Paramount’s C5 orders ‘The Wives’, partnering again with Gaumont & Banijay Rights

Sebastian Cardwell

Paramount’s UK network Channel 5 has extended its recent commissioning flurry with a thriller from France’s Gaumont.

The Wives (6 x 60 minutes) is a six-part mystery drama that follows the unravelling of a family over the course of a year, tracking how the lives of four sisters-in-law holidaying in Malta are turned upside down when one of them is found dead.

The story explores the death and the remaining sisters’ desire to bring the culprit to justice, as they battle with corrupt officials, drug cartels and career criminals.

Gaumont produces in association with Banijay Rights, which has snagged international distribution again, having previously worked together on For Her Sins.

Deputy chief content officer for Paramout UK, Sebastian Cardwell, and Channel 5 commisisoning editor Paul Testar have ordere the show, which was written and created by Helen Black (Time S2).

The series, which will be directed by Claire Tailyour (Deceit) and Paulette Randall (Tin Star), joins a flurry of recently commissioned dramas of the past six months that includes Playground’s The Hardacres, Clapperboard’s The Cuckoo and Story Films’ The Hunted.

Cardwell said the show “is set to bring layers of mystery and intrigue which is guaranteed to keep the Channel 5 audience guessing.”