News DAY 1
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Netflix, ITV among big Rose d’Or winners Arrow appoints Global streaming giant Netflix completed a comedy double at last night’s Rose d’Or Awards, which were streamed live here at Kings Place, while UK commercial broadcaster ITV won three prizes for unscripted. Netflix’s musical special Bo Burnham: Inside was named Best Comedy, while France Télévisions and Netflix’s series Call My Agent, made by Mon Voisin Productions and Mother Productions, won in the Best Comedy Drama and Sitcom category. ITV, which is usually better known for dramas and shiny-floor formats, won the News and Current Affairs
Bo Burnham: Inside was filmed during the pandemic
prize, and the prestigious Golden Rose, for its fast-turnaround documentary Storming the Capitol: The Inside Story, about the January 6 insurrection in the US. The film was made by ITN Productions. It also took the Reality and Factual Entertainment award for Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace,
produced by Wall to Wall Media. Other winners included Channel 4’s Help (Best Drama), Apple TV+ and the BBC’s 9/11: Inside the President’s War Room (Documentary) and BBC Studios format Strictly Come Dancing (Studio Entertainment). Rose d’Or Awards chair Mark Rowland said: “It’s been an incredibly strong year, from the breadth of concepts and stories to the great on-screen performances and the production skill we’ve seen, across all genres. Given the many challenges the pandemic has thrown at TV production, this is an extraordinary achievement.”
BossaNova reveals Viaplay dramas visit new countries new originals slate BossaNova, the content creation, funding and distribution company led by Paul Heaney, is today unveiling its second slate of original productions. Headlining the new line-up is Mysteries of the Ancient Dead (6x60’), made by Toronto-based Go Button Media in a new partnership with commissioning broadcaster Super Channel in Canada. Seven Australia’s 7mate has ordered two new seasons (8x60’ and 10x60’) of Extreme Tow Truckers from long-term BossaNova collaborator Fredbird Entertainment. Viasat World and Germany’s ProSieben are attached as pre-sale partners. Also on the slate is Hidden Histories of WW2 (8x60’) from UK regional producer Bright Button. Pre-sales have been agreed with Viasat World and Histoire in France. Last up is Murder: First on Scene (10x60’), a project from UK indie Phoenix Television. BossaNova provided early-stage funding for the series, which was produced for CBS Reality and is currently airing on the channel in the UK.
Henriette Steenstrup in Pørni
Nordic Entertainment (NENT) Group-owned streamer Viaplay has extended the reach of two of its original dramas in a deal with Israeli distributor Keshet International (KI). Monster Scripted and X-Filme Creative Pool’s Furia (8x60’) will now be available on Viaplay in 26 new territories, including Poland and the Baltics. A tense crime thriller written by Gjermund S Eriksson (Mammon), the show recently premiered across the Nordics on Viaplay and in Germany on ZDF. KI has also sold the Viaplay original to Filmin in Spain, Cellcom TV in Israel and Mola TV in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, following a pre-sale to SBS in Australia.
In addition, all three 6x30’ seasons of Pørni will be made available on Viaplay in further markets. Also from Monster Scripted, the Norwegian comedy-drama is written by and stars Henriette Steenstrup (Ragnarok). KI has also completed new sales of Pørni to NPO in the Netherlands, on top of previously announced deals inked with Filmin and Cosmo TV (both Spain) and HBO Max in 39 territories across Latin America. In another deal with KI, Viaplay has picked up Fallet (8x30’) for a range of markets. The Swedish satirical series, which pokes fun at the Nordic noir genre, was originally picked up by Netflix in a global deal in 2018.
production heads
Stephanie Mavropoulos
Carrie Pennifer
UK-based factual producer Arrow International Media has appointed two heads of production. Stephanie Mavropoulos and Carrie Pennifer have taken up the newly created roles. They will be responsible for overseeing the company’s slate of premium content for major US and UK broadcasters and platforms. Working across both Arrow Media and Arrow Pictures, Mavropoulos and Pennifer will each manage their own balanced slate of factual series, feature documentaries, films and podcasts. They will report to MD Iain Pelling. Mavropoulos joined Arrow when it was formed by Tom Brisley, Iain Pelling and John Smithson in 2011. She has led its production teams for over a decade. Pennifer joined Arrow in 2012 as production manager on the Discovery series Ultimate Warfare. She went on to manage numerous series and one-offs, including three seasons of observational documentary series Ultimate Airport Dubai for National Geographic, before being made production executive in 2016. Pelling said: “Production is the beating heart of Arrow and works side by side with our creative team. It enables us to make over 100 hours of high-quality content every year, and this number is growing. These new roles will enable us to accelerate the growth of the business, innovate and find new ways of doing things, and better navigate the changing landscape.”
