ITV Studios Strikes CBC Content Deal – Global Briefs

ITV Studios Strikes Major CBC Content Deal

ITV Studios has struck a major scripted and non-scripted content deal with Canadian network CBC as the London Screenings approaches. The deal includes BBC drama Showtrial from ITV Studios-backed Line of Duty producer World Productions, the second series of Kelsey Munro’s Bump, Paramount+’s Australian comedy Spreadsheet, adult animation Ten Year Old Tom and Swedish procedural Thin Blue Line. On the non-scripted side, CBC has taken British factual titles such as Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs and The Queen Unseen. The Canadian network has also extended its deal to air ITV soap Coronation Street. “This is a top notch list of amazing scripted and factual titles from across the globe,” said Craig Bohland, ITV Studios’ Vice President Sales, Canada. The deal comes as ITV Studios gears up for next week’s London Screenings, which will feature major distributors pitching shows to buyers from around the world. Meanwhile in global distribution, About Premium Content (APC) has secured a raft of European deals for heist comedy-drama The Unusual Suspects and Abacus Media Rights picked up distribution rights for Sky’s factual entertainment series Ross Kemp: Shipwreck Treasure Hunter.

Disney+ To ‘Find Me In Paris’

Disney+ has picked up all three seasons of ZDF’s tween live action series Find Me in Paris. In a deal struck by Federation Entertainment’s Federation Kids & Family division and Germany’s ZDF Enterprises, Italian network Rai has also taken the third series after airing the first two. The show follows Lena Grisky, a time-traveling ballet dancer from 1905 Russia trapped in modern day Paris, and the many dilemmas she faces finding her place between two worlds. It is co-produced by ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, Be-Films and the Opera National de Paris.

Nippon & Envision Unveil Debut Project

Japanese entertainment company Nippon TV and Envision Entertainment have unveiled their first co-development scripted project. CONNECTED is a crime drama taking place largely online, which is inspired by Nippon’s Double Booking, a show produced and broadcast during the height of the pandemic. It combines both online screens and conventional single camera set-ups, unfolding in a shared universe where characters from all over the world are “connected” to each other through the internet using their superior online research skills to solve crimes. The show, which is one of several being forged as part of Nippon and Envision’s partnership to combine Western and Eastern sensibilities first revealed last year, will be showcased at next month’s Series Mania in Lille.

UK’s Chalkboard Signs Creative Director

Respected UK non-scripted drama and factual indie Chalkboard has hired Who Wants to be a Millionaire? producer Stellify Media’s Tom Popay as Creative Director. Popay will spearhead new business and drive Chalkboard’s non-scripted ambitions, reuniting with Managing Director Mike Benson after working with him earlier in his career. He replaces Bill Hobbins, who is moving to a newly-created Director of Programmes role to deliver Channel 4’s upcoming Claudia Winkleman-fronted gameshow One Question. Chalkboard, which is part of the iZen group, has credits including Channel 5 drama Cold Call, ITV’s Inside Prison: Britain Behind Bars and BBC One’s Murder, Mystery and My Family.

Vienna Blood Re-Commissioned For Third Season

Austrian/German drama Vienna Blood, which airs on PBS and BBC Two, has been recommissioned for a third series. The psychological thriller set in 1900s Vienna from Academy Award-nominated director Robert Dornhelm airs on ORF in Austria and ZDF in Germany, and the premium U.S. and UK networks have already pre-bought the third. Red Arrow Studios-backed Endor Productions produces the show, which follows Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), a doctor and student of Sigmund Freud, as he assists Police Detective Oskar Rheinhardt (Jürgen Maurer).