Round-up: NHK plans earthquake anniversary shows; Keshet unveils new series for spring slate; ‘Staged’ strikes global deals

3/11 – The Tsunami

NHK plans earthquake anniversary shows

Japanese broadcaster NHK is to air a number of special shows looking back on the Great East Japan earthquake in 2011, ranging from drama and documentaries to music programmes.

The service will also place programmes on this topic on streaming service NHK Plus from across the past decade.

Throughout the year, NHK and NHK Enterprises plans to release some of these programs for the international market, including 3/11 – The Tsunami, a 2 x 49-minute documentary exploring the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that killed 20,000 people, and its aftermath.

Decommissioning Fukushima 2021: Ten Years On From The Nuclear Accident, meanwhile, is a 1 x 49-minute entry into the Decommissioning Fukushima series of documentaries that explores the unprecedented task of decommissioning the three reactors that suffered core meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Surrounded By Enemies

Keshet unveils new shows for spring slate

Global distributor Keshet International has added three new titles to its spring 2021 slate; Norwegian comedy drama, Pørni; Serbian crime drama Grupa (The Group); and Scandinavian documentary series, Surrounded By Enemies.

The three shows are being unveiled today as part of the London TV Screenings.

Produced by Monster Scripted for Viaplay, the 6 x 30-minute Pørni is created by and stars Henriette Steenstrup as a working single mum who has two daughters, one nephew and a dad who’s having a late-life crisis.

Monster Entertainment’s 6 x 60-minute documentary series Surrounded By Enemies was also produced for Viaplay byHenrik Evertsson and Jørn Norstøm. The filmmakers investigate right-wing extremist groups from within, engaging individual members in open and honest dialogue about their hatred and distrust of society and democracy to show why this is a growing global issue.

Grupa (The Group), was meanwhile produced by Vision Team for Serbia’s RTS. The 12 x 60-minute series is set in modern-day Belgrade, focusing on a police inspector’s investigation as it extends beyond teenage drug dealers into something much more dangerous.

Staged strikes global deals

Staged

US SVOD Hulu, Australian broadcaster ABC and Huanxi Media Group in China have struck renewal deals for the 8 x 22-minute second season of British comedy Staged.

Streaming service BritBox has signed as new deal for the show, which will launch later this month, following deals with distributor Rainmaker Content.

Additional new deals have been struck for both seasons of the show, with Canal+ France, DirecTV Latin America, BBC UKTV New Zealand, HOT Israel, Canal+ Poland, Russian Report and BBC Studios Home Entertainment in the UK.

Produced by Infinity Hill and GCB Films Production, the series is written and directed by Simon Evans and produced and co-created by Phin Glynn. Filmed entirely throughout two of the UK lockdowns, the show stars actors David Tennant and Michael Sheen as exaggerated versions of themselves.

Mediafisch preps supercar series

Swiss prodco Mediafisch, alongside investor group Elysian Fields, is developing a new unscripted series, titled My Perfect Supercar, in association with car club Supercar Owners Circle (SOC).

The six-part, host-led series will open the doors on one of the most secretive groups of car collectors in the world, granting unprecedented access to the cars and into the lives of this wealthy publicity-shy group.

“My Perfect Supercar will take audiences into SOC’s private world, showcasing the most outstanding supercars, introducing some of the impressive members as they race their cars in the most beautiful locales,” commented Mediafisch’s Björn Hering.