News round-up: Newen snags Paramount’s ‘Serial Killers’; NPO, Amazon extend Hat Trick deals; FilmRise buys BuzzFeed Studios library

Annabel Scholey; Jack Farthing; Luke Treadaway

Newen snags Paramount’s Serial Killer’s Wife

Newen Connect has acquired distribution rights to Clapperboard Studio’s and BlackBox Multimedia’s thriller The Serial Killer’s Wife ahead of MIPCOM.

The show was ordered by Paramount+ for its UK and Irish service, with the 4 x 60-minute series tracking a man’s arrest for the murde of his assistant.

The show is based on the book by Alice Hunter and has been adapted for television by Suzanne Cowie (The Dumping Ground).

Josephine Fontaine, VP of content acquisitions & co-productions at Newen Connect, said: “The Serial Killer’s Wife was already an engaging story of truth and deception, yet the teams at Clapperboard Studios and BlackBox Multimedia have elevated it into a gripping tale with a wonderful cast that has become must-watch television.

“That it has found a home in Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland is testament to the quality of the series and I have no doubt that the buyers at MIPCOM will be equally ready to find a place for it on their networks and services.”

NPO, Amazon extend Hat Trick deals

A raft of formats owned by Hat Trick International (HTI) have been extended, including veteran BBC show Have I Got News For You.

The format, which launched in he UK in 1990, has been licensed for a 10th series by AVRO TROS for NPO 1 & 3 in the Netherlands, with new options in place for Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is being remade by Amazon in Italy and a 13th season is in the works for The CW in the US, while new options have also been signed with broadcasters in France, New Zealand and Australia. Details have not been revealed.

Other deals have seen Rich House, Poor House being optioned in Australia (but no further details available), while a 12th season has been ordered for Polsat Poland.

Sarah Tong, HTI’s international sales director, said demand for “classic formats” had been “going through the roof.”

FilmRise buys BuzzFeed Studios library

New York City-based producer & channel operator FilmRise has acquired worldwide digital media rights to a library of content from BuzzFeed Studios portfolio of brands.

The library spans over 1200 hours of content, which includes interview show Hot Ones, BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime and BuzzFeed Unsolved: Supernatural.

Jonitha Keymoore, VP of global content acquisitions at FilmRise, said: “These titles already have a strong audience following and now, we are thrilled to bring them to everyone, worldwide.”

Nick Wang, SVP of business development & partnerships at BuzzFeed Studio, added: “This deal with FilmRise marks a milestone for our series and our studio. We’re excited to expand the footprint of our series to audience across digital platforms around the globe.”