ITV and NBC pact for Prime Suspect

NBC and ITV Studios have inked a deal that will see the US network take three programmes from the UK company over the next two years. The first project is a US version of UK cop series Prime Suspect, with Hank Steinberg (Without a Trace) attached to write the two-hour pilot.

NBC and ITV Studios, the content arm of UK commercial broadcaster ITV, will also make another, yet-to-be-announced, scripted project and another unscripted TV show.

Prime Suspect, from UK crime writer and screenwriter Lynda La Plante, was a hit for ITV in the UK where seven instalments ran between 1991 and 2006. The central character is tough female detective Jane Tennison, played by Helen Mirren (The Queen) in the UK version. The US version will be coproduced by ITV Studios and NBC’s Universal Media Studios.

ITV Studios is forging deeper links in the US and brokered a deal with Fox last June under the terms of which each party gets to delve into the others catalogue with a view to reversioning shows for their local markets.