Sky launches fall slate

UK pay broadcaster Sky has announced its fall slate with a host of US series and local commissions.

The News Corp-backed broadcaster has struck deals with Hollywood studios Fox and Warner Bros and has commissioned a remake of classic story Sinbad.

This follows the company’s landmark output deal with HBO, which was announced last week.

It has acquired a number of series from this year’s LA Screenings including 20th Century Fox International Television Distribution’s Raising Hope, the Martha Plimpton-fronted, Greg Garcia-produced comedy, Jon Voight-fronted oil drama Lonestar and Ride-Along, the cop drama created by The Shield’s Shawn Ryan. It has also picked up Warner Bros International Television Distribution’s comedy The Middle, which debuted at last year’s Screenings.

The network has commissioned Primeval-producer Impossible Pictures to produce a 13x1hr revamp of Sinbad, written by Skins‘ Neil Biswas and Shameless‘ Jack Lothian as well as three new documentaries; Pulse Films-produced 8x1hour Dogumentary, one off Spun Gold-produced Prince William and the Tusk Trust Project and 5x1hour Tiger Aspect-produced Ross Kemp Extreme World.

Director of programmes Stuart Murphy said: “In just over a year, we’ve shifted the budget around to put terrestrial levels of spend behind our commissioned shows, it means a focus on ‘less is more’.