distribution strategy focusing on our number one strategic priority, Disney+, while ensuring that we can bring our stories to even more people in the UK”.

Agostinelli has high hopes that Renegade Nell will follow suit as broadcasters seek premium, streamer-driven originals.