Cassian Harrison


BBC Four commissions Rare TV’s ‘The River’

BBC Four has commissioned Rare TV for a feature documentary on Scotland’s longest river.  In The River: A Year In The Life Of The Tay, award-winning writer and naturalist Helen Macdonald observes the Tay — which begins as a small Highland watercourse and ends as a vast torrent spilling into the North Sea at Dundee — over the […]

BBC among French sci-fi drama buyers

The UK’s BBC Four, Germany’s RTL and DR in Denmark have boarded a French sci-fi drama series from Empriente Digitale. DR’s deal gives it exclusive local rights for seasons one and two of Missions, while the BBC and RTL have struck second window deals, for free TV and premium pay TV respectively, as AMC-owned SVOD […]

BBC Four buys French mystery drama

BBC Four has acquired Witnesses: A Frozen Death, an eight-part mystery from France. Witnesses is directed by Hervé Hadmar and produced by Cinétévé for France 2. It stars Marie Dompnier (The Tunnel) and Audrey Fleurot (Spiral). The series follows Sandra Winckler (Dompnier), who explores the case of 15 male bodies found frozen on an abandoned bus. […]

BBC Four plants Roots with A+E

UK pubcaster the BBC is among the latest to buy A+E Networks’ reworking of the Alex Haley novel of the same name. BBC Four will play the show, which launched at MIPCOM last year and was for History in the US, along with new buyers Numero 23 in France, DBS YES in Israel, Showmax pan-Africa […]

Nick Fraser exiting BBC for SVOD service

Long-serving BBC factual commissioner Nick Fraser is leaving the UK pubcaster to launch a new subscription VOD service. Fraser (pictured) has edited the acclaimed Storyville documentary strand since its inception 17 years ago, and been involved in more than 340 films over the course of his career. He is now joining doc-focused SVOD service Yaddo, […]

Shillinglaw exits in BBC channels rejig

BBC Two and Four controller Kim Shillinglaw (pictured) is to leave the UK pubcaster, as part of a wider restructure that sees Charlotte Moore take over all channels and the iPlayer. Moore (below, right) has been named controller, TV channels and iPlayer for the BBC following an internal recruitment process, which was designed to create […]

BBC Four embraces slow TV

UK public service arts and culture channel BBC Four is embarking on a season of slow TV, the real-time TV phenomenon that was started by Norwegian pubcaster NRK. The BBC Four slow TV season will comprise three voiceover-free slow series. Three-part half-hour series Make will be produced in-house and follow traditional craftsman as they make […]

BBC Four breaks Australia’s The Code

UK digital channel BBC Four has acquired Australian drama The Code. BBC Four claims the deal with distributor DCD Rights confirms its “reputation as the true home of international drama”. The Code, a 6x60mins series from Aussie prodco Playmaker, tells the story of two very different brothers who uncover top-level political information that places them […]