Banijay sends Israeli drama Juda to Hulu

Banijay Rights has sold Israeli scripted series Juda into US streaming service Hulu, and secured a studio option for an English remake.

The distribution arm of Banijay Group has sold the vampire drama, which was originally produced by Israel’s United Studios for cable channel Hot, into the SVOD, where it will premiere early this year.

The show has also been optioned by a leading American studio, which is to remake the story for a North American audience.

The 8 x 45-minute drama, written by and starring Zion Baruch, tells the story of Juda, a low-life gambler who is robbed and mistakenly bitten by a seductive vampires who must then decide whether to save him or risk everything for her clan.

Banijay Rights distributes the original Israeli-language version of Juda as well as the scripted format.

A second series for Hot is to start shooting over the next few months. The programme most recently sold into AMC Spain, where it will broadcast on the XTRM Channel, and into Russia, where both ShowJet and Ivi.ru have picked up the show.

Andreas Lemos, VP of North America sales and acquisitions at Banijay Rights, said: “With Hulu as our US broadcast partners for this much buzzed about, genre-busting show, we will have a prestigious and accessible platform for American audiences to discover one of the most original series of recent times, melding classic sci-fi, horror and noir elements into a wildly entertaining hybrid. We’re equally delighted that a studio is attached to the US remake rights, also a clear indicator that this is truly exceptional scripted IP.”

Hot’s VP of content Nadav Hanin added: “Hot proves time and time again that excellent content truly has no borders. We are very proud of Juda’s achievement, joining a long line of our internationally successful Israeli TV series. It is Hot’s prime agenda to be the home of Israeli original content and to be an essential element in the development of the Israeli television industry.”