Scripted


Corus, NBCU’s Peacock strike exclusive deal for originals

Corus Entertainment in Canada has struck a far-reaching deal that will sees it taking rights to originals from NBCUniversal’s new streamer Peacock, including the adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World. The exclusive deal includes new Peacock shows including Girls5Eva from executive producer Tina Fey, podcast-inspired Dr. Death and Brave New World, starring […]

NENT’s Viaplay to merge with Elisa Viihde in Finland

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) is to combine its streaming service Viaplay with OTT rival Elisa Viihde Aitio in Finland. NENT and Finnish telco Elisa will launch a standalone service for Finnish viewers called Elisa Viihde Viaplay, which will launch in Q4. It will offer Viaplay’s original Nordic productions, Hollywood films and series, as well […]

Endemol Shine options Indian novel ‘You Beneath Your Skin’

Endemol Shine India has optioned Damyanti Biswas’s crime novel You Beneath Your Skin to develop as a multi-part series. Published by Simon & Schuster India in September 2019, the multi-strand story is set in modern day New Delhi and follows an Indian American single mother and her autistic teenage son, whose comfortable middle-class lives are […]

NENT Studios UK and Projector Pictures take ‘The Holiday’ together

NENT (Nordic Entertainment Group) Studios UK and UK indie prodco Projector Pictures have gone into development on an adaptation of TM Logan’s thriller The Holiday. The company has an existing first-look deal with Projector, which was founded by actor Trevor Eve and was behind two series of his starring vehicle Kidnap And Ransom, as well […]

‘Cobra Kai’ finds new home on Netflix

Scripted martial arts drama Cobra Kai has moved to Netflix after the show was revealed to be leaving YouTube Premium last month. With YouTube no longer airing scripted content, after moving from an SVOD to AVOD service, the Sony Pictures TV-produced spin-off from The Karate Kid film franchise will premiere its upcoming third season on […]

ViacomCBS appoints Disney’s Yolanda Cochran to head kids production

ViacomCBS has appointed Yolanda T. Cochran from Disney-owned Freeform to oversee production for its Kids & Family division. Cochran becomes SVP of live-action long-form production for the ViacomCBS unit, responsible for Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick and Nicktoons, as well as Gen Z-focused brand Awesomeness. She will be based in Hollywood and reports to Megan Ring, […]

Netflix swoops for Rai’s drama chief Eleanora Andreatta to head Italian originals

Netflix has shocked the Italian TV business by swooping for Rai’s head of drama Eleanora Andreatta, the long-standing scripted exec who has been with the public broadcaster for more than 25 years. Andreatta will become VP of Italian originals at Netflix, which has been ramping up its local output from the country over recent years […]

BBC unveils $125m plan for ‘inclusive content’ & launches ‘diverse-talent’ target

The BBC in the UK has said it will “prioritise” spending of £100m ($125m) of its existing commissioning budget over the next three years on “diverse and inclusive content” and outlined plans for a new mandatory 20% diverse-talent target in all new network commissions. The BBC’s Creative Diversity Commitment, which it has claimed is the […]

HBO Nordic picks up Nazi-hunting thriller ‘Dignity’ for European broadcast

HBO Nordic has taken pay-TV and SVOD rights to eight-part thriller Dignity, for broadcast across Europe, following a deal with Red Arrow Studios International. The broadcaster will launch the series in markets including Spain, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The 8 x 52-minute series was produced by Chilean film […]

Mediawan to buy Lagardere Studios for $112m as part of European expansion

French media group Mediawan has revealed a plan to acquire a raft of content firms across Europe by striking a deal to buy Lagardere Studios for around €100m ($112m) and taking a minority stake in fast-growing German firm Leonine. Mediawan, which appointed Endemol Shine France’s former chief operating officer Delphine Cazaux as COO in January, […]