Trio of scripted format deals for Sony

Sony Pictures Television has inked deals for local versions of three of its drama series: Lost Girl, First Love and Los Caballeros las Prefieren Brutas.

SPT’s Russian production division will make a local version of Lost Girl (pictured) for the free-to-air TV-3 channel. The original series was produced by Prodigy Pictures for Showtime Canada.

Ukrainian broadcaster Inter has ordered a 60-episode versio of soap opera First Love. SPT Productions Russia acquired the rights to the format from ATM Media Gruppa in Poland, where the original series aired on Polsat.

Russia’s Domashny Channel, meanwhile, has commissioned 16 new episodes of SPT’s Latin American dramedy format Los Caballeros las Prefieren Brutas. The original series was developed for Caracol TV in Colombia and SPT’s Latin American pan-regional channel, Sony Entertainment Television.

Maria Smirnova, managing director, SPT Productions Russia said: “This [scripted format] business is booming so we are tapping into new territories to meet the demand from our Russian and CIS clients. At the same time, the success of our original scripted Russian productions is opening up new export markets for Russian content.”

SPT has previously made shows including Everybody Loves Raymond, Married…with Children, The Nanny, Betty La Fea and The King of Queens in Russia.