BBC Three snaps up Aussie drama Barracuda

BBC Three has bought UK rights to Barracuda, an Australian drama from novelist Christos Tsiolkas.

The deal with NBCUniversal International Distribution means the online channel will offer its viewers to the 4x60mins drama from this winter.

The series is billed as “a moving story about identity, obsession, desire, the dizzy heights of success and the terrifying risk of failure”.

The story follows the life of a talented young swimmer in the 1990s faced with serious moral choices in a world where only winning matters.

NBCU-owned prodco Matchbox Pictures produced the show in association with Screen Australia and Film Victoria.

Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three, said: “BBC Three has a rich history in offering drama that covers issues that matter to young people, Barracuda fits that mould.”

The BBC has a history of buying Australian dramas, though these have primarily been for older-skewed BBC Four in recent times.