Acorn TV brings ‘Bloodlands’ to US and Canada

AMC Networks-owned streamer Acorn TV has acquired exclusive US and Canadian rights to British crime thriller Bloodlands.

The series was written by Chris Brandon and exec produced by Jed Mercurio, of Line Of Duty and Bodyguard fame. It marks the first commission for Mercurio’s production company, Hat Trick Mercurio Television, and was made in association with Northern Ireland Screen. It will first premiere on BBC1 before making its US and Canadian debut in the fall and is being distributed by Hat Trick International.

Bloodlands stars James Nesbitt (The Missing, Cold Feet) as veteran detective Tom Brannick, who links the case of a car pulled from the sea to an infamous cold investigation about a series of mysterious disappearances that hold enormous personal significance to him.

“This is, at its heart, a universal story of what we will do for love when faced with extreme circumstances,” Brandon told TBI. “Not all decisions will be the right ones, which gives us our conflict, and in a place where family strife and family loyalty are all, then larger themes of truth and justice become natural bedfellows to simpler impulses. In other words, what it is to love, and protect those that we love.”

Sarah Tong, director of sales at Hat Trick International, added: “There is a large demand for strong, high quality, returnable dramas, with great writing and exciting storylines. Bloodlands has it all and so we are optimistic it will do well.”