The Control Room scores BBCS & ABC sales

BBC Studios in Australia and Chinese streamer Pumpkin Film are among the buyers to have picked up Hartswood Films’ drama The Control Room.

BBC1’s three-parter, which kicked off yesterday (19 July), has also been acquired by Australian public service broadcaster ABC for a second window after BBCS.

In Europe, Dutch PSB NPO has taken the series, along with Spanish SVoD Filmin and Virgin Media Television in Ireland. UK and Ireland home entertainment rights have gone to Dazzler Media.

The acquisitions mark the first distribution partnership between the Sherlock producer and All3Media International.

The Control Room is being stripped this week, opening last night with 3.2m (20%), against ITV’s drama debut Murder in Provence.

It follows Gabe (Iain De Caestecker), an ordinary man who works as an emergency call handler for the Scottish Ambulance Service in Glasgow. His world is turned upside down when he receives a desperate life-and-death call from a woman who appears to know him. With Gabe under pressure to work out who she is, he makes a decision that threatens to have devastating consequences.

Elaine Cameron exec produces for Hartswood Films and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC. It is written by Nick Leather and directed by Amy Neil.

“All3Media International has an exceptional track record, working on some of the best scripted content in recent memory,” said Cameron. “The universal appeal of this thriller has been proven by this raft of sales.”

Maartje Horchner, executive vice-president of content at All3MI added: “The Control Room is a fantastic addition to Hartswood Films’ legacy of premium, landmark dramas. Nick Leather’s script seamlessly combines edge-of-your-seat twists and turns with poignant character-driven drama.”