Samuel L Jackson’s docuseries ‘Enslaved’ to air in 130 territories

France’s Histoire TV, History in Germany and RTVE in Spain have picked up Samuel L Jackson-fronted docuseries Enslaved, which is set to launch in 130 territories following a raft of deals.

The show, which was picked up by BBC Two in the UK last month, examines the transatlantic slave trade and will shed new light on the 400-year history of human trafficking, which saw millions of enslaved Africans shipped to the Americas by Western European slave traders.

The 4 x 60-minute show, which premiered on Epix in the US on 14 September, has been acquired on a pre-sale basis by TF1-owned Histoire TV, while Movistar+ has also brought the show in Spain.

HBO Portugal, BBC Earth in Poland, Discovery Film and Spektrum in Eastern Europe and Cosmote in Greece have also agreed deals with Fremantle, while BBC Persian in MENA, National Geographic in Latin America, M-Net in Africa and Cable & Wireless in the Caribbean have also taken rights.

The series is a co-production between Toronto-based Associated Producers and London-based Cornelia Street Productions, in association with CBC and the Documentary Channel in Canada, and Epix.

The show was shown as a 6 x 60-minute in the US, with Fremantle distributing both versions of the series internationally.

It is being executive produced by Jackson and his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson, alongside Eli Selden, Rob Lee, Simcha Jacobovici, Ric Esther Bienstock, Sarah Sapper and Yaron Niski.

Of the 12 million people kidnapped and sold into slavery, at least two million died at sea on the journey and this series uses new diving technology, including 3D mapping and ground-penetrating radar, to locate and examine sunken slave ship on three continents.

Each episode follows both the investigation of these ships, and a historical analysis of the slave trade led by Jackson, author Afua Hirsch and investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici.