MIPCOM Hot Pick: Rectify

Six-part drama series Rectify is one of the first original shows to be commissioned by US cable network Sundance Channel.

The series follows the life of Daniel Holden, who has served 19 years on death row in Georgia for the rape and murder of a sixteen year old girl, and is released from prison after DNA evidence questions the prosecution’s case. However, there is still doubt surrounding his innocence.

It was written by Ray McKinnon, who won an Academy Award for his live-action short film The Accountant, and is produced by producer Gran Via’s Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein, the team behind AMC hit drama Breaking Bad.

ITV Studios is bringing Ray McKinnon and Mark Johnson to Cannes to promote the new show.

Rectify will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, after the sales arm of the British broadcaster struck a deal with Sundance Channel’s parent company AMC Networks.

Maria Kyriacou, managing director, ITV Studios International, says: “It’s not a show that’s come out of a US writer’s room; not a procedural that’s come out of a network. It’s something different.”

The show will launch in 2013 and it’s unclear whether it will be self-contained or whether there will be opportunities for further seasons. “It’s an authored piece by Ray McKinnon, which is rare in the US. He has thought it through and he has one tragedy he wants to tell,” adds Kyriacou.

The show: Rectify
The producer: Sundance Productions
The distributor: ITV Studios Global Entertainment
Airing: Sundance (US)
Concept: Six-part drama from the producers of Breaking Bad