Scripted


Sony’s Crunchyroll & Wowow strike pact to expand anime offering

Sony-backed anime brand Crunchyroll has linked up with Wowow in Japan to develop and produce a series of new shows, starting with the fantasy adventure Bye Bye, Earth. The deal, which also has Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan attached, will see Tom Ubukata’s Bye Bye, Earth turned into a series, ewith the story following lead character […]

Exclusive: Banijay UK chief urges clarity on BBC & Channel 4 future to safeguard production

UK public broadcasters the BBC and Channel 4 must be given “greater clarity” over their futures to enable the UK production industry to flourish, according to Banijay UK chairman Patrick Holland. The UK government has been exploring plans to scrap the BBC’s licence fee as well as to privatise commercially-funded Channel 4, although several rapid […]

Amazon Freevee revives ‘Neighbours’ following Australian drama’s cancellation

Amazon Freevee is to revive Australian soap Neighbours, just three months after the show was brought to an end after almost 9,000 episodes by Paramount duo Network 10 in Oz and Channel 5 in the UK. The revived series, which is again being produced by Fremantle, will start filming in Australia next year and will […]

‘Northern Lights’ prodco Deadpan hires Roughcut & RTÉ alums to boost development

Ireland-based Northern Lights producer Deadpan Pictures has added Roughcut TV and RTÉ alums to its development team, along with a former literary manager. Former RTÉ exec Sam Atwell becomes head of development at the Moone Boy and Can’t Cope Won’t Cope producer, which was founded in 2014 by Paul Donovan and Ailish McElmeel. Atwell, who […]

Exclusive: Starzplay CEO talks spend & strategy as MENA streamer pushes into originals

Dubai-based Starzplay is on the lookout for Arabic scripted shows skewing towards a younger adult demographic as it pushes into original content. Starzplay co-founder and CEO Maaz Sheikh said that that the MENA streamer is particularly looking to appeal to the “17 to 35-year-old segment”, speaking to TBI at the Media & Entertainment Leaders Summit […]

Constantin-backed Upgrade Productions expands senior team with Bron & Studiocanal alums

US-based Upgrade Productions has appointed Akshay Mehta as EVP of content strategy and business development and Vanessa Saal as EVP of production and distribution. Mehta will be responsible for Upgrade’s overall content strategy and seeking out new partnership opportunities. He is taking the lead on managing these relationships and structuring the financing for the slate […]

News round-up: Global sales for ‘Love Me’; Love Nature expands in Romania; 108 Media launches ‘Nightshade’

Hulu, Acorn & Viaplay take Love Me A slew of broadcasters and platforms have struck pre-sale deals for the second season of drama series Love Me with UK distributor DCD Rights. Hulu (US), Acorn TV (UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, India), Viaplay (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Netherlands) have all boarded season […]

HBO & HBO Max SVP of acquisitions steps down after more than two decades

Warner Bros. Discovery veteran Leslie Cohen is stepping down as SVP of acquisitions for HBO and HBO Max after more than two decades with the company. Cohen joined HBO in 1994 initially as an analyst before rising to become VP of film programming, working with studios and indies on acquisitions. She was also behind HBO […]

Ex-Amazon & Fox exec Sharon Tal Yguado launches gaming company

Former Amazon Studios and Fox Networks Group exec Sharon Tal Yguado has launched gaming company Astrid Entertainment. The company is currently developing a multiplayer title and is focused on developing fantastical worlds for gamers to experience, after securing a seven-figure pre-seed investment from backers including NetEase Games, Stardom and Tower 26. Tal Yguado previously served […]

Viaplay & SF Studios land remake of ‘The Sandhamn Murders’ author’s latest novels

Viaplay and SF Studios have snagged remake rights to Swedish crime novels, The Åre Murders, written by The Sandhamn Murders author Viveca Sten. The books will be adapted into a six-part series set to debut on the Nordic streamer in 2024, with Joakim Eliasson (Honour) directing, and Karin Gidfors (Snabba Cash) and Jimmy Lindgren (Honour) […]