Shomi opens Notebook, Blacklist

Canadian subscription on-demand service Shomi has acquired NBC’s big hitter The Blacklist and Daniel Radcliffe-fronted miniseries The Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories.

Blacklist, a mystery thriller-cum-procedural, is sold internationally by Sony Pictures Television, while dark comedy Young Doctor’s Notebook, which went out in the UK on Sky Arts and is based on adapted from the autobiographical works of Russian author and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov, is shopped in Canada by BBC Worldwide North America.

The latter has also sold Shomi comedy Way to Go, in which a trip of men set up an assisted suicide business, as part of a wider content deal.

Other shows in the package include Sky1 comedy Moone Boy, BBC spy thriller The Honourable Woman, crime drama Top of the Lake and James Corden comedy The Wrong Mans. Seasons of A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Doctor Who and Top Gear are also included.

Shomi’s deals with BBCWW North America and SPT are for exclusive SVOD rights in Canada.

Shomi launches in beta this month as a joint venture between Rogers Communications and Shaw Media. It will cost C$8.99 (US$7.97).

It has already acquired exclusive rights to The CW’s zombie teen drama iZombie and premium shows such as Power and Survivor’s Remorse from Starz, and is coproducing a drama with rival SVOD service Netflix.