MIPCOM Hot Pick: The Blue Rose

Outrageous Fortune was a big hit in New Zealand and internationally and the producer of the long-running comedy drama, South Pacific Pictures, has a new scripted series featuring two of its stars.

“TV3 in New Zealand were looking for a vehicle to showcase the talents of two of the stars of that show, Antonia Prebble and Siobhan Marshall, and they asked South Pacific Pictures to present some ideas,” explains Chris Bailey who is the producer of The Blue Rose and managing director of South Pacific Pictures. “Together Rachel Lang and James Griffin, who also co-created Outrageous Fortune and The Almighty Johnsons, came up with The Blue Rose.”

The show follows the society of the Blue Rose, an underground group of low-paid office workers, receptionists and PAs as they investigate a murder and take on the man, often in the form of big corporations and big business.

Bailey says that the show, which is set in Auckland, is a new twist on an investigative drama series. There is an underlying murder mystery plot which runs the length of the 13x1hr series and episodic story arcs that are resolved within each episode.

“The kick-arse stories centre around two fresh characters – Jane and Linda – leaders of the Society of the Blue Rose, a group of PA’s and computer nerds who swear to fight for justice and fairness, even if they sometimes have to break the law to do so,” he says. “It’s a series about what happens when the overlooked and underpaid take back a little power.”

Production wraps in October and it will air on TV3 in 2013. All3Media, which part-owns South Pacific Pictures, will start shopping it to international buyers at MIPCOM for the first time.

The show: The Blue Rose
The producer: South Pacific Pictures
The distributor: All3 Media International
Airing: TV3 (New Zealand)
Concept: Mystery action drama from the producers of Kiwi comedy drama Outrageous Fortune