Viaplay Strikes Banijay Scripted Deal On Eve Of U.S. Launch; Firebird Pictures Signs Duo; German Networks Order Fake News And Patisserie Formats; Dave Serves Up More ‘Big Zuu’ – Global Briefs

Viaplay Strikes Mega Banijay Scripted Deal On Eve Of U.S. Launch

Ahead of its U.S. launch, NENT-owned Scandi streamer Viaplay has struck a mega deal with Banijay Rights for 250 hours worth of premium scripted Nordic content. Viaplay subs in the U.S. will have access to the likes of Norwegian culture-clash comedy Countrymen, Swedish high-school drama series A Class Apart and two eight-part series of Black Lake, along with the first two runs of Wallander and Wallander UK. Viaplay will launch towards the end of this month in the U.S. before rolling out in several European territories next year in an expansion bid. Banijay Rights’ Matt Creasey, who brokered the deal, said it will “become a cornerstone of Viaplay’s launch in the U.S.”

Firebird Pictures Signs Duo And Options Two Novels 

Bodyguard exec Elizabeth Kilgarriff’s UK drama indie Firebird Pictures has hired a Director of Production and Development Executive,  while optioning journalist Gavanndra Hodge’s memoir The Consequences of Love and young novelist Hannah King’s Irish crime thriller She and I. Nikki Saunders joins from BBC Studios to head up production for the BBC Studios-backed outfit and Amazon’s The Rig script editor Andin Ngwa has also been signed. The novels have been optioned as Firebird enters production on two greenlit drama series, BBC1’s Wahala and Amazon Prime Video’s Wilderness. 

German Networks Order Fake News And Patisserie Formats

German channel BR has become the first international network to license BBC Studios’ topical guessing game format Fakt Oder Fake (Fact Or Fake), while RTL has ordered Endemol Shine Germany’s Masters of Sweet. The former from Sandrats Media Company involves celebrities filtering out facts from fake news as they are shown viral videos, sensational social media posts and newspaper headlines by the host. The original is about to air its third season on Austria’s ORF 1, having achieved solid ratings. “Fake news is such a hot topic in recent years and this series demonstrates that in a hilarious and entertaining way,” said BBC Studios’ André Renaud, Senior Vice President – Global Format Sales. Meanwhile, Masters Of Sweet will see professional pâtissier teams compete to create the perfect edible dream, from gigantic replicas to sculptures made from sugar, cake, ice-cream and chocolate.

UKTV’s Dave Serves Up ‘Big Zuu’s Big Eats’ S3

UKTV channel Dave has recommissioned cooking format Big Zuu’s Big Eats for a third series. The show from ITV Studios label Boom, which boosted its audience by 63% for this year’s second series, follows the grime star as he cooks for celebrities including Rob Delaney and Maya Jama in his trusty food van. Series will three will see Zuu and counterparts Tubsy and Hyder take over unique hand-picked venues to treat celebrity guests to themed dining experiences.