Five striking Warner Bros deal

UK commercial broadcaster Five is close to striking a new deal with Hollywood studio Warner Bros that will see it renew hit crime drama The Mentalist and give it access to a number of series that debuted at last month’s LA Screenings.

The RTL-owned broadcaster is in negotiations with the studio’s international distribution arm Warner Bros International Television Distribution.

Five controller Richard Woolfe told TBIvision: “There’s a lot of interesting midseason shows coming up,” he added.  

Warner Bros’s big hopes for this season include JJ Abrams’ spy drama Undercovers and Jerry Bruckheimer-produced crime thriller Chase. Its midseason slate includes legal dramas The Whole Truth and Kathy Bates-fronted Harry’s Law.

Woolfe added that the broadcaster was still in discussions with all of the studios and expected more deals to be announced in the coming weeks. He said that he had “money to spend” and enjoyed series including CBS Studios’ legal comedy The Defenders and NBC Universal-distributed conspiracy thriller The Event.

The channel has also commissioned three new local productions including Tiger Aspect’s travel series Justin Lee Collins In Japan, The Restaurant Inspector from Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One Productions and North One-produced 6x1hr White Van Man doc series.