UKTV’s crime drama channel Alibi has ordered a six-part Spanish series written by The Tunnel’s Ben Richards and to be produced by Bodyguard firm World Productions. The Diplomat (6 x 60-minutes) is set around the British Consul in Barcelona and follows two colleagues who mix the roles of lawyer, counsellor and cop as they deal […]
Rebooting scripted series has become big business, but it remains a flawed science. Stephen Arnell questions why there is such an attraction to remakes and explores what makes a TV hit – or turns it into a flop It’s not hard to work out the reasoning behind the ongoing stream of rebooted and revived scripted […]
BBC Studios (BBCS) director of commissioning & co-production Tobi de Graaff has linked up with Sebastien Raybaud’s production and financing company Anton to launch a new joint venture. London-based Beiboot will develop, package and finance high-end TV with a focus on European produced content. The company is fully backed by Anton and will look to […]
BBC Studios has struck a first-look deal with Hilary Strong and Bob Benton’s recently launched IP management firm International Literary Properties (ILP), which earlier this month unveiled an eight-figure deal to acquire a dozen literary estates. The agreement will allow BBCS Production and BBCS-owned prodcos to “explore the intellectual property owned and managed by ILP,” […]
UK-based prodco King Bert Productions has appointed BBC Studios’ former head of children’s Nathan Waddington as director of its own kids’ programming. King Bert was founded in 2014, with executive producers Jo Sargent, Conor McCaughan and David Walliams serving as company directors. It has been behind such children’s programming as Malory Towers, Sandylands, Ratburger and […]
UK pubcaster the BBC will be airing a shortened series of primetime celebrity dance competition Strictly Come Dancing this year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The series, which is produced and distributed by BBC Studios, has aired 17 seasons on BBC One over the past 16 years, typically of around 25 episodes […]
ViacomCBS-owned US network Showtime has picked up BBC Studios’ psychological thriller We Hunt Together for broadcast. The 6 x 60-minute series recently premiered on British broadcaster UKTV’s Alibi channel. Produced and distributed by BBC Studios, it will air on Showtime from 9 August. Written by Gaby Hull, the series stars Eve Myles, Babou Ceesay, Hermione […]
The UK’s BBC is looking at a £65m ($82m) budget black hole after it emerged that the impact of Covid-19 on commercial arm BBC Studios (BBCS) will mean that the latter’s annual dividend to its public broadcaster parent is unlikely to be made. BBCS contributed almost £250m ($316m) to its parent broadcaster last year, driven […]
Newly appointed BBC director general Tim Davie had been seen by many as the leading candidate for the top job in UK broadcasting as far back as January – but will his new role help or hinder the commercial arm he’s leaving behind? Much has been made of the considerable market savvy shown by Tim […]
BBC Studios (BBCS) boss Tim Davie has been named director general of the BBC, replacing the outgoing Tony Hall. Hall took much of the UK industry by surprise in January when he revealed he would be exiting the BBC this summer, with chairman David Clementi working with headhunters to find a successor. Davie will take […]
