World Screen MIPCOM 2019

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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA | OCTOBER 2019

WWW.WORLDSCREEN.COM

MIPCOM Edition

STAR GAZING Rob Lowe

Michael Sheen

Patricia Arquette Damian Lewis Paul Giamatti

Ryan Eggold

Carrie-Anne Moss Eugene Levy Jason Priestley Rachel Griffiths Archie Panjabi

Robson Green

Robert Bakish Viacom Robert Greenblatt WarnerMedia Gilles Pélisson TF1 Group Hugh Marks Nine James Farrell Amazon Craig Hunegs Disney TV Studios Charlie Collier FOX Entertainment

Christiane

Amanpour

+

Ava DuVernay, Andrew Davies, Jed Mercurio, Bertram van Munster, Mark Gatiss & Arnold Schwarzenegger

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CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2019/MIPCOM EDITION DEPARTMENTS WORLD VIEW

By Anna Carugati.

26

60

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise Group Editorial Director Anna Carugati

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 30

By Bruce Paisner.

UPFRONTS What’s new for MIPCOM.

34

IN THE NEWS Amazon Studios’ James Farrell.

64

SPOTLIGHT FOX Entertainment’s Charlie Collier.

68

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Associate Editors Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari

MILESTONES OSN’s Patrick Tillieux.

Associate Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco

72

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 579 WORLD’S END In the stars.

Editor Mansha Daswani

582

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR

274

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Editorial Assistant, Spanish-Language Publications Jessica Ávila Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider Production & Design Director David Diehl Online Director Simon Weaver

SPECIAL REPORT

76 GOT TALENT?

Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell

This special report on recruiting and managing talent includes interviews with Rob Lowe, Michael Sheen, Patricia Arquette, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Eggold, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eugene Levy, Jason Priestley, Archie Panjabi and Robson Green.

Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Coordinator Genovick Acevedo Business Affairs Manager Andrea Moreno

ONE-ON-ONE

137 VIACOM’S ROBERT BAKISH The president and CEO of Viacom reflects on the benefits of the recently announced merger with CBS Corporation.

Contributing Writers Steve Clarke Neil Crossley Andy Fry Joanna Stephens Jay Stuart David Wood

ON THE RECORD

299 WARNERMEDIA’S ROBERT GREENBLATT The chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer discusses HBO’s strategy and plans for the upcoming HBO Max streaming service.

Anna Carugati Executive VP

IN CONVERSATION

Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

375 DISNEY TV STUDIOS’ CRAIG HUNEGS WORLD SCREEN is published nine times per year: January, March, April, May, June/July, September, October, November and December.

Annual subscription price: Inside the U.S.: $90.00 Outside the U.S.: $160.00 Send checks, company information and address corrections to: WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. For a free subscription to our newsletters, please visit www.subscriptions.ws.

Ricardo Seguin Guise President

As president, Hunegs oversees three distinct labels: ABC Studios, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios.

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

431 NINE’S HUGH MARKS At the helm of what is now Australia’s largest media company, Marks talks about the importance of scale and having a diversified portfolio.

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WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreen.com ©2019 WSN INC. Printed by Fry Communications No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization.

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CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2019/MIPCOM EDITION THESE TARGETED MAGAZINES APPEAR BOTH INSIDE WORLD SCREEN AND AS SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS:

TF1’S GILLES PÉLISSON STREAMING WARS

124 128

GENIUS BRANDS SPECIAL REPORT FUNDING STRATEGIES COMMISSIONERS GENDER-NEUTRAL SHOWS NICKELODEON’S BRIAN ROBBINS

177 218 228 238 270

452 462 470 474 478 480

BOOK ADAPTATIONS CRIME DRAMAS MARK GATISS AVA DUVERNAY ANDREW DAVIES JED MERCURIO

330 338 350 358 362 364

SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS PHYSICAL COMPETITIONS CO-DEV PARTNERSHIPS BERTRAM VAN MUNSTER RICHARD MCKERROW FREMANTLE’S ROB CLARK

402 412 416 420 424 426

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES TRAVEL DOCS DAMIAN LEWIS SMITHSONIAN’S TOM HAYDEN HOMICIDE HUNTER’S JOE KENDA WORLD OF WONDER’S FENTON BAILEY

OTT CONTENT FORMATS FROM ASIA PCCW’S JANICE LEE IFLIX’S MARK BRITT

492 500 506 510

LATIN AMERICAN DISTRIBUTORS TELEVISA’S FERNANDO MUÑIZ

535 543

LISTINGS FOR MORE THAN 130 DISTRIBUTORS ATTENDING MIPCOM 549

Credits: Archie Panjabi courtesy of Eric Scott; Michael Sheen courtesy of David Giesbrecht/Warner Bros. Entertainment; Patricia Arquette courtesy of Riccardo Vimercati for Marina Rinaldi; Ryan Eggold courtesy of Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal.

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WORLD VIEW

BY ANNA CARUGATI

The Search for Truth My daughter started her senior year at university, where she is pursuing a double major in film studies and English. I’m fascinated by how her generation is revisiting and reevaluating subjects, tenets, issues, novels and films that shaped me when I was growing up.

Of course, it’s healthy, if not necessary, for each new generation to question, challenge, even protest what previous generations did, did badly or failed to achieve. For decades the young have been instrumental in pushing for reforms in human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, gender parity, LGBTQ rights and more. Today the young are rightly outraged at how governments and big business have let global warming reach catastrophic levels.

I am delighted my daughter and her classmates are being encouraged to question what came before. One of her classes is Post-Colonial Literature Today, which examines novels written by authors whose people were colonized, exploited, even killed. I’ve read two of the books on the syllabus and want to read more.

Established forms of storytelling in film and television should be deconstructed and subverted to give way to new ones. I love to hear her talk about postmodernism, a movement in the arts and criticism in the second half of the 20th century. It held at its core a distrust of ideologies or grand theories. It’s part of critical thinking, desperately needed in education today.

However, postmodernism also posits that there is no objective reality separate from human perception—what we see, hear, learn is filtered through the lenses of our class, race and gender. Subjectivity rules. Once this way of thinking is taken out of academia and co-opted by political parties, organizations and special interest groups, we are on extremely slippery ground. There is no consensus.

Opinion replaces facts. Science and empirical evidence are open to interpretation or, worse, discounted as false.

Yes, journalists are trained to examine all sides of a story. However, the sides of the story must be steeped in fact. Anti-vaxxers, people who claim childhood vaccinations cause autism or other conditions—which has been proven to be false—should not be given the same amount of time as doctors. Climate-change deniers have no place alongside scientists. We cannot create false factual or moral equivalencies.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, one of the most experienced and fearless journalists working today, states this far better than I can. Please read my interview with her. In a world where political leaders lie without shame, “news” organizations peddle opinion instead of facts, bots on social media pose as individuals and climate change catastrophe is deemed as much of a threat as the bogeyman,

searching for and exposing the truth has never been more urgent or necessary.

In this issue, we have focused on the megatrends impacting the industry at large: from protecting unbiased news to the mergers and streaming services that are casting a long shadow on the business. There has been significant consolidation in the last few years. Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, AT&T bought Time Warner. Recently, Viacom and CBS Corporation, once together, then split in 2006, have reunited. In my interview with Viacom President and CEO Robert Bakish, he explains how the new ViacomCBS is better positioned to create and distribute content across all players in the media landscape.

All these players are providing us with an abundance of choice. And that choice is about to increase. The HBO Max service will launch next year. I spoke with WarnerMedia Entertainment’s Robert Greenblatt— MIPCOM’s Personality of the Year—about the upcoming service.

HBO Max will face considerable competition. Not only will it go toe-to-toe with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, but Disney+ is also launching next month. Disney+ will cull content from a vast library of iconic franchises and shows and offer scores of original series. Disney Television Studios will also provide content.

Its head, Craig Hunegs, tells us about the advantages of having three studios under one umbrella, each with its own creative filter and relationships with talent. We also talk to Amazon’s James Farrell about his search for international original series.

Broadcasters once dominated the landscape but have been challenged by on-demand services. Gilles Pélisson, the chairman and CEO of the TF1 Group in France, talks about the expansion into production and digital businesses. Hugh Marks, the CEO of Nine in Australia, cites the company’s move into the content business. FOX’s Charlie Collier discusses the ability of sports and entertainment programming to attract large audiences.

Whether on linear channels or streaming services, much of what is capturing viewers’ attention is scripted fare. Our main feature looks at the acting talent brilliantly breathing life into series. Truth is at the heart of newsgathering and quality storytelling. Great TV pushes us to question and reexamine beliefs while introducing us to new ones. But just as my daughter and her classmates do, we should always seek the truth.

Truth is at the heart of newsgathering and quality storytelling.

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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

BY BRUCE L. PAISNER

Watch Out for the Streaming Flood A couple of years ago, I was talking with the head of the newly created programming division at a major internet company. After we exchanged a few pleasantries, he made this startling comment: “I don’t see how you guys in the old media think you are going to compete with us. I work for people who don’t care how much I spend or how much I lose. For them, it’s a rounding error.”

As more giant tech companies go into the programming business, I’ve often thought about that quote, and how that attitude and the money behind it could upend the television business as we know it.

The fact is, until recently, all of us who made programs were about the same size and had about the same risk tolerance. Like other assets, TV networks and programming companies were bought and sold, and large industrial companies sometimes played a role. NBC was acquired

by General Electric (GE), ABC was sold, first to Capital Cities and then to Disney. Even CBS had deep-pocketed backers. Except for GE, none of these companies was gargantuan, and all of them, including GE, played by the same rules. Program development budgets were somewhat similar, and networks limited their risk by selling back-end rights to others (for a long while they were required by law to do so). And these businesses chugged along. The many cable networks that sprung up from the 1970s on followed similar rules, though at a reduced level of exposure. We could compete primarily on choosing concepts and actors and our skill in scheduling. The huge difference today, as the streaming revolution gains force, is that increasingly, the companies entering content production are among the largest in the world. And they seem not to care how much they spend or how much they lose. Even Netflix, though it is small compared to its oncoming competitors, has invested about $11 billion in yet-tobe-seen programming.

It will take three or four years for all these companies to get up to speed, and then, with cost being no object, a flood of programs will wash over TV sets, iPads and even cell phones. I predict that at the end of the process, when things settle down, the largest programmers will be mostly different from today’s and the output will continue to be prodigious. In many countries, national networks supported by mandatory fees have always had the money and creative freedom to compete successfully against other local broadcasters, but streaming services like Netflix and Amazon are already a challenge, and the competition will increase when Apple and the others arrive.

And what about advertising? As broadcast network audiences decline, major advertisers will search elsewhere to supplement or replace what they have lost. A

broadcast network is still the best place to assemble a mass audience, but as streaming services break through, that is not likely to still be the case. Of course, one of the selling points of some streaming services is that they don’t interrupt programs with commercials, but I doubt that will continue. The pressures and the available money are simply too great. Some companies already offer two feeds, one an ad-free premium service and the other a stripped-down version supported by advertising.

Bear in mind, despite Netflix’s head start, the streaming revolution has barely begun. In a couple of years, Netflix will find itself competing with Amazon, Apple and AT&T, to say nothing of “smaller” competitors like Disney and Comcast. When they are all operational and spending money, they will challenge established players daily for subscription fees, viewers and, importantly, limited talent. There are only so many great writers, and the less-talented ones cannot be made better by merely throwing more money at them.

One fascinating situation in all this is sports, which is still the best way to reach male viewers. Although most streaming programming will not carry advertising, no rule mandates that they cannot, and most sporting events are perfectly structured for ad inventory. When the next big contracts come up (NFL, NBA, Olympics), companies like Amazon will be in the bidding, and the numbers are likely to be astronomical.

The landscape will change in an interesting way. My view is that some smaller networks, particularly those delivered by cable or satellite, will continue to exist but will operate with smaller audiences. The key will be continuity and repeatability, particularly with shows based on situations that offer endless new programming opportunities. Think Live PD on A&E or cooking on Food Network. The costs are low and predictable, and the challenge is to attract enough viewers and advertisers to cover the costs and make a profit.

Overall, incumbents have shown enormous staying power throughout the history of television. It’s a good bet that is about to change.

Despite Netflix’s head start, the streaming revolution has barely begun.

30 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Bruce L. Paisner is the president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

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UPFRONTS The Killer Bride

ABS-CBN Corporation The Killer Bride / Mea Culpa / The Heiress ABS-CBN Corporation is highlighting The Killer Bride, set in a superstitious town that has been haunted by a ghost for years.

Most of the residents in Las Espadas have stories of encountering Camila Dela Torre, the woman who died right before her wedding day and was found by her fiancé in a bloody dress and veil. Further highlights include Mea Culpa, about a group of friends trying to bury a secret, and The Heiress, a family drama that focuses on the affluent Mondragon clan and the power struggle tearing them apart.

“These top three titles we are presenting continuously dominate trending topics on social media, especially The Killer Bride, which ranked first on the worldwide [trending] list,” says Macie F. Imperial, division head and VP of integrated acquisitions and international sales and distribution.

“Our narratives present unique storylines and interesting characters that international viewers will get hooked on.”

—Macie F. Imperial

Alfred Haber Distribution Shallow Grave / Help! My House is Haunted / 62nd Annual Grammy Awards The highlights from the Alfred Haber Distribution catalog hit on various “sweet spots” that the industry is looking for, according to Alfred Haber, the company’s president. “Shallow Grave, the gripping new Crime+Investigation UK series, lands right in the sweet spot of the enormously popular true-crime genre, mixing emotionally compelling stories with incredible forensic science,” Haber says. “Help! My House is Haunted, a spinetingling reality series, likewise lands in another red-hot sweet spot: the paranormal-investigation genre.” The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards “will once again create its own sweet spot with a dazzling combination of performances, awards and once-ina-lifetime Grammy moments,” he adds. “What sweet spot could be sweeter in today’s television marketplace than this show in the enormously popular live, annual-event genre.”

61st Annual Grammy Awards

all3media international

“We are looking forward to lots of meetings, traditional and newmedia transmission opportunities and, of course, sweet spots to share with contentacquisition clients in our Palais candy store.”

—Alfred Haber

Celebrity Call Centre

Hush Money / Ski A&E / Celebrity Call Centre Once again, all3media international is bringing a varied catalog to MIPCOM, with highlights across drama, factual and formats. Among its formats and factual slate is Hush Money, which gives contestants a chance to win money if they can confront their fears in silence, with participants coming face to face with their worst phobias. The unscripted series Ski A&E follows a dedicated team of emergency rescuers and doctors who help save lives, limbs and holidays at a resort deep in the heart of the French Alps. In Celebrity Call Centre, celebrities are on standby to advise members of the public on their problems. “It lets viewers see their favorite celebrities in engaging emotional situations, showing off a vulnerable side that viewers rarely experience,” says Amreet Chahal, sales manager for the Asia Pacific.

“Celebrity Call Centre can be adapted to other territories cost-effectively.”

—Amreet Chahal 34 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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AMC Networks International AMC Global / SundanceTV Global AMC Networks International’s (AMCNI) AMC Global and SundanceTV Global have a wealth of new programming highlights coming to their schedules. The Terror: Infamy is premiering on AMC Global this year as the latest story of the acclaimed horror-infused anthology series from AMC Studios.

Two new factual series highlight the range of AMC Networks International’s shows, including the CBS Reality original The Real Prime Suspect, premiering across EMEA, and the new season of Spektrum’s Taboos without Taboos in Central Europe. New launches have supported continued distribution momentum for the company. AMCNI Southern Europe and Atresmedia Internacional recently launched EspañaTV, a Spanish-language channel bouquet on key pay-TV platforms in Portugal, with more countries to follow.

The Terror: Infamy on AMC Global

Artist View Entertainment U2: Dream Out Loud / Grace / Axcellerator Artist View Entertainment is presenting the documentary U2: Dream Out Loud, which looks at one of the world’s most famous rock groups through the eyes of their fans. “U2: Dream Out Loud is a very real look at how one rock band’s music has impacted so many fans worldwide,” says Scott J. Jones, president of Artist View. “The love for their music is compelling, and the stories behind their fan base are real and inspiring.” The MIPCOM slate also includes the feature film Grace, as well as Axcellerator. Jones describes the latter as “a sci-fi adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Loaded with nonstop action, it is meant to entertain all age groups with a unique storyline and interesting characters.” He adds, “With more new titles in post-production and coming into the market this fall, Artist View is very pleased with our slate of projects for 2019.”

“We look forward to working with our long-term clients and finding new partners as the business continues to move in this quickly evolving digital world.”

—Scott J. Jones

Grace

Asia TV Forum & Market December 3-6, 2019 / Singapore Positioned as Asia’s leading media and entertainment content market and conference, Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) celebrates its 20th edition this year. The mission is to “present the best content and freshest insights, as well as provide a platform where industry players will be able to seal lasting partnerships to navigate the dynamic entertainment content landscape,” says Hui Leng Yeow, group project director of Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore at Reed Exhibitions. “In tandem with Asia’s rising importance in the global media and entertainment scene, we expect attendance to increase by 3 percent to 5 percent compared to 2018. [We expect] strong turnout from digital platforms from Asia and beyond in Singapore this year to acquire knowledge, network, buy, sell, finance, distribute and co-produce across all platforms.”

Asia TV Forum & Market

“ATF has grown significantly since our first show in 2000.”

—Hui Leng Yeow

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Witches of Salem

Blue Ant International Witches of Salem / Big Cat Country / The Killer in My Family Blue Ant International’s Witches of Salem revisits the real-life drama of the Salem Witch Trials, which occurred in America in 1692 and 1693, drawing on historical documents to bring the infamous event to life. A wildlife camera crew follows three lion prides as they collide in the heart of Zambia’s Luangwa Valley in Big Cat Country. The Killer in My Family offers a unique perspective by examining homicides through the lens of the murderers’ families, with happy memories interspersed with the crimes’ ghastly details. These three series “are universally appealing, and the genres are all timeless in terms of being evergreen content,” says Solange Attwood, executive VP of Blue Ant International. “Witches of Salem, in particular, taps into the cultural zeitgeist by exploring themes of mass hysteria and the impact on those most marginalized.”

“Blue Ant International offers a full-service, boutique approach to our production partners.”

—Solange Attwood

Boat Rocker Studios Hell in the Heartland: What Happened to Ashley and Lauria? / Mary’s Kitchen Crush / Love Monster A missing-persons case that has baffled investigators for 20 years is at the center of Hell in the Heartland: What Happened to Ashley and Lauria?, a four-part series from Boat Rocker Studios. “With its gripping subject matter, Hell in the Heartland is a strong new addition to the already popular true-crime genre,” says Jon Rutherford, managing director and president of rights. “Not only is this an important true story to tell to honor the lives of the victims of this crime, but the making of the series has unearthed new suspects, meaning a resolution may finally be imminent.” Meanwhile, Mary’s Kitchen Crush is a culinary show led by the winner of MasterChef Canada season three. Love Monster is an animated preschool series that showcases the importance of kindness, empathy, connection and instinct.

“A great example of Boat Rocker’s wide range of programming across multiple genres, all of these titles show enormous global appeal.”

—Jon Rutherford

Calinos Entertainment

Mary’s Kitchen Crush

Our Story

Forbidden Fruit / Our Story / Woman Two sisters with wildly different goals in life are the central characters in Calinos Entertainment’s Forbidden Fruit.

Zeynep has strong ethical values and strives to have a successful career, while Yildiz considers happiness to be a marriage to a rich man who would save her from her lowincome life. Woman tells the story of a young widow who is enduring hardships with her two children at her side. Our Story is about a woman struggling to survive in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Istanbul while looking after her five younger siblings and her useless alcoholic father. “All of these stories depict the lives of strong, independent and driven women who would stop at nothing to protect their families or their dreams,” says Ismail Dursunov, deputy general manager.

“Our aim is to strengthen our relationships with our current customers and establish new ones with potential customers.”

—Ismail Dursunov 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 37

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Crown Media International Distribution Rome in Love / Mystery 101 / 10th Anniversary of Countdown to Christmas Italia Ricci and Peter Porte star in the Hallmark Channel original movie Rome in Love, which Crown Media International Distribution is highlighting. Shot on location in the Italian city, the feature offers a modern take on the classic film Roman Holiday. The limited series Mystery 101, from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, follows a professor and a detective who team up to solve murder mysteries. This year, Hallmark Channel is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Countdown to Christmas franchise with an all-new lineup of original movies. “As more and more of our international partners recognize the unique value of Hallmark’s signature holiday programming, we are able to expand the reach of this beloved content to viewers around the world,” says Francisco J. González, Crown Media’s senior VP of international distribution.

Rome in Love

“As we continue to increase our commitment to the international marketplace, we strengthen our existing partnerships and develop new opportunities.”

—Francisco J. González Crikey! It’s the Irwins

Discovery Program Sales Mysterious Planet / The 24-Hour War / Guy’s Grocery Games The blue-chip wildlife series Mysterious Planet, which aims to unlock the mysteries behind some of the world’s most incredible species, is being offered to the global marketplace by Discovery Program Sales. “This series crosses all borders, satisfying the high demand for natural history at the moment,” says Elliot Wagner, senior VP of global program sales. The documentary The 24-Hour War is based on real-life events of the feud between two car industry titans: Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II. Crikey! It’s the Irwins follows Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin as they run the Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Discovery Program Sales also has formats in the mix, with titles such as Guy’s Grocery Games, a cooking competition hosted by Food Network star Guy Fieri.

“We continue to bring new hit series and continuing fan favorites to the marketplace each year.”

—Elliot Wagner

Dori Media Group Losing Alice / Normal / The Fashion House Inspired by Faust’s tale, Losing Alice is a psychological thriller on Dori Media Group’s MIPCOM slate that tells the story of 47year-old director Alice and her obsession with a 24-year-old femme fatale. In Normal, a young columnist suffers a drugfueled nervous breakdown as he tries to establish himself as a writer. “The series is actually not about madness but about belonging,” says Nadav Palti, president and CEO of Dori Media Group. “The plot revolves around someone trying to feel a sense of belonging, and the only place he can somehow find it is the alternative reality of the psychiatric ward.” The new reality format The Fashion House (Corte y Confeccion) judges contestants ranging from self-taught amateurs to industry pros on their creativity, drive, uniqueness and more when it comes to clothing design.

Normal

“Our sales team will be happy to offer each client the format according to their needs.”

—Nadav Palti 38 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Entertainment One

Between Two Worlds

Deputy / Nurses / Between Two Worlds Starring Stephen Dorff (True Detective), the Entertainment One (eOne) title Deputy sees Bill Hollister (Dorff), an old-school rule-breaking deputy, become the L.A. County Sheriff after the elected sheriff’s sudden death. Hermione Norris (Luther, Cold Feet) leads the cast of Between Two Worlds. Stuart Baxter, eOne’s president of international distribution, dubs the show “a glossy, high-end production, which draws parallels with Billions and is an addictive drama filled with intrigue.” Nurses, which counts Riverdale’s Tiera Skovbye among its cast, follows five new nurses in an emergency unit. “MIPCOM is the biggest international market and gives us the opportunity to meet with all our broadcast and digital partners to present our exciting slate of programming across scripted and unscripted, as well as pitch projects that are coming up in development,” says Baxter.

“We continue to demonstrate the success of our strategy and our increasing investment in our own original productions and acquisitions.”

—Stuart Baxter

FilmRise The Cat and the Moon / West of Liberty / Little Dog FilmRise will be at MIPCOM looking to acquire new content. “We search for high-profile new releases as well as classic content, both films and TV series, that we can acquire and digitally syndicate through our extensive platform partnerships,” says Danny Fisher, CEO. “When it comes to FilmRise’s owned and operated channels/apps, we have one of the richest content offerings available to stream for free (AVOD),” he adds. “In regard to our businessto-business relations, we have developed a reputation as one of the world’s leading distributors of content. We are aggressively licensing both new releases and library titles.”

Current program highlights include The Cat and the Moon, which marks Hereditary actor Alex Wolff’s feature directorial debut, as well as West of Liberty and Little Dog.

The Cat and the Moon

“If a production company, network or studio is looking for the strongest distribution partner in the industry, FilmRise is their partner.”

—Danny Fisher

Narcos

Gaumont El Presidente / Narcos / The Art of Crime Marking Gaumont’s first Latin American co-production, El Presidente is inspired by the real-life characters and events behind the 2015 “FIFA Gate” corruption scandal. “TV coproductions are key to our international growth strategy,” says Vanessa Shapiro, Gaumont’s president of worldwide TV distribution and co-production. “We will be announcing additional co-productions later this year with partners in Europe, Australia, Canada and Latin America.” The company will be at MIPCOM with all five seasons of its hit drama Narcos. Meanwhile, the drama The Art of Crime has a third season in the works. “The Art of Crime is one of the first procedurals set in the world of art,” says Shapiro. “We are taking crime series to a new level that will intrigue audiences all over the world.”

“We are in post-production on season five of our flagship series Narcos and will be licensing linear rights to all five seasons at MIPCOM.”

—Vanessa Shapiro

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GMA Worldwide Love You Two / The Better Woman / For Love or Money GMA Worldwide is offering to the international market Love You Two, a romantic comedy about two sisters who fall in love with the same man. Also in the catalog, For Love or Money follows the struggle of the wife of an overseas Filipino worker who is forced to have an affair with another man to save her husband from a death sentence in the Middle East. The Better Woman tells the story of twin sisters separated at birth who are reunited as adults only to be torn apart by the love of one man. “GMA remains committed to providing premium Filipino content to its customers, as we expand our catalog to include factual entertainment, non-scripted formats and films,” says Roxanne J. Barcelona, VP. “We also welcome the exchange of ideas through co-production opportunities.”

Love You Two

“We continue to tell unique stories with universal themes.”

—Roxanne J. Barcelona

The Policeman’s Wife

GoQuest Media Ventures The Policeman’s Wife / Paper Pusher / Ruby Ring GoQuest Media Ventures has two new crime dramas for MIPCOM that tell their stories from different perspectives: one from an underdog’s angle and one from that of a law-enforcement officer’s wife. They are Paper Pusher and The Policeman’s Wife, respectively, both produced

by Russia’s NTV. Based on a Korean format and produced

by Media Group Ukraine, Ruby Ring tells the story of the rollercoaster relationship between two sisters, Anna and Yana, who encounter events that change their lives drastically. “As international dramas continue to gain momentum, these captivating stories will engage audiences in many ways, at all levels and across a wide demographic,” says Jimmy George, VP of sales and acquisitions at GoQuest.

“With language barriers reducing every day, it gives us an opportunity to treat our audiences worldwide with stories from around the world.”

—Jimmy George

GRB Studios On the Case / The New Normal / Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter Murder mysteries are explored through in-depth interviews with witnesses and suspects in On the Case, which GRB Studios is showcasing. The company is also presenting the documentary The New Normal, following five students from Parkland High School, which is dealing with the aftermath of a mass shooting that saw 17 students lose their lives. The roundtable interview series Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter caps off the highlights. “We [will be] at MIPCOM speaking with independent producers and encourage them to drop by our stand to learn about what we can offer as a 30-plus-year leader in content production and distribution, selling to hundreds of broadcasters and streaming partners, with an excellent reputation,” says Sarah Coursey, GRB’s senior VP of international.

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

“GRB is very much in acquisitions mode, and we are aggressively scouting for new programs, both scripted and unscripted.”

—Sarah Coursey 42 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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HBO Latin America Santos Dumont / The Bronze Garden / Joint Venture An HBO Latin America original, Santos Dumont tells the story of the eponymous inventor and aviator who captivated Europe with his aeronautical endeavors at the turn of the 20th century. HBO Latin America has a second season of The Bronze Garden, as well as the new scripted series Joint Venture, set within the marijuana industry. “Since 2003, HBO Latin America has been investing in and developing high-quality, provocative and revolutionary content,” says Xavier Aristimuño, VP of licensing. “These titles are a true testament, offering angles and tastes for different audiences, from the detective drama The Bronze Garden to the historical storyline in Santos Dumont to our freshest release that touches on the legality of marijuana in a fictitious São Paulo, Joint Venture.”

Santos Dumont

“The HBO name is synonymous with quality; all of our series across the world carry the same level of production values.”

—Xavier Aristimuño

Intellecta Love Conquers All / Strange Love / The Naming Through its syndication partnerships, Intellecta remains committed to introducing content from India to viewers across Europe, with new highlights such as Love Conquers All. “The production values are very high, the storyline is full of passion and romance, and the actors are really gorgeous,” says Christina Vlahova, general manager of Intellecta.

Also on the slate are Strange Love and The Naming.

“Strange Love is probably the most successful Indian series of all time,” says Vlahova. “It has opened a lot of new markets and reached the hearts of viewers internationally like no other Indian series has done.” The Naming is “full of dramatic twists and beautiful actors,” who Vlahova notes already have fans in markets where the series has yet to air.

“We are proud to have built a very strong media and cultural bridge between India and Europe.”

Love Conquers All

—Christina Vlahova

Inter Medya Bitter Lands / Tainted Love / The Perfect Couple Produced by TIMS&B Productions, the period drama Bitter Lands is a lead highlight for Inter Medya at MIPCOM. The love story is “rapidly becoming a local and international hit,” says Can Okan, founder and CEO. It follows a romance that begins in Istanbul during the 1970s and continues in Çukurova in southern Turkey through the trials of evil, ambition and tyranny. Tainted Love, another production from TIMS&B, is a Turkish drama about life’s challenges, family secrets, love and self-sacrifice. “The series shows the audience how cruel life can sometimes be and asks the question, which one is greater, love or pride?” Okan explains. From the company’s format slate, there’s The Perfect Couple, in which men and women are competing for keys to the only house on an island.

“We will be at MIPCOM full of surprises.”

—Can Okan

Bitter Lands

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JKN Global Media My Love from Another Star / Thong Ek: The Herbal Master / Scent of Love JKN Global Media recently inked a multi-title deal with TRA Media, which operates four pay-TV channels in South Korea, and the company is aiming to further the expansion of Thai content in the global market. “South Korea has been able to export its content globally with resounding success, so it is a great honor to bring Thai dramas to South Korea,” says Anne Jakrajutatip, CEO of JKN Global Media. “It reflects the high standards of Thai productions and how Thai producers have evolved their storytelling to appeal to a highly sophisticated market like South Korea.” For MIPCOM, highlight titles include My Love from Another Star, about an alien who falls in love with a top actress, as well as Thong Ek: The Herbal Master and Scent of Love.

“Our goal is to bring Thai content to the rest of the world.”

Scent of Love

—Anne Jakrajutatip

Kew Media Distribution Cold Call / Worzel Gummidge / The Movies From a psychological drama to an updated family classic to a high-profile documentary series, Kew Media Distribution has a broad range of new offerings. “Our highlights for MIPCOM are so diverse this year that we really are able to offer something for everyone,” says Jonathan Ford, executive VP of sales. Cold Call is a new four-part psychological thriller starring Sally Lindsay (Scott & Bailey, Coronation Street). The company also has two one-hour adaptations of the popular classic Worzel Gummidge. “Now reimagined for a modern audience, with CGI technology bringing the characters back to the screens, Worzel Gummidge is a comedic, magical fantasy for all ages,” says Ford. In the way of factual, The Movies explores American cinema through the decades and the cultural, societal and political shifts that framed its evolution.

Cold Call

“We’re hugely excited to introduce global buyers to content of such high caliber this MIPCOM.” —Jonathan Ford

MarVista Entertainment The Year of Spectacular Men / A Christmas Comeback / Kindred Spirits From first-time feature film director Lea Thompson (Back to the Future) and her daughters, writer Madelyn Deutch and producer Zoey Deutch (who both star in the movie), comes the MarVista Entertainment highlight The Year of Spectacular Men. “It has been a long collaboration and labor of love that evolved from a yearning for funnier and more honest young women’s stories, and it delivers on all fronts,” says Hannah Pillemer, MarVista Entertainment’s head of creative affairs.

Additionally, the company is bringing to MIPCOM A Christmas Comeback, which stars 7th Heaven’s Beverley Mitchell, who also sings the original music in the movie. The thriller Kindred Spirits stars Thora Birch (American Beauty).

It’s a “truly sinister film that has received a lot of attention at select film festivals around the world this year,” says Pillemer.

“We know that femaledriven features are extremely popular with international buyers.”

—Hannah Pillemer 46 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Kindred Spirits

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180 Days

Media Ranch Watch! / Get Lost Honey / 180 Days Media Ranch is presenting to the market the shiny-floor competition series Watch!, billed as an entertainment game show. “It is a spectacular entertainment and memory-skills show that brings the family together,” says Sophie Ferron, Media Ranch’s president, founder and executive producer.

In Get Lost Honey, three youngsters who have been living at home are lovingly forced to leave their nests and move into an apartment together. The social experiment 180 Days asks what happens when you walk in someone else’s shoes, especially when that person lives in a different environment and has a different background. In season one, five university students attempt to find out what getting old is truly like by living side by side with senior citizens in a nursing home for six months.

“We want top format creators and producers from all over the world to come meet with us to discuss format co-development.”

—Sophie Ferron

Multicom Entertainment Group TheArchive / 4K Content / Blood 13 Multicom Entertainment Group offers a free-to-consumer app to worldwide audiences: TheArchive. “The channel is dedicated to aficionados and lovers of story, craft and silverscreen fun, representing rare, retro and 4K-restored films and classic TV,” says Darrin Holender, president. “From legends such as Boris Karloff and John Wayne to maverick stars of today like Reese Witherspoon and Jared Leto, TheArchive has all the movies and shows you either saw, should have seen or should be watching now.” The company also has more than 100 hours of 4K content from its proprietary restoration workflow, “bringing films and TV shows of yesteryear back to their original glory,” says Holender. Meanwhile, Multicom’s programming catalog features Blood 13, a crime thriller about a female detective solving a serial murder case.

“Having recently acquired several hundred hours of content, Multicom’s catalog continues to provide buyers with plenty of choice and depth in all genres.”

Blood 13

—Darrin Holender

NBCUniversal International Distribution Bluff City Law / Almost Family / Devils

Bluff City Law

Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jimmy Smits stars in Bluff City Law, which leads off the NBCUniversal International Distribution slate. The drama is on NBC this fall in a Monday night slot following The Voice. “NBC is so confident in the show that they ordered six additional scripts ahead of its U.S. premiere,” says Belinda Menendez, the president and chief revenue officer, global distribution and international, at NBCUniversal. Getting a lead-in from The Masked Singer on FOX this fall, Almost Family stars Brittany Snow, known from the hit movie franchise Pitch Perfect. “Patrick Dempsey is a huge draw among international audiences, and in Devils, our new international thriller from Sky Studios, he will star alongside Alessandro Borghi in his first major TV series since Grey’s Anatomy,” says Menendez.

“This is an exciting MIPCOM for NBCUniversal’s global distribution sales team, as this will be the first market where we will be handling all the content licensing for Sky Studios.”

—Belinda Menendez 48 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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New Films International Entity Project / The Elephant in the Room / Territory Tapping into the found-footage subgenre with a paranormal twist, Entity Project is a new horror movie in the New Films International catalog. “The film has a realistic and natural feel that will freak out whoever is brave enough to watch,” says Nesim Hason, founder and CEO. Another highlight of the slate is Pistolera, an action-packed revenge story. The dramedy The Elephant in the Room “promises to make you laugh and cry and warm your heart,” says Hason. “This whirlwind of emotions will not leave a tear unshed.” The company is also showcasing the series Territory, with a script that “leaves the audience in suspense.” Under the New Films International umbrella, there’s a new company called Library Kingdom Corporation, which features the combined libraries of different companies.

Territory

“Territory is a prime-time Russian TV series that is full of action, crime and drama.”

—Nesim Hason

Newen Distribution DNA / Kikoumba / Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance Danish showrunner and writer Torleif Hoppe (The Killing, Bron) is back with a new project, DNA, which Newen Distribution is presenting for buyers. The series follows Rolf Larsen, once a respected criminal investigator with the CPH Police who lost his daughter in a tragic accident. Though devastated from grief, he is given hope that his daughter might be alive when he learns about a system failure at the national DNA registry. “What makes DNA even more captivating for the audience is the strong characters [and] storytelling attached to the initial crime plot,” says Malika Abdellaoui, managing director of Newen Distribution. The company is also showcasing an animated comedy for kids 4 to 8, Kikoumba, and the documentary Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance.

One Life Studios

DNA

“Thriller crime series remain on the top of international buyers’ lists.”

—Malika Abdellaoui

Chandragupta Maurya

Porus / Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya, a historical drama on offer from One Life Studios, tells the story of the life of the ancient Indian ruler of the same name, who founded a vast empire. The other historical drama headlining the company’s slate is Porus, which chronicles the intertwined lives of the titular Indian ruler and Alexander the Great. The two happen to have been born on the same day, though their lives progressed very differently.

“We at One Life Studios have been making our mark on the world map with the syndication of our shows like Porus and Chandragupta Maurya, especially with Porus being the first-ever Indian series to have been licensed

by Hulu Japan,” says Rahul Kumar Tewary, producer and managing director.

“We have had positive feedback on our series’ universal appeal from across the markets we are currently syndicating content in.”

—Rahul Kumar Tewary 50 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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ORF-Enterprise Suburbia—Women on the Edge / Empire of the Vineyard / Richard the Lionheart ORF-Enterprise has a fourth season of Suburbia–Women on the Edge, which follows five seemingly ordinary housewives whose lives are far more scandalous than their high-society exteriors would suggest. Meanwhile, the European coproduction Empire of the Vineyard, a 4K offering from the ORF UNIVERSUM Nature and History strand, gives viewers a peek at the flora and fauna of the vineyards of Austria, Germany and France, showcasing the drama of the creatures’ microworlds. Also from UNIVERSUM is Richard the Lionheart, a documentary that explores the questions and mysteries that surround the titular ruler, “with high-quality reenactments of crucial moments of his reign and featuring interviews with leading historians,” says Armin Luttenberger, ORF-Enterprise’s head of content sales international.

Empire of the Vineyard

“We are convinced that strong brands like ORF UNIVERSUM, as well as TV series and movies from ORF’s creative output, will continue to be a match for international broadcasters and platforms.”

—Armin Luttenberger

Paramount Pictures Worldwide Licensing Paradise Lost / Looking for Alaska / The Great Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful) and Bridget Regan (Jane the Virgin) star in the southern gothic mystery series Paradise Lost, which is being presented by Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Licensing and Distribution. Based on the comingof-age novel written by John Green, Looking for Alaska is an eight-episode limited series with nostalgic undertones. The Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, is a genrebending anti-historical drama from The Favourite co-writer Tony McNamara. “Premium shows, with A-level talent both on- and off-screen, continue to drive our marketplace, and each of these series offers cinematic storytelling, lavish production values and incredible casts that are sure to appeal to international buyers,” says Lisa Kramer, executive VP of Paramount international TV licensing.

Looking for Alaska

“Paramount is open for business!”

—Lisa Kramer

Passion Distribution Dynamo: Project 7 / Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over / Twice the Life for Half the Price Passion Distribution is highlighting the return of the magician Dynamo with a brand-new three-part special, Dynamo: Project 7, after he went on a forced hiatus due to a career-threatening illness. Meanwhile, in Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, the eponymous journalist explores modern life by spending 72 hours in the company of a wide range of extraordinary characters and families, including polyamorists, YouTubers and teen MMA cage fighters. “The series covers universal themes of modern relationships and family life, with the families providing a unique lens into each topic,” says Emmanuelle Namiech, the company’s CEO. In Twice the Life for Half the Price, families try to exit the rat race and work to live, rather than live to work.

Twice the Life for Half the Price

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“We are incredibly proud to have partnered with some of the world’s most talented producers to bring you one of our most exciting and premium lineups yet.”

—Emmanuelle Namiech

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Miikshi

Shaftesbury Miikshi / Stinky Science / Bella Dancerella Miikshi, on offer from Shaftesbury, follows the adventures of a shy but brilliant sheep scientist who saves the world one day at a time. Brought to life through hand puppets and modelminiature effects, the live-action series provides a strong female role model for young viewers. Stinky Science, based on the best-selling books written by Edward Kay and illustrated

by Mike Shiell, is a gleefully gross edutainment series for kids ages 6 and up that explores the science of smells. Shaftesbury’s slate is rounded out by Bella Dancerella, a live-action dance series that expands across multiple social channels, events, online tutorials and merchandise. “Shaftesbury is thrilled to be back in the kids’ space with a diverse slate of original liveaction and animated programming,” says Jennifer McCann, the company’s executive producer for kids and family.

“Shaftesbury’s expertise in VR/AR is also being applied to the creation of some immersive kids’ content.”

—Jennifer McCann

Smithsonian Channel Britain in Colour / America’s Hidden Stories / Black in Space At MIPCOM, Smithsonian Channel is set to showcase Britain in Colour, a three-parter that follows the America in Color series and aims to bring the country’s history to life. The series recovers lost images of wars, royalty, depression and social revolution—and brings them freshly rendered to the screen for the first time. America’s Hidden Stories, meanwhile, “digs deep into history using archeology, forensic science, newly discovered written and photographic records, and dramatic re-creation to examine and reinterpret significant historical events and figures,” says David Royle, Smithsonian Networks’ executive VP and chief programming officer. Lastly, Black in Space spotlights the competition between the USSR and the U.S. to put the first black man in space and casts a new light on the Space Race.

America’s Hidden Stories

“We offer entertaining storytelling that you can trust, and this is increasingly rare and sought-after in today’s world.”

—David Royle

SPI International FilmBox / Film1 / Timeless Drama Channel SPI International’s channel bouquet features FilmBox, which offers a variety of content from major studios and independent companies for a broad audience. “FilmBox is available worldwide,” says Berk Uziyel, CEO of SPI International. “We continue to expand its global footprint by frequently adding content from some of the major studios and global production companies such as Paramount Pictures, MGM and Sony.” The company recently acquired the Film1 premium movie channels and VOD service in the Netherlands. There’s also Timeless Drama Channel, the global Turkish drama network created in partnership with producer Ay Yapim. “We are also involved in production with Philippe Martinez,” Uziyel adds, in highlighting SPI’s move into producing originals. The partnership includes the musical mafia comedy Mister Mayfair, among other projects.

Karadayi on Timeless Drama Channel

“We continue to bring premium content to our subscribers and improve our business relationships every day.”

—Berk Uziyel 54 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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STUDIOCANAL Savages / The Collapse / On Death Row Set in present-day France, the STUDIOCANAL highlight Savages follows as the first presidential candidate of Algerian descent is on the brink of power, but is shot on the night of the election, causing turmoil for two families and the nation as a whole. “Savages is a high-end, glossy thriller that has an exceptional global storyline with universal themes of power and family, set against a backdrop of contemporary political change,” says Beatriz Campos, head of international sales. The Collapse is an eight-part anthology, in which each episode focuses on the limits of industrial society. It explores the question, what would become of society if essential resources became scarce? The truecrime drama On Death Row is about a man convicted of murder who is fighting to get a fair trial.

On Death Row

“Buyers are looking for dramas that will deliver original, globally relevant storylines with compelling characters.”

—Beatriz Campos

Telemundo International Studios No te puedes esconder Produced by Telemundo International Studios, No te puedes esconder marks the return of the Mexican actress Blanca Soto to TV screens. It tells the story of Monica and her daughter Natalia, who decide to flee Mexico to escape their past, an abusive husband and a criminal network. After establishing new identities in Madrid, covered by the witness protection program from the U.S., they start a new life. There they will meet a former-cop-turned-hitman, a photographer obsessed with death and a politician with forbidden relationships.

Unknown to them, they are all united by half-truths. “We’re pleased to have Blanca back at Telemundo, and we’re proud to offer a stunning and relevant series while we continue to raise the bar in Spanish-language content with the stories we tell,” says Marcos Santana, president of Telemundo Global Studios.

No te puedes esconder

—Marcos Santana

Voxx Studios

Voxx Studios facilities

Language Dubbing / Sound Design & Editing / Music Composition & Recording The Los Angeles-based Voxx Studios is dedicated to creative audio services for film, TV and gaming. It offers such services as dubbing in a multitude of languages, including English, Neutral Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Mandarin and Japanese. It also provides sound design, sound editing and audio mixing in 2.0/5.1/7.1 formats, as well as Dolby Atmos for home theaters. Another service is music composition and recording for film and TV. “With over 5,000 hours of localized feature films, telenovelas, series, animations, reality shows and games under our belt, we pride ourselves on our prompt delivery times, competitive pricing and, most importantly, the distinctive quality of our products,” says Silviu Epure, general manager of Voxx Studios.

“No te puedes esconder is a fantastic thriller that will captivate audiences.”

“If you trust us with your first project, you will never need to look elsewhere for localization services ever again.”

—Silviu Epure 56 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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20 X 26’

SALES ENQUIRIES: SALES@SERIOUSLUNCH.CO.UK / WWW.SERIOUSLUNCH.CO.UK

LONDON

®

© 2018 Monkey TV Holdings Pty Ltd, Monkey New Zealand Limited, Screen Australia & Create NSW.

®

2018-2019 Daytime Emmy® Nominee Outstanding Cinematography Outstanding Sound Mixing Outstanding Sound Editing for a Live Action Programme 2018-2019 Daytime Emmy® Winner Outstanding Costume Design/Styling

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Wonderphil Entertainment Ancestral World / #Nudes / Eco-Teens Save the World!

Wonderphil Entertainment represents movies of all genres, “so there is hopefully at least one film of interest” to every buyer, says Phil Gorn, the company’s CEO. “Wonderphil produces at least one film a year geared toward today’s market. Representing 100-plus films and documentaries, we’ve steadily expanded since launching in 2005. Our producers understand the current market, so our expectations are realistic.” The slate for MIPCOM includes Ancestral World, an action and fantasy movie set in the time of gods and demons. The romantic comedy #Nudes is “in the vein of Woody Allen,” Gorn says. Meanwhile, Eco-Teens Save the World! is targeted for family viewing. “What could be more important than today’s youth saving our planet?”

Gorn queries.

Eco-Teens Save the World!

“We invite all buyers to find a movie gem that works for them.”

ZDF Enterprises

—Phil Gorn Heirs of the Night

Heirs of the Night / Ottilie von Faber-Castell / Ancient Skies Selected for a World Premiere TV Screening at MIPJunior, ZDF Enterprises’ new live-action series Heirs of the Night follows as the scions of Europe’s five remaining vampire clans attempt to join forces—despite their violent pasts—to defeat Dracula. Meanwhile, the two-parter Ottilie von Faber-Castell chronicles the life of the titular heiress to the famous officesupply empire. Set in 19th-century Germany, the series tells the story of an ambitious young woman trying to find her place in a world of men. Rounding out ZDF Enterprises’ slate highlights is Ancient Skies, which looks at the cosmos through the eyes of our ancestors. “We’ll see the myriad of ways that we have observed and imagined the heavens and explain the science behind the things our ancestors sought to explain through mythology,” says Fred Burcksen, president and CEO.

“Our topics work internationally, whether breathtaking drama series, well-researched documentaries or high-class kids’ programs.”

—Fred Burcksen

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here is scarcely a world leader Christiane Amanpour has not interviewed, a conflict or humanitarian crisis she has not covered, or a journalism award she has not received. She started her career in 1983 as an assistant on the international assignment desk at CNN in Atlanta and was quickly dispatched to report in the field. The excellence of her coverage of wars in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans in the ’90s prompted Newsweek to claim that Amanpour’s reporting had made CNN “must-see TV for world leaders.” Jeff Zucker, the chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports, has called her the most important journalist in the history of CNN. Since 2009, she has hosted the show Amanpour, which airs on CNN International—a version of it, Amanpour & Co., airs on PBS in the U.S.—where she holds elected officials and business and government leaders to account. In addition to her 11 Emmys, four Peabody Awards, two George Polk Awards, three duPontColumbia Awards and the Courage in Journalism Award, this November she will be given the International Emmy Directorate Award. For more than 30 years, she has relentlessly pursued the truth, but, as Amanpour tells World Screen, objectivity should not be confused with neutrality.

By Anna Carugati

T

WS: In the age of the tweet and the sound bite, how important is it to provide context and in-depth analysis?

AMANPOUR: It’s more important than ever. In fact, it becomes increasingly important to have in-depth analysis, investigations, a lot of fact-checking and actual reporting on the ground.

Because suddenly, the world has become inundated with social media and a certain number of characters defining the entire context of a very complicated world. Whether it’s the mass shootings in the United States, the rise of white nationalism in the United States and the violent white nationalism that is becoming domestic terrorism, the populist and nationalistic policies that are taking over in many, many countries, and most importantly, of course, climate change, these are way too important and such huge issues that they cannot be left to a few characters on Twitter or a few posts on Instagram or Facebook or whatever. The role of the reporter to go in depth, to look at things in context and to get the real facts out there for people, is becoming much more and not less important.

WS: Throughout your career, you have spoken about the difference between neutrality and objectivity. What is the difference and how does it still apply today?

AMANPOUR: I learned very, very early on, almost 30 years ago now, that objectivity does not mean neutrality. Not in Bosnia, when we were faced with genocide and some expected us to make a moral equivalence on all sides and I refused pointblank. I refused to make a factual or moral equivalence. In my view, when you’re dealing with issues like genocide and the violation of international humanitarian law, if you cause a false equivalence and are neutral, you are an accomplice to these crimes. I feel that has been borne out in the events that have happened since then and in my reporting since then. And whatever it might be, genocide or climate change, there are facts and there is a way to tell the truth and be objective without being falsely neutral. Let’s take climate change. There is no equivalence between the huge amounts of science and evidence that show humans’ role in climate change versus the

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Christiane Amanpour has interviewed virtually every world leader over the course of her esteemed career on CNN, including France’s Emmanuel Macron.

deniers who say the science is not there and that it’s a hoax.

There is just no equivalence whatsoever. And I believe that the mistaken reporting over the years, where reporters thought they had to give each side equal time, has led to us being faced with an imminent climate catastrophe. For me, that is enough of a lesson. I’m glad I learned it early and I will never be neutral, I will only be truthful. That’s my mantra now.

WS: What are the dangers of President Trump and other leaders calling legitimate news organizations “fake news” and creating an Orwellian environment where everything is topsy-turvy?

AMANPOUR: Whether you take George Orwell and the real upside-down, inside-out way that he wrote in 1984 that showed us the dangers of doublespeak and fake news; whether it’s the propaganda that a superpower like the Soviet Union used to use; whether it’s the attempt to distort the truth, this has been going on forever. You mentioned President Trump. He has inspired a whole load of leaders and people around the world to now use that term, “fake news,” to fight back at truths that they don’t like.

Now with social media, these untruths, conspiracy theories and propaganda are exponentially broadcast and transmitted around the world. When people say they don’t know where the truth is, that is a very dangerous fact for our democracy, our civilizations, our humanity and our communities. So I say that people have a responsibility now. They need to go to the proven organizations with track records of telling the truth and fact-checking, like the New York Times, the Guardian, CNN or PBS. There are legitimate news organizations that have spent decades in the trenches bringing the truth to people, and that is what people should go to. And, of course, governments have huge responsibilities. The tech platforms have huge responsibilities. And it’s time for the tech platforms to stop ducking under this charade that they are just transmitting, that they are just connection devices; they’re not.

These are platforms that, frankly, in many instances [offer] journalism and are publication platforms.

Therefore, they should have the same rules as we all do in the journalism sphere.

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WS: How much more dangerous has the journalism profession become since you began your career? You are quite active in wanting to keep journalists safe.

AMANPOUR: I am very active. I’m on many boards. I’m a special Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO for the Freedom of Expression and Journalist Safety. I’m an honorary member of the Committee to Protect Journalists. I’m a board member of the IWMF [International Women’s Media Foundation]. I advocate all the time for the freedom and safety of journalists. To think, as the Committee to Protect Journalists says, that the leading cause of death among journalists is deliberate killing. As you can see, it’s completely skewed from the leading cause of death of the general population.

Increasingly, bad actors, whether governments or militia or terrorist organizations, don’t want to hear the truth. They want to silence the truth-tellers. They want to silence the messengers and they are doing that. So, yes, it has become much more dangerous.

Because we risk our lives over and over again, despite these terrible and mounting dangers, to bring the truth to people, our profession should be respected and not denigrated by the highest levels of power. Because when you start denigrating the truth, you start blurring the lines between democracy and dictatorship.

WS: What is the mission of Amanpour and Amanpour & Co., and what do you want to offer viewers?

AMANPOUR: No matter what platform we’re on, whether it’s online, on television, on social media, wherever it might be, my mission is the same, and that is to bring the truth, context, more in-depth reporting and analysis. And I am delighted that this is a successful formula. For me, the most important thing is that it bears out my belief that this is what most people want. They want somewhere where they can go to get more than the sound bite, more than, “on the one hand…” and “on the other hand…,” more than cable news conflict television. I do believe this is more and more necessary today because of the risk we all run of getting submerged by untruths and conspiracy theories.

WS: I loved Sex & Love Around the World. Do you see yourself doing more such shows?

AMANPOUR: I would love to do more of these. It was as eye-opening to me and as engaging as I hope it was for the viewers. It was something totally different for me, but it came out of my desire to see the other side of humanity, the more intimate, personal side of people. For my entire career, more than 30 years now, I have been reporting on people in extreme conditions of terror, war, religious hatred, famine, refugees, migrants, disease. It was really important to see that actually, these aren’t statistics. These are ordinary human beings like you and me and they have feelings and desires for love and intimacy and fulfillment.

I was really happy to be able to explore that side. It was great fun and it taught me a great deal as well. I’d love to do a lot more and I’d certainly like to focus on men and boys next time around.

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SPOTLIGHT

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James Farrell

Amazon Studios nder the leadership of Jennifer Salke, Amazon Studios has been building an enviable slate of high-end originals, from the upcoming, big-budgeted The Lord of the Rings adaptation to the buzzy The Boys and Good Omens. While much of Amazon Studios’ activity has been in the U.S., it’s certainly not neglecting the service’s global footprint, unveiling originals in India, Japan, Mexico and a raft of other markets. James Farrell, head of international originals, tells World Screen about what Amazon Studios is looking for and how it is fostering relationships with producers and writers worldwide.

By Mansha Daswani

U

WS: You were previously overseeing originals in Asia. How has the journey been for you, expanding beyond Asia to commission original series from across the international market?

FARRELL: We learned some good lessons in Japan and India.

Those lessons apply to the U.S., too. Initially, we thought we were stuck in this dilemma where if we make something super local or super niche, would a global audience want to watch it? Look at things like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which came out of the U.S. When it was greenlit, people were wondering how broad the appeal would be, not only in the U.S. but around the world. It turns out it’s one of our top shows around the world because it is so specific and the world is so authentic. And then we made shows in India like Made In Heaven and Breathe and Mirzapur. Those are very Indian stories, but they traveled so well for us. All of a sudden you realize, we don’t have to try to make some generic global show. If we make a really good show locally that’s very specific and gives people insights into a world they haven’t seen, people will like it. We’ve carried that over to Latin America and now to Europe.

WS: How are you identifying talent?

FARRELL: The challenge is always, how do you find these folks? Luckily, the first thing we always do is hire good local people. If you hire someone who is well respected in the country and has that network, then right away you start becoming aware of what projects are available. Or, if there’s an idea we want to produce, let’s go to quality people locally and say, Who wants to partner with us? It’s a pretty even 5050 split. We are going to writers, actors, producers, directors and saying, We’re looking for distinctive, unique content; do you have anything you’re interested in doing? About half the ideas come in that way. The other half are ideas that germinate with us. When we hear ideas they want to do with us, we also say, We’ve got this other project we’re super excited about, but we need somebody to partner with locally that can help us deliver, do you want to get involved? That’s

when the relationships get stronger—when there’s a fun back and forth with ideas going in both directions.

WS: How do you support these creatives in telling the stories they want to tell, while also ensuring that you have a show that will work on your service?

FARRELL: All streaming services have different goals, whether it’s an advertising-supported (broadcast TV or ondemand) standalone service or one that’s bundled with telephony. Prime is a bundle with retail. Each has different things that are important to it. Because there’s no advertising on our service, we don’t have to worry about some of the things the ad-based services do. That frees up a lot of ideas that couldn’t have gone to an ad-supported service. That’s one reason people choose to work with us. And, we are more focused on those countries where we have Prime— that’s where we have millions of customers. Often when they’re dealing with other services the questions are much more about, How do we get a U.S. writer on this? How do we make it more global? How do we do more in English and less in local language? That’s not what we want. We want a local writer who knows what local people want to see. We want local stars. We want local language.

WS: In Asia, you were doing a lot of variety in Japan and more scripted in India. Are you playing with different genres globally or is the focus mostly on drama for the international market?

FARRELL: At Amazon, rule number one from Jeff [Bezos] is, What does the customer want? In Japan, we made these variety shows, and some of them are pretty crazy! People were watching them, loving them, commenting on them. If that’s what customers are appreciating, we’re going to give it to them. In India, Made In Heaven and Four More Shots Please! did super well; Inside Edge is coming back. We’ve had much more success on the scripted drama side. So we are doubling down on the scripted dramas in India. In Mexico, they seem to like a little bit of everything. Our big hit in Mexico last year

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be in Hindi. The Italian show will be in Italian.

It’s giving us a chance to work with the top people in each of these countries, for them to contribute to this global universe and do it in their own unique voice. Each country is writing its own scripts and we have a team here in L.A. making sure everything intersects. We’re already up and running on the first few—U.S., Italy and India—and the next several countries after that are all being written and the bibles developed. That’s going to be an example of how people around the world will come into the massive U.S. tentpole, but then they’ll be drawn into all these local-language shows and vice versa. A lot more people in India watch Mirzapur and Made In Heaven than our U.S. shows, but after they watch the big Russo Brothers Indian leg, they’ll probably be pulled into the Italian one and the U.S. one.

Amazon Studios has made a big bet on India with a slew of originals there, including the critically acclaimed Made In Heaven.

was LOL: Last One Laughing with Eugenio Derbez.

It’s an unscripted comedy competition show. El Juego de las Llaves (The Game of Keys) is a boundary-pushing comedy-drama about couples in their mid-30s struggling with infidelity, friendship and love. Coming up next year are dramas based on “FIFA Gate” [El Presidente] and one on [footballer Diego] Maradona from Argentina. Those are big in scale. El Juego de las Llaves is big in terms of the boundaries it’s pushing. LOL was just a crazy unscripted show. We’re not going into any country with some preconceived notion like: we think they’re going to like scripted or unscripted, drama or comedy. You start working with the best people, you make those first half a dozen or dozen investments and try to learn about what people want to watch and do more of that.

WS: How are the international and U.S. teams working together at Amazon Studios?

FARRELL: Jen [Salke, head of Amazon Studios] has a “home for talent” message, which means we’re not out there looking for a huge volume of shows in any one country. It really is about quality. You go country by country, you try to find the right people and then you go back and forth with ideas. We’re lucky that we’re part of Amazon, this Prime ecosystem. If a customer is using all these other Prime benefits, they don’t need just a volume of content from us. They need high-quality stuff. Her message of home for talent is exactly what we’re doing all around the world. So to answer your question, we’re very much in sync with the U.S. team. Maybe the best example is the Russo Brothers show. They did all the Avengers films.

They’re really good at these interconnected-type universes.

They’re doing a big tentpole spy thriller show for us in the U.S. that’s great on its own. Then each of the characters in that spy thriller will have their own series. India and Italy are the first two we’ve announced. The storylines will intersect. The stars will cross over. The Indian show will 66 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

WS: What’s your message to the international creative community?

FARRELL: The most common question we get everywhere is, What are you looking for? It’s not a secret: We want something distinctive. If it’s the same type of show that could be on another streaming service or broadcast or YouTube, it’s probably not that interesting [for us]. Why would somebody become a Prime member to see something they can see somewhere else? It could be wacky and different, like LOL or some of the variety shows we did in Japan. It can be something world-building and high budget, like El Presidente, the show we’re doing with Gaumont; the Maradona show; some of the ones we’ve announced in France; and the Russo Brothers show. It could be like El Juego de las Llaves—it wasn’t terribly crazy or particularly world-building or high budget or high concept; it’s just a well-written drama about a subject that hasn’t been covered before. Our message to all the folks in attendance [at MIPCOM] is, this is what we’re looking for. Please avoid the basic cooking show or a pitch about buddy cops. Those are not things we’d be interested in doing.

WS: How do analytics inform your programming decisions?

FARRELL: The data is much more helpful for season two and beyond than it is for season one. Season one is such a creative decision. The data could show that everyone is loving doctor shows but then after the two-year cycle of soliciting a pitch and making a show, maybe people are liking lawyer shows by then. So we don’t look at data too much when we’re deciding whether to make something.

After something gets written and we see it and know who is going to star in it, we know. But when it comes to season two, whether or not we should continue future seasons, that’s where we look at, Did people like it? Was the completion rate high? Were people watching not only in the home country but around the world? If people are loving it around the world, we’ll probably renew it for seasons two and three at once because we’re so enthusiastic about making sure we’re continuing the story for the customers who like it. The data gets much more important after you see how [a show] does.

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IN THE NEWS

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Charlie Collier FOX Entertainment

W

hen Charlie Collier was at AMC Networks, he led the team that transformed AMC from a somewhat-obscure, all-movie channel to a must-watch network. He greenlit Mad Men and Breaking Bad, shows that redefined TV drama, influenced pop culture and set a new bar for quality in writing, acting and directing. And The Walking Dead became the highest-rated basic-cable show in the history of television.

Currently the CEO of FOX Entertainment, Collier is setting the course for the FOX network, now part of Fox Corporation, which houses the sports, news and local station assets that were not taken by The Walt Disney Company when it acquired 21st Century Fox. As he tells World Screen, broadcast television’s tentpole shows and sports appeal to viewers and advertisers. And FOX in particular, as the only independent network, is attracting a wide range of talent, with whom it can carefully curate projects.

By Anna Carugati WS: What is the role of broadcast networks and how can they remain relevant?

COLLIER: There is an interesting moment in the history of so many startups and companies that are looking to go public.

Often, the first thing they do is [advertise on] broadcast TV because they are trying to have mass appeal and cultural impact. And the medium where that still happens in a timely way is broadcast television. There is great strength and power in broadcast. In so many ways, we have an impact like no other. Network television is and remains an incredible storefront. Some events prove this. The FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer is a perfect example. There were 14 million Americans watching broadcast television on FOX—on a Sunday morning, no less. Continuing with sports, between Major League Baseball’s World Series and the NFL’s Super Bowl, there are moments of cultural impact that are built into our schedule all year long. They remain tentpoles, not only for the industry but also for people as they plan their lives. The same is true for entertainment. Last season, the broadcast networks reached a combined 140-plus million total viewers per week. That reach is not just meaningful but can change businesses and impact popular culture.

WS: When you joined FOX, what were its strengths and how do you plan on building on them?

COLLIER: FOX Entertainment is in a unique position: FOX, in and of itself, is different. The company we’re building is the right size and strategically constructed to be a better partner

today for creators, advertisers and frankly, for people who believe in the power of broadcast. FOX is also the perfect combination of entertainment and sports. It’s accruing value, not just for the viewer, but for creators and those who benefit from the promotional power of one platform to help the other. Look at the combination of what we’re doing on Wednesdays and Thursdays this fall. On Wednesdays, we have the number one returning show in The Masked Singer, which is a good old-fashioned broadcast hit. Then we have NFL Thursday Night Football on Thursdays, where we think we will have the attention of the country in a meaningful and culturally impactful way. Those two nights are a good metaphor for our schedule; we have entertainment side-byside with some of the greatest sports on television.

FOX, as a brand and a business, takes risks. It always has and always will. It’s the mandate that I have been given and a legacy I’m proud to uphold.

WS: A lot of media companies are focusing on increasing the amount of programming they produce. What advantages does FOX derive from being able to pay attention to fewer shows?

COLLIER: There absolutely is an advantage to doing fewer things better and being able to know your creators well and handcraft product. We believe FOX right now is a great place to stand out and win.

I remember Vince Gilligan [creator of Breaking Bad] telling me the story of Indiana Jones and how he went

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marketers—and a range of marketers, from tech companies to the very streaming platforms themselves—still spend most of their dollars on broadcast television. That’s not because they remember TV from their youth, it’s because television still works. We have such an interesting opportunity at FOX to chart a new course for broadcast television and to define what it means for the next 25 to 50 years.

WS: Will FOX be working with all studios?

COLLIER: Absolutely. As the Disney-Fox transaction closed earlier this year, we knew we would be an independent company. We are still in business with our former brothers and sisters, and now corporate cousins, at 20th Century Fox Television. But we also have Prodigal Son from Warner Bros.

Television. Deputy is from Entertainment One. Almost Family is from Universal Television.

Almost Family, from Universal Television, airs following The Masked Singer on FOX.

through all that work to find the Lost Ark. He escaped boulders and fought snakes and people wielding knives, swords and guns. He finally gets to the Ark, and at the end of the movie, they put it in a warehouse. Vince was talking about that as a metaphor for what happens so often in our business now. You have a lot of people chasing a lot of projects. When they get them, they tend not to do what I love so much about the best of television, which is curate them, uphold them, care for these creators and these projects and roll them out in a way that can change the way we view pop culture. FOX is well positioned to do that.

WS: Don’t showrunners appreciate the value of a show that airs once a week as opposed to releasing an entire season all at once that maybe gets lost in a lot of other content?

COLLIER: I had an important agent and his very recognizable client in my office recently. They were talking about the difference between having a movie and a TV hit. And the TV hit this person was referring to is not an enormous ratings hit, but culturally, it has given him much more recognition and many more touchpoints with the public than he ever expected when he moved from movies to TV. We hear that more and more, not just in the move from film to TV, but also from a closed-ended streaming service to a national broadcast network that offers a simultaneous viewing experience of shared emotion. Broadcast still does that better than anybody, and there is enormous value for all sorts of constituents, certainly the showrunners and talent, but also advertisers and our partners.

WS: What can hit shows on broadcast TV offer advertisers?

COLLIER: At a time when there is so much focus on streaming services and non-advertising-supported services, we are proudly ad-supported. We’re one of the few places that are getting more advertiserfriendly, not less. That is because we have such a good combination of sports and entertainment. It’s also because we believe that network television remains the biggest and best storefront window for an event and for weekly events that advertisers support. When you have a reach of 140 million total viewers per week, there is a reason why

WS: What home will talent find at FOX? COLLIER: I believe we are building a home at FOX for the best creators, and we’re making new types of deals where they can still win in big ways. So often, what has propelled the biggest success stories in TV has been the broadcast model. We are pretty lean, and talent knows who they’re working with. We offer models that allow them to have both cultural and financial success, so we are a stand-alone home for the best talent. We’re starting to see the results of that even before we celebrate our first anniversary.

I look at everyone from Greg Berlanti on Prodigal Son, Emily Spivey and Oscar winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on Bless the Harts, Jason Katims and Annie Weisman on Almost Family, Amy Poehler on Duncanville, Tate Taylor on Filthy Rich to David Ayer on Deputy. We’re bringing in people from all sides of the creative community, including Criminal Minds creator Jeff Davis, who we signed to a direct, exclusive, broadcast-only deal to develop scripted dramas for us. We think that is an acknowledgment that they realize this is a great place to bring some very specific work and grow it here.

FOX picked up Deputy from Entertainment One for midseason.

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MILESTONES

WS: It’s been ten years since OSN’s formation. Coming into the role, what did you identify as the company’s key strengths?

TILLIEUX: Yes, ten years since the merger. And I would go further than that—it’s 25 years of Orbit and [23 years of] Showtime. So I saw a company with a long tradition. For the region, and media in general, 25 years is a respectable age! For the region, it is quite [an achievement]. This is a com pany that has built a lot of trust with its subscribers. At the same time, it is a company that is very traditional in its approach. So the challenge for OSN—and I think we are doing well on this front—is the transformation to a company of today. One that is not only offering direct-to-home services, as it has traditionally done, but also direct-to-consumer via streaming services, which we do now through WAVO. WS: How is WAVO doing?

TILLIEUX: Since its relaunch this year in April, I must say we have a thriving service. We have a new [technology] platform. I’m very pleased with the success so far. And now we are gearing up for the second stage in the development of WAVO with a full slate of content that is truly amazing and almost unique in the world with [the breadth of] its offering.

WS: One of the first announcements you made after becoming CEO was to scale back the sports lineup. Tell us about the shift in your sports strategy.

OSN @ 10 Patrick Tillieux

By Mansha Daswani

n 2009, Orbit and Showtime Arabia, adapting to market forces, merged to form OSN. The transaction created the Middle East’s largest pay-TV platform, delivering a wide slate of international channels, movies, sports and local content to subscribers across the region. As it marks its tenth anniversary, OSN continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of the market. It has launched a standalone OTT service, WAVO, alongside its own TV Everywhere service, OSN Play. Under new CEO Patrick Tillieux—who has extensive experience working in pay and free TV in Europe, including at ProSiebenSat.1, Canal+ and SBS Broadcasting—OSN has also refocused its sports strategy, shifting that investment to other areas, notably movies and entertainment. Tillieux tells World Screen about the opportunities and challenges facing OSN today.

I

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TILLIEUX: It’s relatively simple. Sports rights are, unfortunately, very expensive. And we were not able to get all the sports rights that we wished for. So we were subpar in our approach to sports. It was not our key driver, and we were not good enough in sports. So instead we said, Let’s forget the things we will never be able to be the number one at. Let’s concentrate on other segments in the market where can be number one, or already are number one. For the health of the company as a whole, I had to make this tough decision to abandon sports and concentrate on things that we do best.

WS: Movies have always been a key driver on pay TV. Do they continue to do well for OSN?

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Global Agency’s Magnificent Century was a huge hit for OSN.

TILLIEUX: They do. But we have a large array, not only movies. We have series, general entertainment; we are also excellent in kids’ fare. And since taking over, I’ve been pushing a lot of women-oriented programming, lifestyle, fashion, things like that. That’s proving very popular right now.

WS: Is most of your lineup acquired from the global market?

TILLIEUX: We are still at the stage where a large majority is acquired. But we are slowly tapping into the local market and producing local content, especially in the food segment, which is very big locally. We will continue to grow and invest in that segment.

WS: And you’re also investing in Arabic-language drama?

TILLIEUX: Everybody is creating originals. We are looking into this. We have been a bit shy of entering into the originals sphere ourselves. We’re more into acquiring productions and airing them and not keeping the IPs. But gradually we are developing skills in the sphere of originals as well. You will soon see originals on OSN.

WS: I’m curious if there are substantial differences between running a media organization in the Middle East versus one in Europe?

TILLIEUX: On the surface, we could be compared to Sky in the U.K. I think it’s much more complicated than that. The local dimension is key to the success of television in general, and pay television in particular. For us at OSN, we truly believe that the local dimension is key in our development. I take pride in the fact that I run a business with 49 different nationalities inside the company.

That is very helpful in trying to understand what makes the subscribers tick in all the different countries where we are present. We have a mix of Egyptians, Saudis, Iraqis, Syrians, Lebanese, Kuwaitis—that’s powerful.

WS: What are your key growth initiatives over the next 12 to 18 months?

TILLIEUX: The key priority is developing our streaming service to make it truly the best in the region. You have to keep in mind that the direct-to-consumer businesses of the big Hollywood studios will take a while before they come over here in the region. We have a few years ahead of us. We do have the exclusive rights [to Hollywood content]. Actually, when you look at WAVO today, we are almost a combination of Disney+, Peacock and HBO Max. That adds up to an incredible service for the subscriber.

Our difficulty is how we make it known that our content is unique for the subscriber. That’s our biggest challenge— making known how rich our service actually is.

WS: That’s likely the challenge for everyone in this space, including the big Hollywood services. I’m debating which ones I want to sign up for here in the U.S.!

TILLIEUX: Exactly! Unfortunately, you don’t live in the region, because otherwise, I would have a very simple answer for you: Subscribe to OSN or WAVO! [Laughs]

WS: What steps are you taking to improve customer service and technology to deliver a better experience for your subscribers?

TILLIEUX: This is very important. One of the good things about being in the direct-to-home business for so long is we have developed over the years all these tools for how to communicate with our subscribers, how to use the data that we have from our subscribers to better ourselves, to make sure we can address their needs in the best way. We continue to exploit this data for our own services to make sure we can enrich the experience of our subscribers. And obviously the knowhow, the expertise we have developed in direct-to-home, we can now apply to streaming services as well. As time goes by, we’re seeing content and technology coming together.

It’s an interesting thing to develop.

Inter Medya has sold many Turkish series to OSN, including Endless Love.

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all3media international’s Fleabag.

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Got Talent?

Elizabeth Guider hears from studio execs, producers and programming chiefs about managing talent, budgets, production values and audience expectations.

T

he golden age of TV series is shifting into an anything-goes era, as viewers’ appetite for new and often exotic flavors appears insatiable—and content providers dish up ever more content to satisfy it.

As preparations for the MIPCOM market in Cannes heat up, program distributors are readying an ever more robust portfolio of titles for potential buyers or financial backers.

In the U.S., the number of series in production is on track to exceed 520 in 2019, according to John Landgraf, the chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions, who has made a point of keeping tabs on the proliferation of content. Like every other player in the biz, his cable channel is “cranking up the creative engines,” to provide more fodder to feed the beast, as it were.

Speaking at the TCA confab in August, Landgraf emphasized that even within the enlarged Disney fold in which his company now operates, the primary goal is to maintain FX’s “curatorial filter,” which is generally regarded as edgy and fearless.

Indeed, that’s the critical challenge facing producers as corporate brass demand more bang for their buck: how to ramp up the quantity of content while keeping a keen eye on quality control.

The story across Europe and beyond is similar: the demand for content is growing faster than the creative community can keep up with it.

DIFFERENT STROKES And that demand is not just for any old thing.

“There’s never been such a competitive time in television,” says Hilary Salmon, the head of drama at BBC Studios London.

“It’s a fight to secure top talent, actors and writers. The challenge is to be open to new and different ideas—and to keep making good shows.”

Streamers, both global tech titans like Netflix and Amazon and local territoryspecific platforms, are goosing the biz, rewriting the rules in the process.

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will join the fray. Like their established rivals, they’ll be experimenting with new genres and gunning for talent. And they’ll be spending a lot of money to do so.

“Artists, and that includes actors, are always looking for good material, and with the explosion of programming across broadcast, cable and streaming, television is offering more of that right now,” explains Kevin Beggs, the chairman of Lionsgate Television Group. “Specifically,” he adds, “deep-dive character studies” are now a significant provenance of TV producers and one type of material that helps attract stars.

Georgia Brown, director of European originals at Amazon Studios, adds, “With more players than ever and more diversity of voices, it’s a glorious time in television.

Actors are getting a chance to read scripts that resonate and take on innovative roles.”

She points to the global success of the “very British” series Good Omens as indicative of the kind of shows her team is developing across the Continent.

At Endemol Shine Group, another global player, several out-of-the-box projects have

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In her first television series since Prime Suspect, Helen Mirren takes on the title role in Sky and HBO’s big-budget event production Catherine the Great. enticed top talent and are racking up fans beyond their original borders (Germany’s Dark among them). Lars Blomgren, Endemol Shine’s head of scripted for EMEA, ticked off several territories where incubating creativity is paying off: Scandinavia, Spain and India.

“Beyond a script that speaks to them, actors need assurance that the producing entity has the infrastructure and the ability to execute,” Blomgren says.

Of the 50-odd projects he oversees at any one time, it’s usually the high-end ones with a unique story and voice that manage to garner traction globally. Right now, he has high hopes for an offbeat Norwegian series (for HBO Europe) called Beforeigners, focused on refugees from, surprisingly, the Stone Age, and Ibis Trilogy, a historical epic about the opium wars directed by Shekhar Kapur.

HIGHER BAR Another boon to the TV biz, especially Stateside, has been greenlights for shorterorder series. Because shorter series allow for flexible work schedules, they are luring countless movie stars—including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Gere—to sign up between their longer stints on films.

Regarding Gere, BBC Studios’ Salmon suggests that the actor was attracted to the pubcaster’s eight-part series MotherFatherSon because actors of his stature are eager for strong storylines that reflect the complicated

world we live in, something movies nowadays do little of.

“Stars generally want a new challenge and to do good work,” Salmon tells World Screen.

In Gere’s case, he was keen to see the scripts and meet the directors (James Kent and Charles Sturridge) before he committed.

As great a time as it is to be in the creative trenches, the bar keeps rising in terms of what it takes to hold an audience.

“You can’t just repeat yourself anymore in such a competitive landscape,” maintains Ran Tellem, the head of development at The Mediapro Studio. To attract top acting talent, Tellem elaborates, a company benefits from having “connections to” and “a history with” the star—and it further helps when the material on offer is “groundbreaking,” he says.

“Yes, we audition actors, but keep in mind, they audition us too,” Tellem quips.

As a major player in Europe, Mediapro is currently putting together two series that involve top-tier casting across borders. The drama The Paradise is a Spanish/Finnish co-pro and involved enticing stars from both of those territories, Tellem says, while an Antarctica-set thriller called The Head has drawn lead talent from several different countries, including Japan and Spain.

From another perspective, it’s evident that broadcasters, as well as streamers, are also “woke” to the idea that the formulaic will no longer fly.

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“You can’t walk in and pitch just another medical, legal or cop show, even at a traditional linear broadcaster,” stresses one U.S. producer who used to do just that but recently has had to up his game. “Nowadays, the race is on to be out-of-the-box— heaven forbid [that you run] with the familiar or comfortable or predictable.”

WEIRD SCIENCE

The time-shifting This Is Us, wacky The Good Place and La La Land–inflected drama Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist are all indicative of just how much linear broadcasters—taking a cue from their freewheeling cable and streaming competitors—are amenable to unusual creative approaches.

Also, unlike in the film business (which is riddled with sequel-itis), television right now is going through an “anti-franchise” stage. Creators are striving to come up with concepts and plots never before seen or explored rather than rehashes of what’s already on-screen.

If these occasionally over-the-top efforts don’t catch fire, executives, especially those at the SVOD services, tend to extinguish the flame and light up something else in their stead. The trick is to keep the biz from devolving into what one executive called “Kleenex culture,” in which the majority of content is seen once and then discarded.

Caroline Torrance, the head of scripted at Banijay Rights, puts it this way: “New platforms Stateside and elsewhere are mashing

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up genres. There is room now for everything on the small screen.”

Producers are toying with lengths (even within the same series), with multiple time and tone shifts, with contrasting styles, with unexpected acting talent and with bodacious storylines. Think Fleabag or Pose, Euphoria or Maniac, all of which would have been unorderable a decade ago.

One project that fits that bill is The Watch, a topsy-turvy fantasy police procedural from BBC Studios for BBC America. Based on the cult Discworld book series by Terry Pratchett, the multi-parter is relying on a highly diverse cast, which Salmon The Mediapro Studio boasts a scripted portfolio across Spain and Latin America that includes Locked Up. believes should reflect the series’ By most accounts, the company’s TV version case, something of library-lasting, longyoung-skewing target audience. of the hit movie Fargo succeeded more than term value.”

Over at Amazon’s European outpost, pundits predicted; ditto for the literary adaptaAt MGM, Stark is focused on both mining Brown stresses that her aim is always to tion The Handmaid’s Tale, which, despite (and the studio’s vaults of existing IP and coming come up with a show that works in its particbecause of) a long search for the right writer to up with fresh material. What attracts A-list ular country of origin—like, say, the Spanish adapt Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, went talent, he has found, are scripts that break series El Cid—and travels well. Brown notes on to win the best drama Emmy, among other through all the white noise—or a confirmed how receptive audiences have become to trophies. Stark is currently furthering two order at a network. material outside their own local culture. upcoming series based on existing IP: “Our bar is high for our own IP,” the MGM All this doesn’t mean, however, that everyRingworld for Amazon and El Gato Negro, executive says, referencing the almost autothing on the small screen is a standout. which is still up for grabs. matic audience ennui with regard to “We’re all scrambling to deliver someremakes. Putting together the key writers thing undeniable in quality,” notes Steve and actors to reimagine an existing asset Stark, the president of TV production and takes time and effort. development at MGM. “That means, in our There is considerable good news related to the challenge of casting.

Lionsgate’s Beggs points to “the greater range of performers” who are being tapped for key roles, attributing the openness in part to the impact of one of his company’s own hits, Orange Is the New Black. “No one has done more to change the casting paradigm than Jenji Kohan,” the creator of the drama set in a women’s prison, Beggs says.

The trick, Banijay’s Torrance goes on to say, is to take “more risks” and “work harder” to cut through the clutter. Under her company banner, she points to a pickup from Israel called Juda, which is a vampire piece that balances the supernatural with the comic, and which perfectly illustrates an embrace of contrasting genres.

Of course, this is not to say there aren’t other challenges ahead.

With the proliferation of content, the finite talent pool is being drained and funneled among many different entities. Every producer naturally sets out to make something special, but it’s arguably getting harder to amass top talent across all the needed competencies to guarantee a megahit like Game of Thrones or The Sopranos or The Walking Dead.

In the future, one media consultant sugLionsgate’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is among a handful of NBC pickups this fall from external studios. gests, only the most deep-pocketed entities—

NEW FACES

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While he now has an exclusive deal at Netflix, Ryan Murphy continues to executive produce Pose on FX, with the critically acclaimed drama renewed for a third season. like, say, Amazon or Apple—are likely to be able to assemble all the A-listers of cast and crew necessary for ambitious projects like the former’s upcoming The Lord of the Rings adaptation.

CASHING IN No one would talk specifics, but most executives concur that to have a shot at a global hit, top dollar has to be spent on locking down top talent. Such sums are being allotted, as another source dryly put it, “at quite a clip.”

Stateside, eye-popping payouts to star writer-producers and actor-producers have been handed out around town, including multi-year, nine-figure deals for über-creators like Greg Berlanti and J.J. Abrams (at Warner Bros.), Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (at Netflix) and This Is Us’s Dan Fogelman (at Disney’s 20th Century Fox Television). Other healthy sums have been showered on actor hyphenates to move their shingles from one studio home to another: Connie Britton to Amazon Studios, Bryan Cranston to Warner Bros. and Octavia Spencer to 20th Century Fox Television.

Of course, money in and of itself doesn’t guarantee success in such an unpredictable industry. Sometimes something weird, wacky or wonderfully relatable washes up— and those oddities do not always involve Alist talent in front of the camera.

From Torrance’s perspective, the most successful series start with good writing. A noir series called Wisting, she indicates, started as a bang-up script, and only later was Carrie-Anne Moss serendipitously available for a co-starring role. Banijay bases a lot of its decisions on what to proceed with on good source material, mostly novels, including several from Scandinavian authors.

Sometimes, too, a series benefits from not having household names in the cast.

Versailles, Torrance adds, is a perfect example in that it might have been distracting to have, say, a Bryan Cranston cavorting around as Louis XIV. “Iconic characters don’t necessarily need A-listers to portray them,” she explains.

“We’d rather in some cases make stars out of relative unknowns.”

BRAND EXTENSIONS From another vantage point, Katie O’Connell Marsh, the CEO of Platform One Media, talks about the sophisticated and multilayered conversations that take place these days to entice top talent.

“As we sit across from artists, be they actors, directors or writers, the questions are: What is the compelling narrative that we can offer? How can our team build a value chain around that artist’s brand? We recognize that creatives are not moving in just one lane. We have to hash out together what we can do to give them a platform, as it were, help them 82 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

build a plan around their goals and extend their experience.”

In little more than two years, Platform One, which was recently acquired by Boat Rocker Media, has inked first-look deals with Laura Dern’s company Jaywalker Pictures and Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft’s Atlantic Nomad.

The flip side of these more complex arrangements with talent is that long-tail distribution—as in the 100-episode goal that underpinned series television in the U.S. for 50 years—has seen its financial results diminish (excepting a few juggernauts like Friends and The Office).

In the old days, the goal was to keep series going for at least five seasons so as to monetize them through syndication, both domestic and international; nowadays, series are often thought of as tools to stimulate or enhance subscriptions or even an outlet’s corporate brand.

They don’t necessarily have to stay on the air for years on end to perform those tasks.

Lionsgate’s Beggs, however, cautions against overstatement, indicating that shows with multiple seasons, like The Walking Dead and Homeland, are still significant financial drivers for studios. “No one willingly cancels a show that’s working well financially.

Additionally, when a series with incredible storytelling and a strong fan base is canceled, it’s still a priority for studios to find a new home for it, as we’ve done with Manhunt for

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Paramount Network’s hit drama Yellowstone stars and is executive produced by Kevin Costner, marking his second TV project since the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.

Spectrum and with Nashville, which transitioned from ABC to CMT.” Over at MGM, Stark stresses that renewals of series are key to long-term health at independent companies. He is currently working to secure a second season for the company’s small-screen version of Four Weddings and a Funeral, which launched this summer on Hulu.

Somewhat differently, Platform One’s O’Connell Marsh emphasizes the need to expand the ways that shows can garner attention and financial rewards.

“We have to think more strategically about other access points, merchandising possibilities and other ways to expand the experience of a given series,” she says. “For us in choosing to greenlight a project or not, the idea is [to present] a necessary narrative, one that breaks through the noise and resonates. It’s more than just selling; it’s about having something compelling to say.”

FLAVORS FROM AFAR Another point several executives were quick to make was the extent to which audiences are now eager to savor foreign programming even in the U.S., where it had been notoriously difficult for international shows to find a following.

Thanks to streamers like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, a few intrepid cablers and PBS, a

much wider range of foreign-made material is attracting eyeballs. Think Fauda from Israel, Money Heist from Spain, Dark from Germany or Peaky Blinders from Britain.

NETFLIX’S NEEDS In response to its own data on the subject, Netflix is boosting outlays for dubbing services worldwide and shifting some resources to increase original production or acquire locally made titles in a secondary tier of territories.

At a recent NATPE-sponsored conference in Los Angeles, Amy Reinhard, VP of content acquisitions at Netflix, indicated that the platform’s overseas teams are concentrating more efforts on Eastern Europe and the Middle East now that its production machines are chugging along smoothly in major Western European countries.

“Markets like Britain, Germany and France are fairly mature [for us], but we can make a dramatic impact with acquired titles in countries that have their own distinct tastes.” Regarding the market in India, Hollywood content gets “almost no traction,” Reinhard pointed out. Rather, local fare is what people want to see in that territory.

In any case, despite the justifiable euphoria in the biz for today’s cornucopia of content, there is a nagging worry in some quarters.

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The reclaiming of program rights by the biggest players and the natural preference for their own shows to take precedence could eventually squeeze out smaller, independent voices and less vertically integrated suppliers.

No one World Screen queried wanted to go on the record about this issue because it’s early days for Hollywood streamers to get their arms around what they own and how much of it they’ll want to designate for their own direct-to-consumer platforms.

And, in the meantime, indie executives don’t want to badmouth the behemoths as long as those major companies are open to commissioning shows from them as outside producers.

But there is a precedent for concern.

Twenty-five years ago when the so-called fin-syn rules were abolished Stateside, networks could suddenly own and distribute the shows they put on the air. It took a decade or so for the process to take hold, but eventually, the broadcast networks came to rely almost exclusively on content produced by their own in-house studios—and the independent production sector was duly decimated.

Much has changed since the early 1990s, but some things, like financial imperatives, haven’t. Stay tuned.

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By Anna Carugati WS: I thought The Grinder was— LOWE: Amazing, right?

WS: Absolutely!

LOWE: It’s my favorite. I loved being in Parks and Recreation [but] I don’t think I’ll ever be in anything as funny as The Grinder. I might be in something as funny, but not funnier. The Grinder was it—such a great show.

WS: Does comedy exercise different acting muscles than drama?

LOWE: Yeah, for sure.

WS: Is it more difficult?

LOWE: For me, comedy is way easier. For me, comedy is all about getting out of your own way and being free. It’s a different discipline, and in many ways, it’s more disciplined than drama. In drama, you can be all over the place. [But for me,] comedy is free and easy.

A

member of the ’80s Brat Pack, Rob Lowe starred in the films St. Elmo’s Fire and About Last Night... and became one of the decade’s leading heartthrobs. He segued into television as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, demonstrating considerable dramatic ability and a talent for delivering meaty, rapid-fire dialogue. Displaying a willingness to take on varied roles, he starred in other dramas and guest-starred in Behind the Candelabra and Californication, before landing roles on the sitcoms Parks and Recreation and The Grinder. Equally at ease in comedies and dramas, Lowe has also assumed the responsibilities of executive producer, as in the recent Wild Bill.

WS: In your career, you have taken risks and roles that prompted some to ask, Why are you doing that? What motivates your desire to take big swings?

LOWE: I’ve always been the kind that will jump off the highest diving board. My brother and dad will tell you that. I’ve always been that guy. Sometimes it works out great and it’s Behind the Candelabra, and other times it’s the 1989 opening of the Academy Awards [singing and dancing with Snow White]! Sometimes wanting to take the big swing works in your favor, and other times maybe not!

WS: At this point in your career when there are a lot of doors open to you, what roles appeal to you?

LOWE: I want a role where I can make my mark. Saying I want to stand out sounds weird, but for lack of a better term, I want something where I can stand out—particularly if it’s an ensemble cast. I want to make sure I have a part I can break out with. Something different. I’ll be looking to do a comedy if I’ve been doing a lot of drama, and vice versa. [I also consider,] Who am I working with? Is the experience going to be a good one? Is the location going to be good? It all comes together.

After crossing the Atlantic to play the head of the East Lincolnshire Police Force in Wild Bill, Rob Lowe will soon be seen in Ryan Murphy’s hotly anticipated new procedural 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Whenever I do a comedy, I come home from work and I feel like I haven’t done anything. When I come home from work on a drama I feel like, Argh, I’ve really worked hard today.

WS: And what about comedy’s timing element?

LOWE: It’s natural.

WS: You either have it, or you don’t?

LOWE: One hundred percent, you either have it or you don’t. It’s just like music. Some people can play it and hear it. [Comedy is] 100 percent a [skill like] music, which is why, weirdly enough, on The West Wing, we could do that kind of dialogue. Every person on that show is naturally funny. Some of them didn’t get to show it on the show, necessarily, but everyone is funny on that show. And here’s the other thing: You don’t have to be smart to be a great dramatic actor, but you have to be smart to be a comedic actor. I’ve noticed that.

WS: Why is that?

LOWE: I don’t know what the connection is, but every great comedian that I know is smart. I know plenty of dramatic actors [whom I see and think] I will never be able to stand in their shoes, but [do they have to be] smart? It’s an interesting thing.

WS: You star in Wild Bill and are also an executive producer. What involvement did you have behind the scenes and in the script?

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they’re gone. You don’t have to learn about these characters. You get the adrenaline, and then it’s over and you’re on to the next thing. I love that, and I love the way Ryan and Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear are able to then immediately pivot away from hyperrealism to the realism of the relationships in the firehouse, where I’ll be the fire chief.

WS: You did Code Black, which had a lot of physical procedures you had to learn. How challenging was that, and will you have to train for 9-1-1: Lone Star?

LOWE: The good thing is, in terms of the EMT [emergency medical technician] part of it all, I’ve already been trained for it. I know so much about it from Code Black. So for anything in that area, I’m good to go. It’s the fire stuff I’ll have to train for because I know nothing about that. I’m going to go to New York and train with the guys there. That’s what’s amazing about this job; you get to do that kind of thing. What I learned on Code Black was my love of physical action-adventure. The West Wing and Wild Bill are a lot of talk, which I’m good at and which comes naturally to me. But the physical part I love just as much, and for whatever reason, people don’t see me in that way at first blush. So, weirdly, doing something like this feels very fresh for me.

And I get to build on what I started on in Code Black—really fun!

ITV Studios’ Wild Bill.

LOWE: For a long time, I’ve produced the stuff I’ve been in, The Grinder being one of them, too. But the job of EP is different when you are the EP actor. There is the EP creator/writer who is most important. In my capacity, it’s like being a quality control officer, and then with specialization in casting. In Wild Bill [I was also] in charge of the Americanisms because our writers Jim [Keeble] and Dudi [Appleton] are not American, and when trying to write American their constructions were ones Americans don’t say. So I would go through a pass, tweak [the writing] and get it to sound American.

In terms of the casting, we had a great casting director. But when it came down to things like [the girl who played] my daughter, I was very specific on the type of person I wanted. We found young Aloreia [Spencer]. She auditioned. She was OK, but I was able to see something. I met with her. There was no way she got that part without me.

I knew I wanted that raw, not TV-like, not actor-y feel. She doesn’t feel like an actor. She’s not.

Actor EP contributions are different on each show, but on Wild Bill, a lot [of mine were] in that area.

WS: You are going to be taking on 9-1-1: Lone Star.

LOWE: Yes, I’m very excited! Ryan Murphy and I have been trying to find something to do together—there’s nobody like him—since Nip/Tuck. I’ve never been available. American Horror Story—not available. The first 9-1-1, not available, and on and on and on. Finally, our schedules coincided. He’s concocting an amazing new version of 9-1-1 that will stand on its own and have the special sauce of 9-1-1, which for me is that amazing sense of adventure and over-the-top rescues. But what I love about 9-1-1 is that unlike other shows like that, you get to have the great stuff—you rescue people—and then

WS: You do feature films and television. How have you seen the quality of television rise over the years?

LOWE: It’s incredible. I remember when I first signed on to do The West Wing, people were still talking about television being where careers go to die. Now every movie actor—we all want to come to television or need to come to television or both. The business has changed so much; the financials have changed so much. It costs so much money to launch a movie now that it has to appeal to every market in every country. So the more specific the story is, the less likely [studios] are to make it. [But] the more specific the story, the better it is, so all of that goes to television. That’s why you have such good writing and such great opportunity in TV. WS: As I said, you have allowed yourself to take risks, and some of those were supporting roles. Do you enjoy them?

LOWE: On The Grinder, I worked with a director named Jay Chandrasekhar, who is in a group called Broken Lizard, which makes the Super Troopers movies. If you haven’t seen them, I highly recommend them. They’re silly, they’re stupid and they’re hilarious! He came to me and said, You probably won’t do this, but we have a role for you. Anyway, I did Super Troopers 2 two years ago; it was a blast!

[In supporting roles] I get to play insane characters. Nobody cares.

Nothing is on my shoulders. I have no pressure. I can do whatever I want. I get away with murder!

When David Duchovny had me come on Californication, that was great! But if that character were a lead, and it was his show, it’s a whole different [proposition]. The pressure changes; the decisions change. There is just freedom in coming and doing what you do and leaving. I wouldn’t want that to be the entirety of my career, at all. But coming in on Behind the Candelabra and going nuts for four days, with Michael [Douglas] and Matt [Damon] and [Steven] Soderbergh— that’s kind of it, that’s what you hope for [as an actor]. And then you go and do your own leads. You want to be able to do both.

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Michael Sheen

By Anna Carugati

I was drawn in, and that’s always a good sign because at that point I’m an audience member and hopefully a typical audience member.

But as an actor, I felt there were a lot of interesting things both to explore and to play—to play immediately in the pilot and to explore as we go on with the series.

WS: What is the relationship like between Martin and Malcolm?

SHEEN: Well, if I were to tell you that, there’d be no point in watching the series! That is what the audience has to mull over, question and explore. That is what is at the heart of Malcolm, someone who clearly carries the weight of his father’s sins—and yet for a son, it’s one of the most primal relationships. He only has one father, and his father has done monstrous things. This father seems to want to have a close, meaningful, loving relationship with him. What games does that play with Malcolm’s head? How does it affect him emotionally and psychologically? He’s still trying to work out the baggage he has because there is so much he doesn’t know and doesn’t remember. Is his father

M

ichael Sheen has graced theater, film and television with critically acclaimed performances as Tony Blair, David Frost and William Masters. Recently, he brought to life the angel Aziraphale in Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens. Now, Sheen jumps from playing a beatific force for good to a monstrous murderer—in Prodigal Son, he steps into the role of Dr. Martin Whitly, a doctor who was also a serial killer in the ’90s. Whitly’s son Malcolm, a talented but damaged criminal psychologist, uses his skills as a forensic profiler to help the NYPD solve homicide cases. When a gruesome murder mimics Whitly’s killings, Malcolm visits his imprisoned father, who is delighted to assist with the investigation and establish a relationship with his estranged son.

WS: What appealed to you about the project and this character?

SHEEN: First and foremost, [what draws me] always generally has to be the script. When I read the pilot episode, I was compelled by it.

It was a subject and a genre that felt quite familiar but had a different take to it. The family dynamic felt interesting, and there was a lot of potential there. With a pilot episode, what you’re looking for is lots of interesting potential to explore later on. I thought those family relationships were fascinating and so full of the unknown and things to be discovered, secrets that were being repressed and avoided. Then there was my character, this monster in the dark at the center of the labyrinth, who is a mystery. We know that he had done monstrous things, but he appears to be a loving father and someone whom you would warm to and whose company you would like. I thought that was interesting. When playing any character who is a serial killer, psychopath, sociopath, however you want to describe him, the central question is: is it possible for that person to feel empathy? If he can’t feel empathy, then what is this relationship about with his son? I found that fascinating as a reader.

On the heels of portraying a fussy angel in Amazon’s Good Omens, Michael Sheen is taking on his first U.S. broadcast network drama, Prodigal Son, in which he plays an imprisoned serial killer.

really trying to have a loving relationship, or is he just trying to manipulate him? Is his father still using him or not? That is unclear and ambiguous, and the stakes are incredibly high for Malcolm because it is his father. How that plays out among the other family members is the territory of the series.

WS: How were you able to step into the mind of a serial killer?

SHEEN: For a few years, I researched and wrote a script for a film that I haven’t done yet, which was about a real-life serial killer. I spent a long time researching that. Even though the serial killer, in that case, is very different from Martin, a lot of the research has come in handy. In Britain, there was a man called Harold Shipman.

He was a serial killer and a successful, loved and respected doctor who had been killing people for years and years. Then there was a case of a psychopathic multiple murderer who had killed children as well as adults. I heard that one of his children, a daughter whom he didn’t know about, had gotten in touch with him. She had had children and wanted them to have a relationship with their grandfather. I read about him and watched a documentary. He was saying his relationship with his daughter and his grandchildren was a huge, meaningful relationship in his life. This was a sign of how well he was doing, and he truly loved them. It does bring up this question: if he is a psychopath, then he can’t feel empathy, so what is going on? It’s all very dark stuff. It’s not pleasant to do the research, but it’s certainly fascinating.

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Warner Bros.’

Prodigal Son. WS: Did you have as much fun making Good Omens as we viewers had watching it?

SHEEN: Well, of course, the whole point is to make sure that the audience has fun. But it’s work! I would never describe the experience of doing a job well and properly as “fun”! But it was a wonderful job to work on. I loved working with David [Tennant]. It was a fantastic story and script. Good Omens was a book that meant a lot to me over my life, as it has for many, many people—there is a huge fan base for the book and for Terry and Neil. So to be able to work on the show was a real privilege and very special. And to be able to work with Neil every day as the showrunner was fantastic. We’ve been very good friends for a long time, and I’m a huge fan of his.

And to have that excellent cast and fantastic director, Douglas Mackinnon, who was possibly more passionate about it than anyone else, was wonderful. I’m glad that it looked like fun, but it was long, long hours and difficult conditions. But I was hugely proud to be a part of it, and it was a very enjoyable experience.

WS: What are the different creative challenges and opportunities of episodic television compared to a film?

SHEEN: A film is a very different experience from [a multi-season series] like Masters of Sex or hopefully Prodigal Son. Good Omens was like making a six-hour film and it was hugely enjoyable for that.

But what I have come to love about doing an ongoing multi-episodic story is how much involvement you can have in developing these characters and stories. You can explore characters and relationships in a completely different way from how you can in film. When you are working within a finite structure, whether it’s a 90-minute or 120-minute film, the story arc is already mapped out. There is plenty to explore within that if it’s good as Good Omens was. What I loved about Masters of Sex was going from a pilot episode where you think, There is loads of possibility here, to then being able to play an interesting character who you suspect has a lot going on underneath the surface.

I loved that. It was what originally scared me a bit. I didn’t know where this character was going. I didn’t know what the story was.

That’s not what I was used to, but that became what I loved the most about it, especially if you are working with people who are open to being collaborative, as Michelle Ashford was on Masters of Sex and [executive producers] Sam Sklaver and Chris Fedak are on Prodigal Son. It becomes exciting to have the experience of playing the character inform what happens to that character. There is a limited amount of that in a film or a limited series. It’s absolutely necessary when you are doing a multi-episode series. That’s what really excites me about this way of telling stories.

WS: In our previous interview, you explained how William Masters, son of an abusive father, was unable to be a father to his children, for fear of perpetuating the abuse. That shed light on the situation of a very close friend of mine that I hadn’t been able to understand, and I wanted to thank you. Do you ever think about the impact your work can have on people who are facing difficult issues?

SHEEN: That’s amazing. Thank you so much for telling me that; I’m so glad I was able in any way to shed some light on a difficult situation.

Yes, that’s why I take the characters I play and the situations they go through so seriously, because I do know people out there have had similar experiences. This is part of what can be so meaningful about telling stories. We tell stories in order to connect with each other and to hopefully allow ourselves to feel like we are not going through things on our own. Other people have experienced the same thing, and we can get through these things together. I try to take it as seriously as possible and look for what is hopeful. I look at characters who are trying to free themselves from what is holding them back. That is what I loved about playing Bill Masters. He was a man who was really difficult to like—by himself more than anyone, I suppose. I wanted to look for a way to portray someone changing for the better in a realistic way: by taking the work seriously, thinking it through, working with Michelle and then having the opportunity [to tell the story] through the multi-episodic format. This is wonderful for me to hear, so thank you.

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Patricia Arquette

By Anna Carugati

person; all she was was a mommy. To me, that was part of her deceptiveness.

Even after Escape at Dannemora came out and people loved it, again I was dealing with stuff from people in the business like, You can’t play Dee Dee now—you have to do something where you can look beautiful. I thought, Oh my God, again we’re having this conversation?

WS: In Escape at Dannemora, were you shooting in real prisons?

How did that impact you?

ARQUETTE: We did shoot in a lot of prisons. I went to visit David Sweat [one of the prisoners who escaped with Tilly’s help] when he was in prison there, and [co-stars] Paul Dano and Benicio del Toro and [director] Ben Stiller went to visit him separately. It’s very hard to be in a prison. Part of it is that you’re in this place where anyone can get killed. Everyone is in danger all the time. Everyone’s freedom is constricted. Everyone working there [in addition to the inmates] is in prison in some way. When talking to the guards, they

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orn into a family of actors, Patricia Arquette has been performing since she was young. She has worked with top directors, including Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton and David Lynch, and her role as the mother in Richard Linklater’s 12-year project, Boyhood, earned her an Oscar for best supporting actress. Arquette also starred in the network series Medium and CSI: Cyber, and more recently in two projects based on true stories: Escape at Dannemora, which garnered her an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of prison employee Tilly Mitchell, who helps two inmates escape; and The Act, in which she plays Dee Dee Blanchard, a mentally ill mother who repeatedly severely harms her daughter as a way of getting attention.

WS: Why were Tilly and Dee Dee important parts for you to take?

And was the physical transformation you had to undergo difficult for you personally?

ARQUETTE: I was encountering a lot of resistance before I did [these two roles]. People were saying, You don’t have to gain weight for this role. You can’t look like that; you won’t work anymore. But I was thinking, You know what? I’ve done my time. I want to be able to act. [With Tilly] I wanted to have a conversation about who is allowed to be sexual. What body type [is acceptable]?

Are only young, beautiful people allowed to be loved, to enjoy their sexuality and feel sexy? I don’t think that is the case. I wanted to have that conversation. That was important to me.

With Dee Dee, she had rosacea and diabetes; there were certain specific things about the way she looked. I was never going to look like Dee Dee. I would have to gain another 140 pounds and I would be dead! But I wanted to capture certain aspects of the way she looked because, to me, she looked so innocent and disarming. She looked almost [like the doll] Holly Hobbie or a non-sexual, selfless

Patricia Arquette, who previously won an Emmy for Medium, picked up a win this year as supporting actress in Hulu’s The Act and was also nominated for her work in Escape at Dannemora.

say they are counting the days till they retire. They are putting in their days. And especially in the prisons [we were in], they are so old; [they date back to the] turn of the century. Walking down the halls with the guards, they would say, This part [of the hallway] is really scary because it’s a dead curve—there is a little mirror there, but things happen around this bend. And it’s cold and drafty and it’s heartbreaking. There is a depressing feeling all around. And then there are a lot of prisoners with untreated mental illness. You’re watching these people who are mentally ill and they’re not getting the help they need. They are a danger to others, and they are also in danger.

Also, it’s an industry. Escape at Dannemora shows a sewing machine shop in the prison. That’s cheap labor in America, and that’s a really disturbing thing, too. There was a sheriff intentionally putting people in prison so they could have cheap labor.

WS: Was it difficult for you to disconnect at the end of the day after dealing with such weighty issues?

ARQUETTE: It was very hard to disconnect at the end of the day because the prison is in the middle of the town. There is nothing to do in town. There is a dollar store. There is a KFC and a Motel 6. It’s gloomy and cold. Yeah, it’s intense.

WS: The Act is based on a true story about a mother who has Munchausen syndrome by proxy and abuses her daughter by creating phantom illnesses to get attention and sympathy from others. What attracted you to the part?

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ARQUETTE: I was always interested in Munchausen syndrome by proxy because it’s the opposite of all of our instincts as parents; we want to protect our kids from any pain. I didn’t know about this specific story until I got offered [the role of Dee Dee], but my kids had both seen the documentary [Mommy Dead and Dearest] and they said, Don’t play that lady, don’t do it, mom! [The character had] so many layers, and after doing research on this condition, I felt that it’s a very disturbing and understudied mental illness.

WS: Do you need to like the characters you play? And with a character like Dee Dee, did you find a side of her that you liked?

ARQUETTE: I don’t know that I have to like the character, and I don’t know that I liked Dee Dee. But I have an understanding that I’ve developed within myself about Dee Dee. I have empathy for her. Dee Dee was very mentally ill. Even if her behavior was horrendous—and I think it was, it was inexcusable—Dee Dee had a mental illness and she was delusional. She had no sense of self, no healthy selfesteem. It’s almost like toxic co-dependence, so she continually had to do things to prove she was worthy of love. She is doing this on a large scale to the whole world, so everyone will say, Oh, you’re such a good mom, you’re so selfless. She’s doing this so that she has an identity. Dee Dee also has such a terror of abandonment that she’s trying to convince her daughter never to leave her. She believes they are happy, and she tells her daughter, “I love you so much. It’s better for both of us. This way, you won’t be with a guy who will break your heart.” She believes all these things, even though they are delusional. She has her excuses. You know what?

Every person who does something bad, whether it’s cheating on their taxes or cheating on their spouse or killing people, or whatever it is, they all have excuses that make sense to them. As an actor, you have to see what those things are and how we all delude ourselves. And I think we all delude ourselves to different levels.

WS: Tell us about Boyhood and what the experience meant to you.

ARQUETTE: It’s funny that you ask that question. [I’m often asked which have been my favorite roles], but I would never say the part of the mother in Boyhood because even though I won an Oscar, to me, Boyhood is more like a whole experience [than a role I played]. It was a whole experience I love so much. It was so personal it was beyond a film. There were many films I had made along the way, like True Romance or The Indian Runner, that I cared a lot about and it was frustrating to me that they didn’t get the attention they should have or got criticism I didn’t think they deserved. But with Boyhood, I felt so fiercely protective. I don’t know how I’m going to handle it if anyone says anything bad about this movie because it’s so personal. Every year we went back there it was like summer camp, like growing up together. And honestly, in America, there’s a law that you can’t sign a contract for more than seven years. So all of us just kept showing up because we gave our word; we wanted to work in this way. [It was a joy to work in] the way [director] Rick [Linklater] had structured everything and to work with Ethan [Hawke], which I always wanted to do. I don’t even think about Boyhood in the same way as anything else I have ever worked on.

NBCUniversal’s The Act.

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By Anna Carugati have a quick burst of something, which I enjoy. The supporting roles I’ve done have been way more varied, and I like that.

WS: How did you prepare for the role of Chuck Rhoades? How did you get into his mindset?

GIAMATTI: I’ve learned it as I’ve gone along. I met some [State’s Attorneys] because they were interesting to me, and that was fun and informative. I met Preet [Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York] and some of the other guys who worked at the U.S. Attorney’s office. Some of them were on-the-line prosecutors who are doing the actual prosecuting in the courts and building the cases, and they’re all incredibly smart. I remember the first thing I thought when I met Preet was, I won’t be able to appear to be as smart as this guy is because his mind works so fast! [Laughs] I worried about being able to seem that intelligent. They’re very smart guys. Fortunately, our writers write the characters, so Chuck sounds very intelligent! Other than that, everything was in the script. It’s a very complete script; you’ve got everything about

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ith such notable exceptions as his roles in the film Sideways and the miniseries John Adams—which earned him Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards— Paul Giamatti has mostly played eclectic supporting roles. He has demonstrated unique versatility while embracing a range of diverse characters, in films from Straight Outta Compton to 12 Years a Slave, television projects like Too Big to Fail and Inside Amy Schumer, plays such as The Iceman Cometh, and many more.

He currently stars as former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades in Billions, a series that delves into the extremes of ambition and the pursuit of power.

WS: What are the different creative challenges and opportunities that come with a supporting role versus a lead role?

GIAMATTI: Well, the level of responsibility is different. You have to carry a lot more, and there’s even an expectation of you as a lead actor to be a bit of a team captain; that’s interesting. But the sheer amount of what you have to do is obviously different, so there’s a different stamina thing— there’s a different relaxation thing. You begin to realize how important the supporting actors are because they’re going to come in and help you along and fill in a lot of stuff. You’re inventing it as you go along a lot more. [Supporting roles are] tricky because you’re working in shorter bursts of time. It’s like the difference between a sprinter and a distance athlete. In one, you have to measure yourself more, and there’s a different body and brain chemistry to it. You have a different sense of yourself and way of carrying yourself in front of the camera. I like doing supporting roles better because they tend to be more vivid characters and farther away from who you are. You start to rely on yourself more as a lead actor. In some ways, you begin creating a persona that becomes kind of a movie star thing—not that I am—but as a movie star, it’s the same thing every time, but a little different every time. Supporting roles tend to be more colorful. Your job is to be more vivid and colorful. You come in and

Paul Giamatti has appeared in an eclectic mix of television series and films over the last two decades, recently wrapping a fourth season of the critically acclaimed Billions, with a fifth season in the works.

the guy. And [the writers] let this character go all over the place, almost more so than the other people. He’s allowed to go crazy, weird places.

WS: What does Billions say about power and its impact on the people who wield it? And how did Chuck respond to losing the power he had as U.S. Attorney?

GIAMATTI: Well, it’s not a flattering portrait of people in power of any kind. It’s questioning the different types—political power, financial power—and it’s a toss-up which is more corrupting, which is worse. It’s hard to tell. It’s not a flattering portrait of power. It’s not a flattering portrait of men with power—or women, actually, too—but it’s not a flattering portrait of male power. The only saving grace of these guys is that they trip themselves up a lot of the time. [Laughs] Chuck almost more so than Axe [Bobby Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis]. But I think Chuck is a little bit less pathological than Axe. Axe is a bit more of a psychopath. He doesn’t react well to losing his power at all. He confuses justice and power.

WS: Could it be that Axe had to work hard to get where he is, while Chuck comes from privilege?

GIAMATTI: There’s definitely that, sure; that’s a whole thing, too, in the show. In America, everybody holds up the idea of the self-made man. Inherited wealth is seen as aristocratic and more European or something, and it’s looked upon with suspicion. Chuck, interestingly, has the money, so he can afford not to care about money. He

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CBS Studios International’s Billions. lost all of it. And he caused everybody else to lose money and he didn’t care. That whole self-made man thing—I think Chuck is jealous of a lot of the worship that somebody like Axelrod gets.

And nobody likes a lawman.

WS: You have a tremendous cast, and the writing is so great—what’s it like interacting with the other actors?

GIAMATTI: They’re great; the cast is amazing. There’s never a second’s doubt that you’re going to be working with the best people possible.

They’re all super prepared. If you weren’t prepared with this stuff, [the show] would sink in two seconds because you can’t wing this language.

And they also want it absolutely perfect. They sometimes even want the punctuation perfect, too.

WS: So there’s no room for improvisation?

GIAMATTI: No, absolutely not. Very rarely [do the writers] allow something improvised to go through, because it’s all plot, too. If you’re messing with the dialogue, you’re messing with the plot. It’s pretty ironclad in that way. But the people are great, and the crew is amazing. It’s punishing days, very long days, because it’s all locations—which is a nightmare, getting from someplace in Upper Manhattan to [somewhere in] Brooklyn in one day.

WS: I don’t want to dwell on Chuck’s propensity for S&M much, but…

GIAMATTI: That’s OK, it’s a big part of the character.

WS: Where does Chuck’s self-harming come from?

GIAMATTI: It’s a big part of the character. One of the interesting things about the character is that he has this self-loathing, which makes him question himself sometimes. Where does it come from? I don’t know; his father is so hard on him. He obviously has a weird relationship with women. But for a lot of those guys, that stuff just comes from a body chemistry thing where they like the feeling of pain. For Chuck, the psychological element is a good thing, in a way. This self-doubt and selfloathing, I think, is the only saving grace for the guy. He is critical of himself in the way other people aren’t, to a certain extent. Then he goes right back to being a horrible person!

WS: Talk to me about Lodge 49.

GIAMATTI: Yes! You’ve seen it! I’m really happy to talk about that show.

Do you like it?

WS: Yes! GIAMATTI: It’s a weird show.

WS: It’s slower.

GIAMATTI: That’s part of the point. It’s slow; it unfolds more like a book.

WS: I’m trying to understand what’s happening in America, and I find the show helpful.

GIAMATTI: It’s very much about disenfranchised people and people struggling. It’s about the middle and lower-middle class, who are rootless and looking for meaning. I’m so happy you watched that show.

WS: How did you get involved?

GIAMATTI: They just sent it to me. I have a little production company and we had done independent movies—which was backbreaking and impossible—and then we went into TV. We managed to get a pilot made for FX [Hoke] that they didn’t want to do because they thought it was too weird. Now I think, six years on, they would not see it as weird anymore. And then we did a show that was on WGN America for two seasons, Outsiders, which did well. Then the station canceled everything. We had the show Underground, which was great. Then we got this script [for Lodge 49] and I thought it was terrific. We took it to AMC and they thought it was terrific.

They made it, but it took them a while to find the right showrunner for the writer, Jim Gavin, because he had never done a TV show before. And it is weird. It does unfold slowly, but it’s a fucking awesome show and the actors are great in it. The writing’s great, and I got to be on it this season for three episodes. I have a really fun part.

WS: What else can you share about your upcoming projects?

GIAMATTI: I’m doing a movie called Gunpowder Milkshake. It’s an action movie filmed in Germany. I don’t do any action in it. I play a guy who orders everybody to kill people!

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By Anna Carugati doctors and nurses on set are always a good reminder to think, Oh yeah, this is work; I’m trained to do this and now there is an emergency happening, so let me solve it. It’s interesting.

WS: What was it like shifting gears from being Tom Keen on The Blacklist to being Dr. Max Goodwin? How did you enter the role?

EGGOLD: When I finished The Blacklist, I was really lucky to go right into Spike Lee’s film BlacKkKlansman, which is one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had, and I’m so grateful for it. It was an incredible true story about a guy, Ron Stallworth, who infiltrated the KKK—and Ron is an amazing guy. I had wanted to do true stories. I watch a lot of documentaries, and I’m fascinated by real life and real people. Working on that was amazing, and it further whetted my appetite to participate in stories that reflected real life and real people because then it feels like there is a reason to tell this story. Again, it’s not that a television show is going to save the world, but if you can be a voice for the people who are effecting change in the world, that’s exciting.

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fter playing Tom Keen, the spy unafraid to deceive or take lives in The Blacklist, and Walter Breachway, the rabid racist and member of the KKK in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, Ryan Eggold took a 180-degree turn to step into the role of Dr. Max Goodwin in the medical drama New Amsterdam.

Goodwin is the newly hired director of the oldest public hospital in the U.S. He is brazenly battling bureaucracy to put patients first when he learns he has cancer. As a saver of lives who is fighting for his own, Eggold gives a performance spanning from the assertive can-do attitude of a leader to the fear of a stricken man hiding his vulnerability.

WS: A nurse I know told me that, out of any show she’s seen, New Amsterdam offers the most accurate portrayal of the workings of a hospital. Is that important, and how does the show accomplish that?

EGGOLD: It is important, and the most wonderful compliment always is that compliment from a nurse or a doctor who says, Yes, that’s what [working in a hospital] looks like, that’s what it feels like. The accuracy comes from Eric Manheimer’s book, Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital, about his experiences running Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. He is providing a lot of that authenticity and a lot of true stories. And [showrunner] David Schulner and the writers do an amazing job of then dramatizing that and making that story work and have emotional arcs. We also have doctors and nurses on set who help keep us honest, who say, No, that’s a little phony, it wouldn’t happen that way—it would happen like this. For me, not having gone to medical school, not being a doctor, I imagine being in a situation where someone is flatlining and the cardiac monitor is beeping—my blood pressure would go through the roof! But as a good doctor, you are assessing the situation and what needs to be done, and you are working. You are thinking about what needs to happen and it’s not as emotional. It’s not as crazy as it would be for a layman or someone like me. So the real

Inspired by a memoir about America’s oldest public hospital, New Amsterdam with Ryan Eggold was the first NBC freshman drama of the 2018–19 schedule to score a second-season renewal.

WS: I find that at times characters you get attached to can illustrate an issue far better than a news report can, because you are emotionally invested.

EGGOLD: You have an emotional connection—exactly right! Health care, particularly in the U.S., is a touchy subject and is divisive, like so many other issues. If you can experience people’s humanity in a way that you otherwise wouldn’t, which is what you get with a good drama, then you might think about it differently. Whereas you might write someone off [in real life], when you can experience it through a show, you can perhaps think differently about the conversation, and that’s exciting.

WS: The other thing I love about New Amsterdam is that there are often characters with divergent opinions, but they can reach common ground.

EGGOLD: Yes, I love that, too. I get excited when the writers represent multiple points of view on a subject—this person agrees, this person disagrees. Especially when the U.S. and so much of the world are so polarized, reaching common ground, finding out what we can accomplish together and how we can get there, is such a refreshing change.

WS: There are many emotional moments in the show. It starts with the writing, but do these moments provide fertile ground for you as an actor?

EGGOLD: Oh yeah, [the writers] do such a great job, and it makes my job easier. If you have a bad script or a bad director, you have to work overtime to try to make it work. But if you have a great script and great directors, you don’t have to work as hard because the truth is

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NBCUniversal’s New Amsterdam.

there for you to be a part of. You don’t have to manufacture it; you just try to get out of the way and let the writing be what it is, and let the director do his or her thing. If it rings true to you, it feels honest; you don’t have to muck it up with too much acting, which is great.

WS: In every episode, there are life-or-death moments for the patients. But then, your character, Max, is diagnosed with cancer. Is that emotionally difficult?

EGGOLD: Yes, it can be. It depends—some days there will be a very dramatic scene, but there will be laughter in between takes and we’ll be goofing around, too. Other days, it will be a certain kind of scene where you don’t want to laugh in between because you’re staying in a certain emotional place or it’s affecting you in a certain way. It depends. But in general, there is a lot of humor and fun on the show.

WS: You need that humor, don’t you?

EGGOLD: Yes, because it does get so heavy. Otherwise, we would get too miserable. Probably the work would suffer; it would get much heavier, so we try to keep it flowing.

WS: Do you shoot in a real hospital?

EGGOLD: We do.

WS: How does that work, and does it help?

EGGOLD: It helps tremendously because it feels more real to be in a real hospital where, one wing over, actual patients are getting real treatments. And you remember this is the story we’re telling—it’s about these people. That’s helpful. Kings County Hospital in New York is very gracious. We shoot there. We also shoot at Bellevue, which is the hospital the show is based on.

WS: Why is it so hard for your character, Dr. Max Goodwin, to take care of himself?

EGGOLD: That’s a good question. He is comfortable being a leader and an agent of change, trying to direct the hospital. He is not comfortable with vulnerability or intimacy in certain ways or being out of control or letting someone help him. Why he is that way remains to be seen in terms of backstory. I think losing his sister at a young age is part of that. He entrusted doctors to take care of his sister and they most likely, through no fault of their own, or potentially through their fault, lost his sister’s life. That affects his ability to trust—especially when you are a kid and any trauma is so much more traumatic. Someone who does want to be in control, who does want to make the system better, who is trying to help people, is clearly afraid of letting go of that control and trusting that someone’s going to catch him.

WS: In one episode, Max is getting chemotherapy and the other cancer patients are making jokes about cancer.

EGGOLD: It was an interesting episode because [the other patients] are so comfortable with cancer as part of their lives, and there is an acceptance that they’ve found that Max has not found yet. Each of them [is able to think,] I may die, I may not. This is what I’m facing. I’m going to face it with a smile and some humor. There is something so moving about that. But Max is not there yet. He’s trying to hold on to [his sense of having control].

[His fellow patients] on the other hand, are at the point where they can think, I’ve released some control. I’m going to fight, and what’s going to be is what it’s going to be.

WS: While I was watching the show, a close friend of mine got a cancer diagnosis. That just pulled the rug out from under me and, of course, her.

EGGOLD: It blindsides you like that. We all feel invincible and then you realize how fragile we all are.

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Carrie-Anne Moss

By Kristin Brzoznowski

reflected on-screen—when I watch it, it feels humble and yet it’s also super rich and layered.

WS: Were you a fan of Nordic noir prior to Wisting or familiar with the nuances of the genre?

MOSS: I knew enough about it to know that it resonated with me—the palette for visual storytelling, the expression of the way it’s shot and the acting style. I loved the feel.

I actually don’t watch a lot of TV unless I’m working. When I’m home and with my family, I don’t have a lot of time—it’s the plight of motherhood. It’s when I’m shooting on-location that I become enraptured with a show and end up staying up way too late watching it.

WS: Wisting has a very cinematic look and feel. Did you approach it more like a feature film than a TV series?

MOSS: I had all of the scripts to work with, so it did end up feeling like a big movie. Normally, with television in the States,

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ews broke earlier this fall that a fourth installment of The Matrix is officially a go, sending the franchise’s fervent fan base into a frenzy with word that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are reprising their career-catapulting roles. The mind-bending sci-fi films may have launched Moss into the cultural zeitgeist, but she has solidified her staying power with turns in feature films such as Memento and series such as Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Moss headed to Norway to take on the part of FBI agent Maggie Griffin in the Scandi crime drama Wisting. The Viaplay original is one of Norway’s biggest drama productions—and rumored to be among the most expensive it has ever made.

WS: What initially appealed to you about Wisting? Was it the script, the character, the auspices attached?

MOSS: It was a combination of all of that. The script and the writing were really strong. I have a soft spot for Norwegian [culture], so that was a huge draw. My manager had spoken to the [creative team behind the project] and was super excited about it. She articulated that excitement to me, and I then spoke to them, and we went and shot it. It was such a great experience. I absolutely fell in love with Norway.

WS: How did the experience of working on a Scandinavian TV project differ from what you’ve found in the American system?

MOSS: It was very different than the culture of acting and production in the United States. It’s a totally different system, even regarding the actors. We would rehearse together at night and all hang out in one room. It felt very community-based, which I loved. That was a treat.

The crew is much thinner than an American crew, so there’s an intimacy. There’s a humanity to the way that they tell stories that really resonated with me. There’s a humbleness to it; that’s even

After coming to global fame as Trinity in the iconic Matrix franchise, Carrie-Anne Moss has worked steadily in films and TV shows in Europe and the U.S., including Wisting and Jessica Jones.

you’re getting your scripts every week or every two weeks. This gave it a different context, since I knew my complete arc. That allowed me more room [to explore the character] versus approaching it week to week.

WS: Did the dual-language scripting present any challenges at first?

MOSS: That was one of the reasons my manager was super excited about it; she loved the idea that it was using dual language in that way. I felt like it was quite effortless. I wasn’t sure at first how it was going to work. In times when [the Norwegian actors are] talking and [my character doesn’t] understand what they’re saying, I am having to remember that even though I know what the scene is about from the script, my character wouldn’t. So, in the way it was written, often they are explaining to my character what’s going on. The execution of it felt quite natural.

WS: Before filming, did you read Jørn Lier Horst’s crime novels that the series is based on, or do you generally prefer not to read the source material when taking part in a book-to-screen adaptation?

MOSS: I didn’t have time to read the books beforehand because it all happened pretty quickly. I do have them, though. Sometimes it’s good not to have a preconceived idea, but I’m open to however it plays out.

In this particular instance, I just didn’t have the luxury of reading all three of the novels. I did meet the writer, who’s incredible; his storytelling is amazing.

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Banijay Rights’ Wisting.

WS: You’ve played an eclectic array of roles in your film and TV work.

Is there a type of character you’re particularly drawn to?

MOSS: I really believe that every part that I do somehow is teaching me something about myself or humanity. Oftentimes it’ll be reflective of something that I’m going through.

What I’m interested in is the narrative and storytelling in general. I tend to gravitate toward dark things, which is interesting because I myself am not that way. But I enjoy the layers of psychology that happen within darker material.

I’m pretty open, though. I would never limit what’s coming for me by my limited mind. I don’t know what I’d love to do until I read it.

The fun part of what I do is that I never know what is coming next, what character I’m going to be thrown into—I love that part of it.

WS: Looking specifically at television, what are the kinds of projects that appeal to you most?

MOSS: It depends on where I am in my life—what’s happening in my personal life and what’s happening with my kids. I look at things like, where is it shooting, how long is it shooting for, can I leave everybody to go do this? There are so many logistical factors! It’s so different than when I was single and loved living out of a suitcase.

A regular job in L.A., where my kids go to school, may not be the most creative [project] on the planet, but it would offer me a certain amount of stability in a business that is very unstable. But I very rarely work there. That’s the reality of my business. I do have the luxury of working a bunch, then getting to take time to be home with my family. You try to balance that, and it’s a challenge.

Some things are just so great you can’t say no.

WS: Wisting is a prime example of how global the television market has become. As an actor, what’s your take on the opportunities presented in this increasingly international drama-series landscape?

MOSS: There’s definitely never been more amazing TV to watch from so many different places! It has sparked unlimited possibilities.

WS: Added to that is the fact that, for actors, the lines between TV and film are so blurred nowadays.

MOSS: Absolutely. I started out in TV and then had a film career.

In the old days, if you were even thinking about going back to TV, it was like you were taking a step down. Independent films were the thing to do. I, like many people, feel like there are no more independent movies; everything has moved to television. The TV market is now more like what the independent-film world was.

It’s changing so much now, but things are always going to change and I think people forget that. I remember when, as an industry, everyone was trying to figure out how to deal with the internet as a potential [threat]. I remember hearing about Netflix and thinking, What the heck? Now it’s all so normal and I could not have envisioned it. I myself do enjoy [bingeing series] every once in a while, but sometimes it’s also fun to have to wait.

WS: Many people came to know you from the Matrix trilogy, which has ardent fans. Then you joined the Marvel universe, as Jeri Hogarth in Jessica Jones, which has its own level of frenzy behind it. Is having that sort of fan feedback exciting or more nerve-racking, in that you want to do right by their expectations?

MOSS: I’ll be at Whole Foods, and all of a sudden, this new generation of young people recognizes me—but from Marvel, not The Matrix. It’s so funny! I got so used to people saying, “Are you…” and I’m like, “Yeah, that girl from The Matrix.” And then suddenly it was like, “Are you…Jeri Hogarth?” [Laughs] To be honest, though, I’m not that plugged into the conversation; I really only see the fan base when I go to events like Comic-Con.

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By Anna Carugati WS: Schitt’s Creek doesn’t seem like the traditional sitcom, because there are hilarious scenes but also some heartfelt moments of vulnerability. How do you walk that line?

LEVY: The original intention, and one of the reasons Dan came to me, was to capture the sensibility I had in the movies I had worked on with Chris Guest: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. Even though they were mock documentaries, they were based on solid character work. You have to hook the audience on the characters to make these films work as well as they do. In any movie, but certainly in a comedy, you have to be invested in the characters. That was the sensibility Dan was looking at, and I’ve always dealt in character comedy for as long as I can remember—getting your laughs through character. If you do it well, then you can hook the audience into your characters in such a deep way that you can take them from laughs to plumbing some emotional depths as well—a bit of a roller coaster ride. And they will follow you all the way. That was the game plan: Keep

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n actor, writer and producer, Eugene Levy has worked in comedy his entire career. An alumnus of SCTV, which earned him two Emmys for writing, he co-wrote and co-starred with Christopher Guest in mock documentaries, including Best in Show. He had roles in several films, including Bringing Down the House and Father of the Bride Part II, often playing offbeat, eccentric characters. In 2013, he formed Not a Real Company Productions with partners and his son, Daniel, with whom he co-created and co-stars in the critically acclaimed comedy Schitt’s Creek. His performance as the patriarch of the down-on-its-luck Rose family earned him an Emmy nomination.

WS: How did Schitt’s Creek come about? Where did the idea come from?

LEVY: My son, Dan, approached me almost seven years ago, and for the first time in his life, he came up to me and said, Do you want to work with me on this idea for a television show? The idea quite simply was that a wealthy family loses all its money. Because we were inundated at the time with shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Osbournes, it was like being a fly on the wall in the home of all this wealth. And what would happen if there suddenly was no wealth? What would that family dynamic be? As a dad, to be honest, it wouldn’t have mattered what the idea was, because it was such a wonderful thing to be working with my son! We started working on it, and at a certain point in the story development, Dan found this old newspaper article about Kim Basinger, who had bought a town [Braselton, Georgia] for quite a [large] amount of money. She was hoping that [filmmakers] would go out and shoot movies there and they could put people up in hotels, but it didn’t work out. She, unfortunately, lost a lot of money, but that gave us the idea: What if this family bought a town as a joke and then they had to live in the town? That’s how it started.

Since the 1970s, Eugene Levy has been making film and TV audiences laugh in an array of memorable roles, most recently as Johnny Rose in the hit comedy Schitt’s Creek, a show he co-created with his son, Daniel.

reality in your comedy, never step outside of your characters to get laughs, and don’t be afraid of getting into emotional or sentimental territory. Get your laughs through character rather than through jokes, because there is more longevity with character comedy. As I said, if your audience can invest themselves emotionally in your characters, then the whole experience is much richer, rather than [relying on] how funny your next joke is. Because when your jokes stop being funny, you have nowhere to go.

WS: Alongside the comedy, the series offers insights into human nature. What are the show’s main themes? Is one of them how people react to change?

LEVY: Yes, that’s one of them. That’s what we started out doing, which is the fish-out-of-water comedic take on this wealthy family that now has to live in a very poor rural setting. But once we got the fish-out-of-water scenario established in our first season, we were then able to focus on the characters themselves, flesh out some good character arcs and focus more on the relationships.

That, to me, is when the show got really interesting, not that it wasn’t funny in its first season. You do have to lay out a lot of exposition in your first season to get some firm footing on the story you want to tell. Since then, it’s been more about who you are, not what you are. It’s the ability to tell a love story, whether it’s a heterosexual love story or a gay love story, and create a community that is virtually devoid of homophobia. That is the big plus—and I

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ITV Studios’ Schitt’s Creek. give my son Dan credit because he’s been the showrunner the past few years—the show [presents] a world that we don’t necessarily have in real life, but wouldn’t it be nice if things were more like this?

WS: Tell us about the character you play, Johnny Rose. He’s different from other characters you’ve played.

LEVY: Yes, it’s like playing the straight man. While putting the show together, we realized there had to be a character—and it looked like it had to be Johnny, the head of the household—who would be the rock, the straight guy, so to speak, the guy who moves the story and tries to keep the family together. This is the driving force. In every successful comedy, that is usually a winning formula going way back to when I started watching television in the ’50s. Jack Benny, a classic comedian, was a very funny guy, but his thing was to surround himself with very funny character actors, and he would simply react to what they were doing. And in his reactions, he gets laughter that is sometimes bigger than the laughs his supporting cast is getting. On The Mary Tyler Moore Show, somebody had to be the straight person, and as good as Mary Tyler Moore was, she was the straight person surrounded by very funny characters. Even on Seinfeld, as funny as Jerry Seinfeld is, I would say he was the straight man in his own series—the guy that keeps the exposition and the story going and everybody else around him gets to have all the color, so to speak. That was the design for Johnny. He had to be this guy, and I got into it with great relish because it’s something that I had never done and really looked forward to. I’ve enjoyed playing this character for six years.

The fact that I got an Emmy nomination for it was surprising because I think of myself as the straight man in the show, and something doesn’t quite seem right about that in a way, right?

WS: What is the atmosphere on set? Do you keep cracking up, or are you such professionals that you can move through the scene as you need to?

LEVY: We do crack up a lot, I have to say! Usually, it’s Chris Elliott who gets me going because he is one of the funniest guys ever! I’ve been a fan of Chris’s for many years. He usually has my number on the set.

There is some breaking up. If someone is screwing up a line, we can get some laughs out of that. It’s a good feeling on the set. There is no question that you know you are working on a comedy, and that sentiment pervades the crew as well. It’s such a fun atmosphere to be working in. It’s no surprise that people feel they can do their best work in an atmosphere like that.

WS: Have you been surprised by the critical acclaim the show has received?

LEVY: I have not been surprised by the critical acclaim because when we started putting the show together, I knew that this was a good show.

This was a show that I could be just so proud of. And Dan felt the same way, and we knew we had an amazing cast. We knew that the scripts were absolutely dynamite and the execution was terrific. We had a great production team and crew. I knew the show was good, and it was well-received in Canada when it first came out. The problem was south of the border. We were on Pop, and for the first few years, nobody knew what Pop was. Nobody knew how to find it. So even though I think [the channel was] fairly satisfied with the numbers they were getting in their first couple of seasons, generally speaking not a lot of people were watching the show south of the border until it arrived on Netflix. Then there was a huge turnaround. I noticed a big difference in terms of how many people were watching the show because more people were coming up to me and saying, Hey, I caught your show. I’d ask, Where did you see it? They’d say, I saw it on Netflix. From that point, the awareness factor started percolating in the States.

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Jason Priestley

By Kristin Brzoznowski

PRIESTLEY: There is a case of the week, where we follow the procedural format, but we also try to balance that out with comedy and the family stories. Matt Shade’s family gives the show its heart. It’s a tricky balance that we have to bring to the show every week— between the procedural elements, the comedy and the family, which is the heart of the show—but that’s [the combination] that really makes the show work.

WS: Now that you and co-star Cindy Sampson have filmed together for four seasons and established chemistry, is there more comedic adlibbing or a shorthand that feeds back into the show?

PRIESTLEY: There is a shorthand between Cindy and me. We have a great time working together and genuinely like each other. We make a great team, and it’s a benefit to the show.

There is a lot of ad-libbing that happens. Especially when it comes to the lighthearted comedy and the banter, a lot of it comes out of ad-libbing.

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ince starring as resident good guy Brandon Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210, Jason Priestley has risen far beyond his ’90s heartthrob status to establish himself as a versatile talent in front of and behind the camera. His list of directing credits includes series such as Rookie Blue and Van Helsing, and he has served as an executive producer on projects for both the big and small screens. Priestley garnered multiple awards for the comedy series Call Me Fitz, which he starred in, produced and directed several episodes of. He again wears multiple hats on the Canadian procedural Private Eyes, playing former pro athlete–turned–private investigator Matt Shade, in addition to producing and directing.

WS: Private Eyes has been renewed for a fourth season. What do you think is the secret sauce that makes the show work, in a time when there’s so much good TV to choose from?

PRIESTLEY: There is a plethora of great television to be found right now. What makes our show work is that it’s feel-good television; it’s a blue-sky show. It’s easy to watch. Our audience tends to be very broad; it’s a great show for a lot of people. The co-viewing opportunities are great as well. That’s why it’s been able to resonate with audiences all around the world.

WS: Were you inspired by any of the classic detective-style series?

PRIESTLEY: I was, absolutely. I grew up in the era of The Rockford Files, Magnum, P.I. and Remington Steele; I had a steady diet of those kinds of shows. The detective genre was one that I was not only familiar with but a huge fan of. So, to have the opportunity to develop, star in, direct and executive produce a show like this is a lot of fun for me.

WS: Are there advantages as an actor to the procedural crime-of-theweek format versus a serialized story?

Jason Priestley is as busy behind the scenes as he is in front of the camera, starring in and exec-producing a range of series in his native Canada and the U.S., among them Private Eyes and BH90210.

WS: The series airs all around the world, but it does feel like a showpiece for Toronto. Has that been part of the design from the beginning?

PRIESTLEY: Very much so. The fact that we set the show in Toronto and showcase Toronto is something that I, being a Canadian, am incredibly proud of. I love the fact that we show off Toronto and Canada and are unabashedly Canadian and that people around the globe eat it up the way they do. So many other shows shoot in Toronto but pretend that they’re in Chicago or New York or some nebulous city east of the Mississippi. For a show like this to be as successful as it is around the globe, and to say that we’re in Toronto, is something we’re all very proud of.

We’re on in 160 territories now, which is staggering. The private-eye genre has been around since the dawn of television. It’s a tried-andtrue genre. But our show also deals with universal familial issues; those know no borders, whether you’re in Canada or America, Zimbabwe or Brazil. We weave those two elements together seamlessly, and that helps the universal appeal of the show.

WS: You’re an executive producer on Private Eyes and were involved in optioning the books it’s based on. What are some of the core responsibilities you take on behind the scenes?

PRIESTLEY: I direct episodes, too, so I wear a lot of hats on this show! For me, a lot of the time, it’s about quality control. It’s about making sure that every episode we deliver is the absolute best episode that it can be.

Lucky for me, there are a lot of people at work on this show, both in front

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Entertainment One’s Private Eyes.

of and behind the camera, who have that same instinct and are working just as hard as I am to make sure that that’s coming to pass.

WS: Having done your fair share of producing and directing throughout your career, is acting still your passion, or is there more you’d like to do behind the camera with regard to television?

PRIESTLEY: I really enjoy everything that I do in the entertainment business. I feel very fortunate to have had the length of career that I have and to continue to have the opportunities that I do. I’m blessed every day that I get to do this. It’s an incredible job. To be now in my fourth decade entertaining people on their small and big screens and on stage, I couldn’t have asked for a better career.

WS: Has any of your work behind the camera informed your acting— or vice versa?

PRIESTLEY: I go to work every day determined to learn something.

That’s one of the things that keeps me excited. The time that I spend behind the camera working as a director really informs me as an actor.

I learn something about acting every day that I work as a director.

Conversely, every day that I work as an actor, I learn something else about being a better director. Those two career paths for me have really informed each other.

WS: You’re also back in front of the camera with BH90210. What made you say “yes” to doing the show?

PRIESTLEY: It was the originality of the concept that we all came up with when we sat down and started talking about ideas and what that show could look like. That made it interesting. It’s such a different take on what a reboot could be. Nobody had any interest in what a 50-year-old Brandon Walsh would be up to, but giving everybody a comical peek behind the curtain at the dysfunction of Hollywood was an interesting take.

WS: It’s not a reboot, but rather something way more self-aware. Was this approach meant to satisfy viewers hungry for nostalgia as well as attract newcomers?

PRIESTLEY: One hundred percent. We had to do something very meta and very different rather than a straight reboot in the hopes of attracting a new audience to the show. Doing a straight-up reboot would only attract viewers of the original, so we tried to do something completely different.

WS: How important was it for you to have the original cast members sign on?

PRIESTLEY: We all picked up without skipping a beat. It was really nice to see how easily we all got right back into working together like no time had passed. It was important to get as many of the original cast members together as we could. It’s been really fun to bring even some of the secondary and tertiary members of the cast back into the fold. We brought back Christine Elise [who played bad girl Emily Valentine in the original Beverly Hills, 90210], and she has been a huge addition to the cast.

[Episode three], which I directed, saw Carol Potter [who played family matriarch Cindy Walsh] come back into the fold; it was super fun for me to get to direct Carol again. There have been a lot of Easter eggs for fans of the original show, and I just hope people have been entertained.

WS: As someone who works on both sides of the camera, and is part of the larger entertainment ecosystem, what’s your take on the massive amount of content out there today?

PRIESTLEY: Right now, it appears there’s room for all of it! And there are more streaming services coming online, so there’s going to be even greater demand for content. I think that at least for the next few years there will continue to be this insatiable demand, but what happens beyond that is anyone’s guess. The demand for content is going to remain incredibly high, but I feel like the demand for quality is going to be incredibly high as well.

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By Anna Carugati [story]. There’s a wheel of theories—from terrorism to pilot suicide to mechanical failure—and that wheel gets bigger and bigger, and it keeps turning and turning around. So you never quite know. Just when you think they’ve found the culprit, it moves and something comes up [to suggest] something else. It’s very true to life. We had a real air crash investigator and wanted to [accurately portray] the effort that goes into finding the cause. We also wanted to show how much stress an investigator takes on, because you’re answerable to the press. You’ve got [to answer to] the airline companies and you’ve got the government, who just invested hugely in the [aircraft] model. So, Kendra takes on a lot of the stress and faces a lot of pressures as well, which is another aspect to the character.

And she also has her personal life.

WS: What was it like working with Christopher Plummer?

PANJABI: Oh, wonderful! It was an absolute delight! He plays my [former] boss, and the two characters have great chemistry. That was not difficult;

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lthough Archie Panjabi has starred in films and TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, millions of fans associate her with Kalinda Sharma, the skilled investigator on The Good Wife. Panjabi’s connection to Kalinda was also on the minds of the writers of the limited series Departure; they created the role of Kendra Malley, an aviation investigator charged with solving the mystery of a disappeared airplane, with Panjabi in mind. She will also star in the upcoming series I Know This Much Is True.

WS: What appealed to you about Departure?

PANJABI: I think everybody has fear and fascination with flying.

When I read the scripts, I couldn’t put them down because I wanted to know the cause for the flight going missing. That’s normally a good sign, when you can’t put a script down and find the story intriguing. And running parallel to the search for the missing aircraft is Kendra’s story: she’s gone through a serious accident and is forced to deal with her whole truths as she’s also trying to bring closure to the families of all the victims of Flight 716.

WS: Do you have a process for getting into a character?

PANJABI: Every project is different. If you had asked me this five years ago, I would have had a definitive answer for a process, but I think every show is different. With Kendra, it was so much about the aircraft and the search for it, and running parallel to that was her story. I discovered a lot more about the character as we filmed. Sometimes you prepare in advance. But with this role, it was on the job that I started to learn more about her and adapt to the script accordingly.

WS: You read all the scripts ahead of time, so you knew the arc?

PANJABI: Yes. I knew the arc for what happened to the aircraft because there are so many technical things. It’s an interesting

Best known for her supporting roles in The Good Wife and The Fall, Archie Panjabi was cast as the lead in Departure, starring opposite Christopher Plummer in the Canadian drama about a flight that goes missing.

Christopher and I connected instantly. He’s like me—he has a bit of a mischievous streak about him, a good sense of humor. To be fair, there was very good energy with the whole cast.

WS: I hear that a lot of acting is reacting to other actors.

PANJABI: Absolutely, I’m a big believer that you can create magic when you have incredible energy on set, and that comes from people. The group of people here was very grounded—extremely talented but witty and smart. It was just one of those jobs where everybody got on and people improvised. And T.J. [Scott], who’s our director, was wonderful. T.J. was like, Let’s try this, let’s try that. We were constantly on our feet. I love that style.

WS: Tell us about your upcoming project for HBO, I Know This Much Is True. You play a psychologist who is helping twins, and one is quite troubled?

PANJABI: Mark Ruffalo plays both twins, and it’s directed by Derek Cianfrance, who did Blue Valentine. It’s a phenomenal experience working with them, filming over six months. I play the therapist. I look after both the twins. I help Dominick—that’s one of the twins that Mark plays—help his brother who is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. It’s a completely different role from what I’ve done before. But the experience, working with Derek is incredible. He’s a phenomenal director. I’ve really enjoyed it.

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Robson Green

By Anna Carugati

notion of “less is more,” and that comes from years of studying other great actors and their approach to being present and in the moment. It also comes from doing the work and putting in the hours with the script, and understanding your role within the story.

WS: As a viewer, I have enjoyed both clergymen who work alongside you, James Norton as Sidney Chambers and Tom Brittney as Will Davenport. How was it for you and the rest of the cast to say goodbye to James and welcome Tom? GREEN: There was no acting required in my final scene with James, as the energy that surrounded the set allowed us to be truthful with one another in front of the camera and therefore provided the emotional spark within the scene. James had an effect on everyone, and we all loved being alongside his positive and joyous energy, so saying goodbye was always going to be emotional. On the flip side, Tom has brought a new, young and fresh energy to the show, which was needed when James said goodbye. As a result, we all

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obson Green began his acting career on the medical drama Casualty and has since worked consistently in television, often in some of the U.K.’s highest-rated series. He has portrayed a fusilier in Soldier Soldier, a cop in Touching Evil, a doctor in Reckless and a clinical psychologist in Wire in the Blood. He currently plays Detective Inspector Geordie Keating in Grantchester, solving crimes in the English countryside with the help of the local vicar.

WS: To what do you attribute the popularity of Grantchester, not only in the U.K. and U.S. but around the world?

GREEN: I feel one of the main reasons Grantchester translates around the globe is that the central relationships are likable, charming and entertaining. The themes that affect these relationships are incredibly diverse, sometimes uncomfortable and very dark, but in the end you are left with an incredibly life-affirming message.

WS: What appeals to you about the character of Geordie?

GREEN: Geordie is a delight to play because there is clarity within his behavior, and we know exactly who and what he is. The enjoyment comes from the interaction he has with all the other characters. On the surface, he appears to have a definite sense of right and wrong, along with a no-nonsense attitude. But underneath lies a very caring, loving and mindful individual that you care about and therefore want to follow.

WS: Geordie can sometimes convey more with a glance or expression than with words. For an actor, how important are those moments of silence? Are they more challenging than lines of dialogue?

GREEN: As an actor, you have to be “in the moment.” You have to be present whether you’re talking or, more importantly, listening. Sometimes the greatest challenge is to talk without speaking. I like that

Robson Green is one of the U.K.’s best-known on-screen personalities, starring in hit dramas like Grantchester, renewed for a fifth season, and hosting a range of factual series.

feed off that new energy. The show, I feel, has really developed and benefited from his introduction.

WS: In several series, you have played characters that had very good relationships with fellow characters. How important is chemistry between actors and characters?

GREEN: To make a relationship on TV likable, you have to discover a shorthand and unspoken attraction to whomever you are playing alongside. Sometimes you have to work at it and sometimes you don’t, and often it’s just not there. It’s about understanding each other’s behavioral rhythms in front of and behind the lens; once you tune in to them, it’ll work. But it’s a two-way thing—sometimes one actor doesn’t want to open up to another behind the lens, which I feel affects what happens in front of it.

WS: You have also hosted adventure series like Extreme Fishing with Robson Green, Robson Green’s Coastal Lives and more. How did these shows come about? What do you enjoy about them?

GREEN: The adventure series really are a dream to work on, and I never take any of those for granted. I have a natural curiosity about the world we live in and the people who inhabit it, and I’ve always known that a place worth going to isn’t usually easy to get to. Producers seem to be attracted to the fact that I can be truthful, honest and able to articulate a certain feeling about a subject that I’m passionately connected to, be it fishing, social history or larger-than-life cultures around the world.

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TVEUROPE

WWW.TVEUROPE.WS

OCTOBER 2019

MIPCOM EDITION

TF1’s Gilles Pélisson / Streaming Wars

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4 TV EUROPE

CONTENTS

Drama Galore

INTERVIEW

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TF1’s Gilles Pélisson

The drama we’ve witnessed in Europe this summer did not come from a breakout scripted series. It was televised live, which made it all the more riveting, but it was the real-life proceedings from the British Parliament.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Europe ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tveurope.ws

Call it The Boris Johnson Show, rife with deceptions, defections and shifting alliances worthy of Game of Thrones. And this promises to be a long-running series indeed as the Brexit endgame is anyone’s guess at this point.

A perhaps more hopeful drama played out in Italy with the ouster of anti-immigrant, anti-EU, anti-decorum Matteo Salvini. Of course, this being Italy, the fledgling coalition’s chances of longevity are severely limited. And Salvini is sure to seek a comeback and revenge. This is another longrunning drama whose end has yet to be written.

The media industry in Europe is also in the throes of dramatic change. Vivendi, a shareholder in Mediaset, wants to prevent the Italian media group from joining with sister Mediaset España to form a new company, Media for Europe.

The motivation for the merger is to bulk up content and financial resources to better compete with the FAANGs. Fighting the FAANGs could be the name of a long-running drama series starring all the leading European broadcast groups. As our feature details, several markets have launched or are planning streaming or hybrid linear-channel/streaming services. In France, the major broadcasters have Salto on the table. In the U.K., BBC and ITV are working on BritBox. In Germany, ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Discovery, Inc. have launched Joyn. In Scandinavia, Viaplay is seeing original productions boost subscriber counts. In the Netherlands and Spain, broadcast and media groups have also joined forces to launch streaming services.

European broadcasters have had to change how they see themselves and how they plan for a future full of unknowns.

Once transmitters of a mix of entertainment, news and sports to the widest possible audience, broadcasters now have to follow viewers on multiple screens. They have expanded into production and owning rights to shows that they can then monetize across their own and third-party outlets.

Broadcasters have also been buying up popular websites to better serve viewers and advertisers who want to be online.

Gilles Pélisson, for example, has led the TF1 Group into production and the establishment of a digital businesses division.

Viewers will ultimately write the final act of the ongoing drama against the FAANGs. In play will be how much they will be willing to pay and which streaming services they will choose.

—Anna Carugati

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Beginning with its acquisition of Newen, TF1 Group has continued to expand its footprint of production companies in Europe and, most recently, in Canada.

Gilles Pélisson, chairman and CEO of the TF1 Group, talks about how the company is well positioned to grow and compete in an ever-evolving media landscape.

FEATURE 12 POWER PLAYS

A look at how Europe’s most prominent broadcasting groups are taking on the threat from well-funded global streamers.

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Toy Boy

Atresmedia Televisión Toy Boy / Presumed Guilty / The Secret of Old Bridge A thriller laced with luxury, power and eroticism, Toy Boy is part of Atresmedia Televisión’s “Series Atresmedia” offering. The story centers on a stripper who wakes up on a boat in the middle of the ocean with the beheaded body of their lover’s husband on deck. Also part of the Series Atresmedia slate is Presumed Guilty, which allows the audience to try to solve the mystery behind a woman’s disappearance alongside her boyfriend who is seeking the truth. The company is also presenting the telenovela The Secret of Old Bridge, which has more than 2,000 episodes.

“It is a confirmed success in Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe,” says Diana Borbón, sales manager at Atresmedia Televisión. She adds that each of these titles has three essential elements: “sympathy, suspense and surprise.”

“Series Atresmedia is a leader in Spanish fiction going global.”

—Diana Borbón

Audiovisual from Spain Dangerous Moms / Toy Boy / Masai Mara. Battle for Life More than 30 exhibitors are heading to MIPCOM under the Audiovisual from Spain banner, with hundreds of new hours of series, movies, entertainment formats, animated programs, documentaries and various TV services to offer.

Among the main Spanish titles for the market is Dangerous Moms, one of the first series sold by Mediterráneo Audiovisual, the newly integrated sales and production operation of Mediaset España. Another brand-new title is Toy Boy, produced by Plano a Plano and distributed by Atresmedia Televisión. Regarding documentaries, Wild Stories is presenting the 4K doc Masai Mara. Battle for Life.

“Buyers are convinced of the ability of Spanish content to attract audiences,” says Pablo Conde, cultural industries director at ICEX Spain Trade & Investment.

Dangerous Moms

“Spanish fiction and drama series are really hot properties now because they have proven the undeniable talent and expertise of our scriptwriters and producers.”

—Pablo Conde

Water Mirror

Eccho Rights Heart & Soul / Honour / Water Mirror On the heels of signing a deal with SIC, Eccho Rights is bringing to MIPCOM the Portuguese broadcaster’s ongoing drama Heart & Soul, which is about a mother’s attempt to return to her old life 20 years after being forced to abandon her daughter. Also from SIC, Water Mirror is a series about a woman who embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about a past she doesn’t remember. In the Swedish crime thriller Honour, lawyers who usually represent the victims find themselves defending a murderer to save their own skin. Fredrik af Malmborg, Eccho Rights’ managing director, says, “Visually, the show is more colorful than we are used to from Scandinavian drama, and there is humor among serious contemporary topics that are easily relatable for audiences.”

“We are proud to have the chance to work with producers from a wide range of countries.”

—Fredrik af Malmborg

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The Mediapro Studio The Head / The Paradise / The Dinner of a Lifetime The Head, a thriller from The Mediapro Studio set in Antarctica, explores the dark sides of people’s personalities that confinement and isolation bring to light. Produced in association with Hulu Japan and HBO Asia, the series boasts an international cast. Also on the slate is The Paradise, billed as the first co-production between Spain and Finland.

The series follows as police from both countries have to work together to solve a murder case that is terrifying the Finnish community that lives in Costa del Sol. The Dinner of a Lifetime, meanwhile, sees the three-Michelin-starred chef Quique Dacosta honor his guests with an extraordinary food experience inspired by their lives. The guests include six celebrities, among them Spanish Grammy-winning singer Alejandro Sanz.

The Paradise

Enrico Piaggio

Rai Com Il Commissario Ricciardi / Enrico Piaggio / Meraviglie 2 Based on the successful novels by Maurizio de Giovanni, Il Commissario Ricciardi is a lead project that Rai Com will be speaking to buyers about. It is set in the 1930s on the streets of Naples, where a young detective refuses to leave a case unsolved. Thanks to a special gift, he can see the ghosts of those who have been murdered and hear their last thoughts.

David Bogi, the head of international distribution and business development at Rai Com, says the show is a combination of the crime, mystery and supernatural genres “for a solid and engaging story.” The story of the man who gave rise to the famed Vespa scooter is explored in the movie Enrico Piaggio.

The slate is capped off by Meraviglie 2. “The international version is already distributed in over 40 countries, and it finally has a second season with six further episodes,” says Bogi.

“We focus on having a diversity of genres that have broad international appeal.”

—David Bogi

RTVE Malaka / Promises of Sand / Central Market Malaka, a crime thriller from RTVE, centers on two events: the disappearance of the daughter of a prominent entrepreneur and the emergence of a new drug that threatens to upset the existing balance between two rival gangs. Meanwhile, Promises of Sand sees the protagonist, a naïve volunteer at an NGO in Libya, discover the dark side of humanity in a refugee camp where not everyone’s intentions are pure.

Rounding out RTVE’s slate is Central Market, which offers “a slice of life itself, seen through the personal, romantic and working relationships between the people who live and work in a market in a major city,” says María-Jesus Pérez, RTVE’s international sales director. All of these titles, she says, “speak about real people and universal feelings that touch all of us.”

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Malaka

“Malaka is, first and foremost, the story of its characters—sometimes contradictory, sometimes sincere, with both good and bad sides.”

—María-Jesus Pérez

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Gilles Pélisson

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TF1 Group T

F1 remains the leading commercial broadcast group in France, but as with its counterparts elsewhere in the world, content production and ownership have become paramount. Beginning with its acquisition of Newen, TF1 Group has expanded its footprint of production companies in Europe and, most recently, in Canada. Gilles Pélisson, chairman and CEO of TF1 Group, tells TV Europe about how the company is well positioned to grow and compete in an ever-changing media landscape.

TV EUROPE: What programming strategies have led to TF1’s strong performance?

PÉLISSON: We are strong believers, especially as a historical market leader, that content is king and we should provide our audience with unique experiences that we can renew and regenerate through the years. So, we offer a combination of programs that our viewers know and like, which are rendezvous, appointment viewing, and novelties that viewers will discover and [be taken] to different standards in television.

Our ability to program several channels as a group is a plus.

We work on what we call a multichannel strategy, to make sure that each channel brand is well positioned and differentiated from one another. We have TF1, the admiral ship, and then we have TMC, more targeted to young adults. It’s very trendy, a little chic and fairly upscale. TFX is more for millennials and the younger generations and offers reality shows and series targeting that age group. And then TF1 Séries Films provides reruns of the best of what you may have missed on TF1. And then, of course, we have LCI—La Chaîne Info, an allnews channel, which capitalizes on the fact that TF1’s newscasts, whether at 1 p.m. or 8 p.m., are market leaders. Having an all-news channel complementing this strength is also a big plus for the credibility of our news teams, especially in today’s environment of fake news and social media and everything, which may play against the flow of regular news broadcasts.

So you should look at us as risk-takers, as a group that can anticipate trends and identify new formats. And building on this, we strive to optimize the exposure of those formats and present them to the largest audience possible.

TV EUROPE: Would you give an example of how you have taken a show and given it maximum exposure?

PÉLISSON: This may evolve over time, but let’s take as an example a miniseries. It will first air on MY TF1, our replay platform. And through the agreements we have with some operators, a couple of episodes will be made available in advance to subscribers. Then the miniseries will have its premiere on TF1. It will have a lot of replay on TF1 and MY TF1. Later, it may air on TF1 Séries Films. And we are working on how we can extend the exposure. We are working

with our colleagues and competitors from France Télévisions and M6 on an online service along the lines of Hulu, a French version called Salto. You can imagine that some of our programs will also be played on the Salto platform.

TV EUROPE: What can you tell us about Salto?

PÉLISSON: At this stage, I cannot say much, since the deal recently got authorized. We want to get as many people as we can on board for the pre-opening strategy and hopefully be able to launch in the first quarter of 2020. As you can imagine, we won’t talk about it much before it’s on the air!

TV EUROPE: What can advertisers gain from what TF1 Group offers?

PÉLISSON: First of all, we want to offer the best of French television with the power and diversification of our group. By that, I mean an advertiser’s campaign can get the largest exposure between TF1 and the other channels in the group. And depending on its target audience, an advertiser can address just about every member of the French population. Then it can also diversify its campaign on our digital replay platform, MY TF1, in a safe environment. A lot of advertisers have been very disappointed by their experiences, whether on Facebook or YouTube, [given their concerns with] brand safety. [We can also provide] independent measurement of the audience and the performance of a campaign. Advertisers are much more demanding in today’s world, and we can offer both unique content and a very safe environment. We can provide data and analysis about who is going to watch a program. And advertisers can adapt their campaigns and position them for the attributes of the audience that is going to watch it.

Then, about two years ago, we complemented our linear offerings with the acquisition of a fairly diversified digital group. It has some major verticals which are centered around a major brand called aufeminin, which we bought from Axel Springer. It is the leading portal for women and provides all areas of interest for women. It has been up and running for some 15 years and has a vast audience in France and several other countries in Europe. In addition, we acquired marmiton, the largest cooking site in France. With 17 million app downloads, marmiton offers a large and significant audience for advertisers interested in home cooking and food content. We then acquired Doctissimo from Lagardère. Doctissimo is not only about doctors but also well-being and health-related issues people care about these days. These are a few of the verticals we have, and L’Oréal or LVMH or large consumer-goods companies favor them. They say, We enjoyed being able to advertise with

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By Anna Carugati

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TF1 and Netflix cofinanced the big-budget period drama Le Bazar de la Charité.

your linear TV channels, but you bring us additional opportunities through these digital channels.

TV EUROPE: Is there still a role for U.S. product on TF1’s channels?

PÉLISSON: Yes, very much. The Good Doctor has been performing wonderfully for us, with more than a 45-percent market share among women younger than 50. We had up to 7.9 million viewers, which for France, with a population of 66 million, is amazing. Lethal Weapon is still doing well. Manifest did very well last year. We are in the second season of S.W.A.T. Then we did the miniseries The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, which was the adaptation of a best seller about an American professor on the East Coast. We have bought New Amsterdam, and the new season of The Good Doctor will be on air soon.

Hospital dramas are still working very well. I would say it’s true that U.S. series are maybe less powerful than they used to be, but the few that we have been able to keep and nurture are doing very well for us.

TV EUROPE: Newen has been broadening its footprint.

What has been the strategy behind the investments in these production companies?

PÉLISSON: Today, owning a studio and production house makes a lot of sense, especially at a time when all over the world, and this is thanks to Netflix, people are more and more used to watching content that didn’t originate in their own country. Newen had a strong base in France.

They produce a lot of original content for Canal+, France Télévisions, M6 and ARTE. First of all, we managed to make them work for TF1, too, because we were not a very big client of theirs. Now Newen is producing a daily soap for TF1 that airs before the 8 o’clock evening news.

And then with Bibiane Godfroid, the CEO of Newen, we embarked on acquisitions throughout Europe. [We bought] Tuvalu in the Netherlands, which has been quite successful with entertainment programming. We bought Nimbus in Denmark, and at the beginning of the year we acquired De Mensen, in Dutch-speaking Belgium, a very successful production house in both fiction and entertainment. They produce Undercover, which is running in France on Canal+, and they are selling it around the world. Over the summer, we announced the acquisition of the studio Reel One, and the deal is under the review of Canadian authorities. It specializes in TV movies, which is a popular genre, with a lot of romance, thrillers and Christmas movies shot mostly in Canada and the U.S. that sell throughout North America and Europe. Major channels in Europe use TV movies, mainly in the afternoon or late morning.

So we felt very good about being able to acquire such a company that will bring an additional highlight to Newen’s catalog.

Jean-Pierre Pernaut, Anne-Claire Coudray and Gilles Bouleau are anchors for TF1’s news broadcast, Le Journal.

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TV EUROPE: How is TF1 Group working with Netflix? On the other hand, are international streaming platforms disrupting the French market?

PÉLISSON: I always say with the American platforms, and especially Netflix, it’s a combination of mixed feelings. On the one hand, it can be our worst enemy, and sometimes Netflix likes to say they are here to replace television. On the other hand, the way Netflix [has generated interest in] international content and non-domestic content is exceptional. When I wear my producer hat, I see tremendous opportunity to export our content. You should always look at it both ways. So the way we see it from the broadcasting standpoint is, How can we cooperate with platforms?

How can we produce or co-produce content in a win-win way, whereby they will provide some investment costs?

Le Bazar de la Charité is an example. TF1 will premiere the show, and it will go to Netflix after

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it has been on our replay platform for the whole linear broadcast period. As this is a fast-changing world, the relationship with Netflix is also evolving. [Netflix was] a dominant player that a few years ago may have wanted to buy everything with unlimited constraints on rights, either wanting rights for the whole world or for an unlimited amount of time, and so on. [But more recently] Netflix negotiated with us and got Le Bazar de la Charité for four years. We are seeing some more rational behavior as competition is coming up and the world is changing. We also have alternative buyers for our product as a producer. It’s good for TF1 as a channel to be able to partner on such deals because it lowers the cost of our production. As a producer, Newen has been able to produce with Netflix in the Netherlands through Tuvalu. We have been able to produce for Amazon. And we see some shows, like The Mantis [La Mante], starring Carole Bouquet, a former James Bond girl, running on TF1 first as a miniseries and then having international exposure on Netflix. So it is a new evolving model, but a very interesting model.

TV EUROPE: French broadcasters are required to invest in programming and film, and as French companies, they are required to pay taxes. Do you feel international platforms present in France should have the same obligations?

PÉLISSON: Yes, we do. It’s the whole idea about GAFA [Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple] being taxed on turnover in France, and not necessarily just an optimized corporation tax. In most countries in Europe, the two dominant players, Facebook and YouTube, capture close to 100 percent of the growth in digital advertising budgets, while most of the local digital players are limited to a very tiny piece of the pie. We believe it is time for

the government to enforce some participation and tax contribution [on digital companies] so that there is financing for local content. The whole idea is to have a more balanced game between the domestic players, who are under such historical obligations of financing content, and the new players, who use content in a publisher or an aggregator model. Even though they are not based in France, these digital companies should also participate, since they have millions of subscribers in the country and are taking a large share of the consumer’s attention and data. As Netflix is not participating in the funding of local French content, when a French consumer subscribes to Netflix, his payment doesn’t contribute to the funding of local French content.

TV EUROPE: In what areas of the group do you see prospects for growth in the next 12 to 24 months?

PÉLISSON: The way we are positioned, I like to say, as in the America’s Cup, we have moved from a 12-meter monohull sailboat to a trimaran flying over the water. They go faster and take the wind much better, however little wind there is. We have diversified our group, in one direction into production and content with Newen, and in another toward the digital world for the advertisers. [We have a better] one-to-one connection with each individual and consumer compared to what we used to be, which was a mass medium. This has transformed the group in a more balanced way and made it more capable of facing competition and challenges in the future. We have seen this recently with MY TF1, which has been completely revamped as a platform. We can now address each consumer, and not just millions of consumers, as we used to think in the television world.

Newen produces the daily soap Demain nous appartient for TF1 and has been selling the show internationally as Tomorrow Is Ours.

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BBC Studios’ Gentleman Jack.

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POWER

PLAYS

Jay Stuart finds out how Europe’s most prominent broadcasting groups are taking on the threat from well-funded global streamers.

T

he impact of the FAANGs is so enormous, you only need A for Amazon and N for Netflix to spell trouble for leading European broadcasting companies, no matter what language they speak.

In France this summer, Canal+ Group laid off about 500 employees (18 percent of the local staff) in the face of the OTT challenge. Maxime Saada, chairman of Canal+ Group, in informing employees of the job cuts, noted, “Despite the commercial repositioning with an offer at €20, we have not succeeded in stemming the fall in results.”

Just a few months later, in September, Canal+ announced a partnership with the streamer. Subscribers to the Cine/Series package will have access to the Canal+ premium channel as well as the Netflix service, all under one subscription. “This offer complements our all-round offer of first-run movies, major live sports events, world-class series, including our Créations Originales,” Saada said at the time. “It also helps us further consolidate our position as a key aggregator of content and services.”

In the U.K., Netflix is on its way to passing the combined number of Sky direct-to-home and OTT subscribers in 2019, according to Kagan’s S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Meanwhile, Sky’s new owner, Comcast Corporation, has indicated that it plans to launch another global OTT competitor, a worldwide version of Sky’s NOW TV, in 2020.

Netflix and Amazon have brought two massive new realities into the market: a tier of OTT with the scale to produce a large volume of original content that can compete directly with established broadcasters, and a geographical spread way beyond national boundaries.

Now, broadcasters in France, the U.K. and Germany are forming alliances to create their own domestic OTT platforms.

“The broadcast and pay-TV industry is way behind and needs to play frantic catch-up,” says Ed Barton, chief analyst for the entertainment practice at Ovum. “They tried skinny SVOD bundles as their first counterattack with limited results. Their new hybrid platforms are the second effort. They need them to work.”

The new hybrid model has evolved from SVOD. Broadcasters have seen that they can add AVOD with lots of opportunity for cross-marketing and upselling.

“We’re getting close to the last-chance saloon in OTT,” Barton notes. “If the hybrid approach doesn’t work, distributors with content might just say, Put it all on Netflix and forget it.”

The rationale behind the hybrid model is to offer a national alternative to the global giants and expand the range of the

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Sky’s stand-alone NOW TV service delivers box sets of shows like Fortitude.

OTT content offer while extending powerful domestic broadcaster brands, and their advertising reach, into the digital space.

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited new OTT project is Salto in France, a joint venture of public broadcaster France Télévisions and commercial networks TF1 and M6. An SVOD offering, Salto will sit alongside the partners’ own digital services, offering exclusive premieres of content as well as original shows.

As Delphine Ernotte Cunci, the CEO of France Télévisions, has described it, “Salto will be able to respond to the challenge of global platforms by offering a high-quality service to all our audiences and showcasing the best of the French and European creative industries.”

Salto has been slow to get off the ground. Announced a year ago, the project has been bogged down by intense regulatory scrutiny. In March, after a six-month delay, the European Commission sent it back to French regulators for a decision. In August, Salto finally received the green light, with the launch slated for 2020.

Significantly, the Salto project has not prevented TF1 from partnering with Netflix to pre-finance a big eight-part drama, Le Bazar de la Charité.

“Broadcasting is highly regulated, OTT is not,” observes Peter MacAvock, the head of distribution, platforms and services for the European Broadcasting Union and chairman of the steering board of the DVB Project. “People might think any regulatory advantage for broadcasters in OTT might be about putting limits on the likes of Netflix, but it’s just the opposite. It’s about freeing the broadcasters up. We need to update the regulatory regime for OTT. Ironically it has been easier for European broadcasters to go into a venture for the global market rather than in their own countries.”

BRITISH UNITY BritBox, a partnership of ITV and BBC, is scheduled to launch in the U.K. before the end of 2019 (a decade after regulators blocked a project for BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to create a joint streaming service). An SVOD platform, BritBox will provide British content in three ways: the partners will put their archives on BritBox, they will put

their new shows on once they have been broadcast and available on their respective catch-up platforms, and they will create original BritBox content.

“Our instinct and research among consumers show there is an appetite for a distinctly British OTT,” says Paul Moore, group corporate affairs and communications director at ITV. “We’re talking about something complementary and in addition to the existing OTT offer. We recognize that streaming has opened up a new way to access content for a relatively low amount and that consumers want to watch what they want, when they want.

What does not exist is something distinctively British.

We love American content. But we like our own, too.”

BEYOND THE ALGORITHM Curation will play a big part in the BritBox offer. “It’s not just about algorithms,” Moore says. “We will have those, of course.

We have a late-mover advantage in this respect. We will be comparable to Netflix in functionality. But we can offer recommendations that are more authentic and human.”

There are questions about BritBox’s viability in an already crowded landscape. “There is certainly room in the market for new players,” says Courtney Williams, the head of partnerships at Parrot Analytics. “But if you are simply thinking that, Hey, I’ve been making content that has been successful in my market for a long time, so I can compete successfully, that’s not enough. Demand for programming on digital is not the same as viewing preferences for programs on linear, where viewers are already watching TV and have a limited range of choices. It’s not a matter of, Do you prefer white or black? You need to have a color that people actually want.

You are competing with a whole world of options, including doing something else.”

And the “color” OTT customers want is usually original and exclusive.

A new hybrid competitor, Joyn, is already up and running in Germany with original content being produced.

Available since June, Joyn is a 50-50 joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Discovery, Inc., with more than 50 free TV channels available as live streams and a media library. Joyn is showing the third season of the hit local series

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Viaplay is on board for a second season of its original series The Lawyer, which is distributed by STUDIOCANAL.

jerks., with exclusive and free access to two episodes well ahead of the TV broadcast.

“What we’ve learned from our users so far is that they are keen on watching local originals,” says Alexandar Vassilev, Joyn CEO and managing director. “The success of jerks., which is one of the most authentic local productions in Germany, convinced us they crave relevant content. So local production will be a strong investment focus for Joyn.”

The dramedy Lice Mother (Die Läusemutter) and originals such as Singles’ Diaries and Technically Single were available at launch. Joyn has a well-filled production pipeline that also includes 23 Morde, Check Check and Frau Jordan stellt gleich.

A Joyn Premium tier is slated for a winter debut.

SCANDI EDGE

ever drama productions and has been a huge hit on Viaplay since premiering in April.

“In the main, we use partnerships to tell the very biggest stories. We work with Atrium TV, a global commissioning club with the potential to become a new model for creating premium drama.”

Atrium TV’s other Western European partners include Deutsche Telekom, BT in the U.K., Orange in France and Movistar+ in Spain.

“We see working together as a way to stay unique,” Mejlhede says. “In Q2 of this year, the number of Viaplay customers increased by 65,000 to represent 60 percent of NENT Group’s total subscriber base. I think the most interesting thing is how much growth is still available. There are around 12 million households in the Nordic region, but only 50 percent subscribe to a streaming service today.”

In the Netherlands, NPO, RTL Nederland and Talpa TV teamed up to launch the OTT platform NLZIET five years ago.

“The business model is straightforward,” says Niels Baas, managing director of the venture. “We collect all the revenues and we distribute money to the partners based on the viewing share of their channel. If public TV has a 30-percent share, they get 30 percent of total revenues. The whole model depends on scale. For it to make sense for a channel, they have to be sure of getting some viewing share. If you are small, you won’t get enough share, so you won’t put your content on.”

Plus, Baas notes, “There’s the brand issue. The Dutch market is so fragmented and competitive, our broadcasters already have a branding challenge. NLZIET actually dilutes their brands more.”

Original content is paramount in the OTT battle, Baas says.

“Having everything from the broadcast channels a year later on an SVOD basis without any advertising is nice, but it’s not

In the cutting-edge digital market of Scandinavia, Nordic Entertainment Group’s (NENT Group) Viaplay is set to premiere 20 new originals every year and is offering 50,000 hours of live sport annually.

“We’re finding that originals are a particularly effective way to establish Viaplay as the preferred local complement to global platforms,” says Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, the CEO of NENT Studios U.K. “In 2018, seven of the ten best performing new series on Viaplay were our own productions, and we’ve sold around half of our originals to broadcasting and streaming partners around the world, which confirms how attractive these stories are. They’re a big reason why Viaplay is already one of Europe’s top five streaming services—and we’re just getting started.”

Mejlhede adds, “We’re very happy to make significant investments in original content when it makes sense. Our original series Wisting with CarrieAnne Moss is one of Norway’s biggest- 23 Morde is an original on Joyn, a joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery.

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Netflix is investing in original content across Europe, including The Crown in the U.K.

strong enough. It’s too much like catch-up. For pure SVOD, you need originals.”

In the grand scheme of things, OTT is not a natural space for broadcasters, whose business for decades has been all about building channels and acquiring high-profile rights.

“The big strategic question is, What do broadcasters do in a world where you don’t need channels?” says Wim Sweldens, chief architect and co-founder of mobile applications company Kiswe, whose activities include localizing OTT content around the world for major rights owners.

STRATEGIC PIVOT “Broadcasters can struggle with OTT because they have done things in the same way for so many years and it has worked,” notes Taylor Riese, managing director for EMEA at Verizon Digital Media Services. “Pivoting is not easy. You have to decide how OTT fits with what you already do. Is it part of the broadcast operation? Is it a technology thing? It’s an adjustment.”

He sees a world where traditional television won’t have any sports, which have long been a scheduling linchpin (especially on weekends) for so many broadcasters.

“It’s easier to monetize other content that you create in the studio or license rather than one-off live programming with expensive rights attached and value that evaporates,” Riese says. “Ultimately, a lot of what will be decided in the future comes down to what the big rights owners decide about where their programming goes.”

To complicate the picture, many prominent sports rights owners have their own OTT ambitions. For example, in Spain, where RTVE, Mediaset España and Atresmedia are partners in the OTT venture LOVEStv, the national soccer league, La Liga, has already created its own subscription platform, LaLigaSportsTV. “We want people to be as close to our competition as they are to their favorite HBO show,” says Javier Tebas, president of La Liga. “In our world, the players are the stars, and we can bring their story to life through camerawork, sound and visual spectacle. It doesn’t matter what genre you are producing, the user expects the same level of quality.”

He adds, “It’s clear that younger viewers expect more than the traditional TV broadcast. The new battleground for our industry will be across multiple screens.”

SUBSCRIPTION OVERLOAD? With fragmentation intensifying, companies need to think about how all this looks to the consumer. Research shows that the number of different subscriptions a household will absorb is about four. So how many different apps will people accept? Bear in mind that they aren’t getting any volume discounts like with a channel bundle. And they have to launch a separate app every time they want to watch each OTT offer.

It can be pretty consumer-unfriendly.

“Broadcasters need to start thinking like retailers,” says Bhavesh Vaghela, the CEO of subscription management company Paywizard, whose clients include Digital UK, ITV Box Office and BT Sport. “There is sometimes a perception that the industry is going to a more content-centric model when, in reality, it is becoming customer-centric.”

Joyn is already heading that way. “While Joyn has its own brand identity, we understand ourselves as an aggregation platform housing the most entertaining content,” Vassilev says. “Our brand is never the leading element in our communication. Instead, we strive to give center stage to the content from our various partners and extend its reach to a larger audience. You could say our ambition is to create a unique entertainment destination that unites all local content providers, local originals and a massive VOD library under one roof and one delightful experience. We ultimately define our success based on user feedback, whether from active users, paid subscriptions, or positive comments we receive on social channels.”

The new collaborative hybrids will probably need long investment horizons, as well as strong management that can get partners who are used to competing with each other to pull together. The process of getting to scale will not be easy.

And remember, Netflix and Amazon (and those other FAANGs) will come out swinging. They’re not just sitting there watching new OTT competitors crank up.

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ONE-ON-ONE

he media business is nothing if not fast-changing, but its evolution is not always what executives predict it will be.

In 2006, Sumner Redstone was the chairman of National Amusements, Inc. (NAI), the controlling shareholder of Viacom, which included the CBS Corporation.

Redstone wanted to split the two companies, believing that the youth-targeting Viacom cable networks had greater potential for growth if they were separated from “old media” broadcast network CBS. Who would have imagined that CBS would become the number one broadcast network and deliver higher profits than the Viacom portfolio of channels? And who would have thought Viacom would see diminishing ratings and ad revenues due to competition from the internet and social media?

For the past few years, Shari Redstone, who succeeded her father as head of NAI, had been championing the reuniting of Viacom and CBS. She encountered strong opposition from the CBS board, led by Chairman Leslie Moonves, until Moonves was forced to leave following allegations of sexual assault.

In August, the merger was finally announced, and the deal is expected to close by the end of the year. ViacomCBS will include Paramount Pictures; the cable networks MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET; CBS; the premium cable network Showtime; the publisher Simon &

Schuster; the ad-supported streaming platform Pluto TV; and the subscription-based platforms CBS All Access and Showtime Anytime, among other assets.

ViacomCBS will also have a library of 140,000 TV episodes and 3,600 film titles, with production facilities on five continents and some 750 series ordered or in production. Its channels reach more than 4.3 billion cumulative subscribers in 180 countries.

Robert Bakish, the president and CEO of Viacom, will hold the same title at ViacomCBS. He joined Viacom in 1997 and was later appointed president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks. He expanded the portfolio of businesses outside the U.S. with Colors in India, Channel 5 in the U.K. and Telefe in Argentina. He became interim CEO in 2016 and president and CEO in 2017.

He oversaw the turnaround of Paramount and the strategy of content production by various Viacom channels and studios.

With combined revenues of more than $28 billion, ViacomCBS will still be “small” compared to competing media conglomerates, The Walt Disney Company—with its acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets—and AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

But Bakish is confident that ViacomCBS’s ability to own and distribute content across the entire media ecosystem— spanning in-house and third-party platforms, linear and streaming, free TV and pay—ensures the company’s wellbeing no matter what changes the future might hold.

ROBERT BAKISH VIACOM

By Anna Carugati

WS: What are the advantages of the merged com pany and how is it positioned to compete in today’s media landscape?

BAKISH: It’s early days, but I’m tremendously excited about ViacomCBS. If you look at the combined assets of the company, we create content and have a library that is among the largest in the world. It spans every relevant demographic genre and is truly global. More of the global programming comes from Viacom, but there are some interesting international assets in the CBS portfolio as well. So, from a content perspective, we are in a very material position. If you look at consumer demand for content and the increasing ways of accessing it, being a global leader in content production and ownership is a tremendously valuable place to be. Uniting these companies materially improves our hand versus either of the companies independently.

We also produce value for distribution and advertising partners, including here in the U.S., through the content we own and produce, and through the platforms we operate. We have the number one broadcast network, CBS; the number one pay-TV family, Viacom Media Networks; and a leading premium network, Showtime.

From an asset-family perspective, we have the largest audience share in the U.S., so that makes us extremely important to distributors and advertisers alike. In the distribution space, we have about 22 percent of the primetime audience. [We have] about 11 percent of the affiliate fees, so that’s a compelling place to create more value. In the ad space, we have 22 percent of the prime-time audience across all key genres; news, sports, entertainment, kids, African American [with BET], etc. We’re in the number one position in every major demo in the U.S.: 2-plus, 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 137

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Paramount Television has emerged as a key supplier to channels and platforms in the U.S., with highlights that include Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon.

18-to-49, 25-to-54, 18-to-34, male, African American, Hispanic. If you look at the combined portfolio, beyond linear television—like Viacom’s leadership in the Advanced Marketing Solutions space, including through our Pluto TV asset—we are a principal partner for any marketer in the U.S. Whether it’s our content ownership, our ability to provide incremental value to advertising and distribution partners or our consumer products, we’re very well positioned.

WS: The combined company also has streaming services.

BAKISH: In the direct-to-consumer space, putting the companies together unites two growth strategies that were powerful in their own right and become even more powerful together. At Viacom, we have been focused principally, although not exclusively, on the free [advertiser-supported] space where we operate the largest free-TV streaming service in the U.S., Pluto TV. It went from 12 million active monthly viewers, which it had when we announced the acquisition, to 18 million

by July; that’s a 50-percent increase in roughly six months. That’s the only metric we disclose, but the consumption metric is also growing very quickly. And Pluto TV is not only about usage; it’s also about ad monetization, where we see consistent growth. It was an integral and highly valuable part of the upfront we just finished.

Viacom has put in place a fast-growth free strategy, which we said will be a $1 billion advertising business in the next couple of years.

At the same time, CBS has put in place a powerful growth strategy from a subscription or SVOD perspective. Today, Showtime and CBS All Access have 8 million subscribers.

They’ve been on a sound growth track, and

their guidance is for 25 million subscribers in the not-too-distant future. Those two strategies are working, and when you bring them together, you have a direct-to-consumer ecosystem that crosses free and pay and allows for the reinforcement and acceleration of both.

On the free side, with Pluto TV, we have a huge library to work with. Historically, the only additional CBS asset on CBS All Access was [the 24-hour news channel] CBSN, but they obviously have more product than that. And we can use Pluto TV as a funnel for traffic. We can upsell them subscriptions to various products, whether it’s CBS or Showtime or Noggin, which is a Viacom product. And if people choose to take a pause in their subscription—which is very common in the SVOD space—instead of having them churn out, we can retain value by keeping them in the free space with Pluto TV and upsell to them again later.

For those three reasons—content, partnerships and emerging platforms—the combination of Viacom and CBS is tremendously valuable.

WS: So much attention is being given to streaming services. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t believe the days of linear channels are over. How have your teams been keeping the linear brands relevant?

BAKISH: First of all, let me say I wholeheartedly agree with you that linear television remains a vital part of the consumer experience and a vital part of [Viacom’s marketing] solutions. I believe linear TV will be around for a long time to come in various forms: broadcast, basic pay, premium pay, etc. Viacom plays principally in the basic pay-TV arena in the U.S. and around the world. We do have broadcast assets like 138 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Channel 5 in the U.K., but I’m pleased with all the work we have done with our brands. MTV held its VMAs, the Video Music Awards, in August, and the show was a tremendous success. The ratings in the 18-plus demographic were flat year to year. We had some growth among older individuals. We saw high singledigit growth in share. In nonlinear consumption around the VMAs, there were close to 300 million social media streams, which was up about 85 percent. A really interesting fact is that if you look at iTunes’ top five tracks around the day of the show, they were five tracks from the VMAs. That says to me that the world is paying attention to MTV. It was also extremely successful to us from a business perspective. I’m very pleased with where MTV is; it’s a powerhouse in unscripted reality programming.

Among our other brands, Comedy Central continues to do quite well. In our fiscal third quarter, which ended on June 30, it closed its ninth straight quarter of share growth.

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone with Kevin Costner was cable’s most-watched series for the summer. It helped drive Paramount to its third straight quarter of share growth. We’ve been doing a lot of work on Nickelodeon since we changed management. One of their new shows, Ryan’s Mystery Playdate, is the number one preschool show on television. They’ve got a great pipeline of new content coming over the next few months. I’m not happy with where Nick is yet, but I’m very happy with how it’s tracking and what’s to come.

Outside the U.S., our biggest services, Channel 5 in the U.K. and Telefe in Argentina, are both doing very well from an audience perspective. They have some macroeconomic challenges in those two countries, but the consumer clearly continues to connect with that

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linear programming. Telefe has been the number one network in Argentina for 19 straight months, which is awesome. And Channel 5 has had its fourth straight quarter of growth in audience share.

So linear TV is alive and well at our company and continues to have runway ahead of it. And in terms of its value to advertisers, all you need to do is look at the recent upfront to see how valuable advertisers find that product.

WS: Internationally, in what geographic regions are you seeing the most potential for growth?

BAKISH: When we look at our international portfolio, we have an objective of growing not just in a few places, but everywhere. In the third fiscal quarter, on a constant currency basis, our international networks group delivered 9-percent growth in advertising revenue. That was enabled by growth in the U.K., Argentina and, in aggregate, everywhere else. These markets outside the U.S. continue to have current growth and future growth. So it’s not a story of one market or another; internationally, there is broad opportunity. That is driven partly by lower multichannel penetration in some places and partly by middle-class expansion. We are also participating in increasing access to content. We pushed [for content on] mobile outside the U.S. I remember going to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona some six years ago, which was definitely early. But because we

Paramount Pictures’ Rocketman, about Elton John, was released to critical acclaim this year. thought about [mobile] early, it’s an area where we continue to make a lot of progress. We just announced more mobile deals in international in the last quarter. International remains a very significant growth opportunity and, again, back to your first question, one of the appeals of the Viacom/CBS transaction is that we can take advantage of Viacom’s operating position outside the U.S. and add in CBS’s content ownership. CBS is mainly a sales force outside the U.S., not an operator, and we think uniting the two is another platform for significant value creation.

One of MTV’s buzziest shows this year has been the reality series The Hills: New Beginnings.

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WS: MTV, Nick and other Viacom brands are producing for third parties. Why has this been an important initiative?

BAKISH: It goes back to the uniting of two things.

First, our assets are well-suited to producing hits. They have a track record of doing that across demographics, genres and types of programming. Add to that the fact that there is significant demand for content from companies that either can’t produce by themselves or don’t have sufficient capacity to produce everything they need. Some of those companies are feeding segments of the landscape that we don’t currently reach directly. Therefore, supplying them with original programming and reaching consumers in that way is appealing from a consumer perspective and, of course, from a financial perspective.

We think this is a compelling opportunity for the company. We first saw it when we started Paramount Television at the studio and saw ownership of IP and creating stories as a way to very quickly build a sizable business. We have now broadened that approach by leveraging our domestic brands and our international assets, including Viacom International Studios, which we built out of Telefe. When we bought Telefe, it only produced for itself.

Now it’s producing close to 1,000 hours of Latin content for the world. That studio opportunity is something we believed in and we rapidly moved to serve, and we see it being a $1 billion business as we exit 2020.

We announced that Viacom International Studios is producing another series for Amazon, Ex on the Beach Brazil: Celebs in Latin America.

That’s an unscripted format we have. And there’s much more in the pipeline. More importantly, our company is not just filling demand; it’s producing hits. For example, take Paramount shows like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan; we’re about to deliver the second season to Amazon. They’ve already commissioned the

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To Catch a Thief is part of a wave of content coming out of Viacom International Studios in Latin America. third season. It’s uncommon that they will order season three before they get season two, but they did because they loved the product.

Another studio we have is Awesomeness, which we acquired. That is a rapidly growing studio serving, broadly speaking, a young female demo. We bought that right before [the studio’s] To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was released, which turned out to be a tremendous hit for Netflix, and they’ve ordered a sequel to it. Awesomeness also produced Light as a Feather for Hulu, which is a big hit for them. They recently delivered the series Trinkets for Netflix.

We’re seeing tremendous traction with the studio initiative and remain very excited about it.

WS: What was the strategy behind the turnaround at Paramount?

BAKISH: Paramount is once again occupying its role as an iconic studio in Hollywood. It had some tough times for sure, but fundamentally, I knew it could be a valuable asset on a standalone basis for Viacom and integrated into other things that Viacom was doing. We brought in new leadership and embarked on a strategy.

Jim Gianopulos and the team have delivered ten straight quarters of operating income improvement. They are getting respect for the films they are creating. Rocketman, for example, was a film people were concerned about but that the team, led by Brian Oliver and David Reid, believed in, and it turned out to be a great film. Dora and the Lost City of Gold is doing fine. It’s another way of building IP and a

franchise, and with consumer products, it’s going to be nicely profitable.

But Paramount’s upcoming slate is going to be amazing! It kicks off with the Will Smith film Gemini Man [this October]. Then it goes to Terminator: Dark Fate. I’ve seen parts of it. It’s super cool; people are going to love it! Right now, we have 16 films for fiscal ’20, and the film people are most excited about is Top Gun: Maverick, which will be released in the summer of 2020. I’m thrilled with where Paramount is and where it’s going.

WS: The big media conglomerates are putting so much effort and so many resources into streaming services. How do you see that playing out in the next two to three years?

BAKISH: It’s a topic of a lot of discussion and one that is influencing decisions people are making. Our view is that the consumer landscape is segmenting. I started talking about that at the end of 2016, when the majority of the U.S. was still subscribing to big MVPD bundles of television.

Now a segment of consumers are buying smaller bundles, some of which look like the bigger bundles, just delivered over the top— although that product is getting more expensive. Some of that on the lower end is a subset, excluding broadcast and sports. I saw the guys from Philo at the VMAs, and that business is still small but growing nicely and is bigger than what people expect. There is growth there.

Then you have the SVOD space with Netflix and others playing there. Then you have free, which is the entry point of the funnel.

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That’s what the landscape is going to look like, and people are going to move across it. I don’t know what the penetration of any of those segments is, but they are all going to exist.

Our strategy is to play across them. We want to keep a strong bundle of linear networks and ensure it has the appropriate on-demand product to go with it, so that people who operate those kinds of businesses have a compelling consumer proposition. At the same time, at the other end of the spectrum, we believe in the free space. Today, we have the number one U.S. free streaming television product, Pluto TV, and we’re focused on making that the biggest free product in the world. We will be rolling it out globally, starting with all of Latin America in early 2020. It’s already in the U.K., Germany, Austria and Switzerland, in addition to the U.S. and the U.S. Hispanic market.

On the pay side of streaming, we want to be present in three ways. First, by continuing to license bundles of product to the MVPDs, including the MVPDs distributed on mobile networks.

We were a launch partner for AT&T WatchTV, and in our AT&T deal, we recently added more product. We are the cornerstone announcement for T-Mobile’s product, which will be coming later in the year. Second, we’re supplying the SVOD players with original productions—that’s our studio model. And third, with the combined Viacom and CBS, we’ll have a portfolio of SVOD products ourselves. So we’re playing across the spectrum because that’s the way that consumers are going to operate.

And the benefit of partnerships is very real. If you look at Pluto TV, you could say it’s a B-to-C product, and you’d be right—it is. But if you look at our distribution model, we have used that as a way to expand our relationship with several MVPDs so we can work with them in the broadband-only space, which we haven’t traditionally done.

That’s almost a B-to-B-to-C opportunity using Pluto TV. Mobile carriers are another version of that. So as people talk about B-to-C and going it alone, I still fundamentally believe in the power of partnership. And that will continue to serve us well as we move forward.

WS: In today’s landscape, do you foresee ViacomCBS needing to become even bigger?

BAKISH: We just did our transformative transaction—the deal to merge with CBS. We think there is extraordinary value to create there. That is what we’re focused on at the moment. Of course, we’ll continue to look at opportunities like anybody would, but we don’t see any asset that we must buy.

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TVKIDS

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OCTOBER 2019

MIPJUNIOR & MIPCOM EDITION

Financing / Commissioners / Gender-Neutral Shows / Asian Animation / Kids Trendsetters / Nickelodeon’s Brian Robbins / Arnold Schwarzenegger Genius Brands International Special Report / Steven Universe’s Rebecca Sugar / BLE Special Report / Cyber Group’s Pierre Sissmann / Studio 100’s Hans Bourlon Zodiak Kids’ Benoit di Sabatino / Mattel’s Christopher Keenan / The Rocketeer’s Nicole Dubuc / Kidoodle.TV’s Brenda Bisner

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28 TV KIDS

CONTENTS

Long-Lasting Hits Have you heard the buzz about the upcoming reboot of Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire? If you’re not a millennial or the parent of one, then probably not. But the news that Hilary Duff is reprising her role has a lot of 20- and 30-somethings quite excited.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

I learned about it from my son, who loved the show when it aired from 2001 to 2004. Lizzie was a typical 13-year-old, navigating the challenges of middle school while dealing with her annoying younger brother and interfering mother.

Even if Lizzie didn’t openly say what she was thinking, the viewers always knew. An animated Lizzie alter-ego popped up to do the talking for her. The reboot, which will run on Disney+ next year, will see 30-year-old Lizzie living in Brooklyn, navigating millennial life. When my son excitedly told me that Lizzie was coming back, I asked him what appealed to him about the series. He said it was funny, even cheesy, but he loved that Lizzie was so genuine. Most important to him, “the show didn’t make you feel you had to be a certain way.” It offered another 13-year-old the comfort that he was OK the way he was.

Lizzie McGuire embodies several of the elements writers and producers strive to include in the shows they create. First, it had impact. The excitement over news of the reboot illustrates how much kids cared about the show when it aired.

Second, it has staying power. The viewers who enjoyed it then want to revisit it today. Third, long before empowering girls became a topic of conversation, Lizzie McGuire had a girl as the lead character.

We examine all these factors in this issue of TV Kids. We hear from buyers who want fun shows that will engage youngsters. We learn about the increasing importance of gender-neutral shows. Plus, distributors share their new financing formulas and the impact streaming services are having on business models.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who knows a thing or two about characters with long-lasting resonance, tells us about his new role as Captain Courage in Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten. Brian Robbins discusses his content strategies at Nickelodeon. Rebecca Sugar tells us about the Cartoon Network megahit Steven Universe. We also hear from a range of other production and distribution executives.

A recurring theme is the desire to offer programming that will have a beneficial influence on children, and that they will remember into their adult years.

—Anna Carugati

GET DAILY NEWS ON KIDS’ PROGRAMMING

FEATURES 78 MONEY MATTERS 88 SNIFFING OUT A HIT 98 FUN FOR ALL 108 TOONING IN TO ASIA 145 KIDS TRENDSETTERS

SPECIAL REPORTS 37 GENIUS BRANDS Interviews with Andy Heyward, Caroline Tyre and Lloyd Mintz.

109 BRAND LICENSING EUROPE Trends in the L&M business, plus an interview with Toon2Tango’s Hans Ulrich Stoef.

INTERVIEWS

130

Nickelodeon’s Brian Robbins

134

Arnold Schwarzenegger

136

Steven Universe’s Rebecca Sugar

138

Cyber Group’s Pierre Sissmann

140

Studio 100’s Hans Bourlon

142

Zodiak Kids’ Benoit di Sabatino

150

Mattel’s Christopher Keenan

154

The Rocketeer’s Nicole Dubuc

156

Kidoodle.TV’s Brenda Bisner

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Book Hungry Bears 36 TV KIDS

9 Story Distribution Clifford the Big Red Dog / Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum / Book Hungry Bears 9 Story Distribution is presenting to the marketplace Clifford the Big Red Dog, a fresh take on Scholastic’s iconic book property. The design approach has been updated, and there’s more humor and a contemporary spin on the characters, according to Alix Wiseman, 9 Story’s senior VP of distribution and acquisitions. “Emily Elizabeth, for example, has been realized as a stronger and more independent character to inspire today’s girls. And for the first time, Clifford is given his own voice and speaks to Emily Elizabeth.” The company is also showcasing Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, which features the stories of important figures in history from the perspective of when they were kids, and Book Hungry Bears, a preschool series about a group of teddy bear friends immersed in books and storytelling.

“Book Hungry Bears is an uplifting preschool series that will instill an interest in reading in its viewers.”

—Alix Wiseman

Super Monsters

41 Entertainment Super Monsters / S.M.A.S.H! / The Wrestling Academy 41 Entertainment’s Super Monsters welcomes audiences to Pitchfork Pines Preschool, where the children of the world’s famous (and not-so-famous) monsters come to learn to be the best people, and the best monsters, they can be. The action in S.M.A.S.H! takes place at a one-of-a-kind sleepaway camp, where four superhero kids and their super-powered pups are in training. Another highlight is The Wrestling Academy, which targets kids 6 to 9. “Our goal is to continue to innovate, partner with proven and strong animation entities, produce only at a high level of quality and always retain global linear and nonlinear rights,” says Kiersten Halstead, VP of creative services, development and acquisitions. “We believe that this will continue to be a steady and proven formula.”

“The animation space is strong but highly competitive.”

—Kiersten Halstead

Allspark Transformers Cyberverse / Power Rangers Beast Morphers / My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Allspark, a Hasbro company, has offerings for the marketplace that include Transformers Cyberverse, Power Rangers Beast Morphers and My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Launched in 2018, the animated Transformers Cyberverse series follows the ongoing battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons to find the Allspark. Hasbro introduced its own take on Power Rangers with Power Rangers Beast Morphers. This year, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic celebrated its 200th episode.

A My Little Pony movie is set to hit the big screen in 2021.

“Our team at Allspark develops fresh and compelling content based on select IP for global audiences,” says Nina Scales, senior VP of global content distribution. “To that end, Hasbro has become a force to be reckoned with, creating a universe unto itself.”

“Hasbro’s mission is to use immersive, cross-platform storytelling to bring our beloved brands to life for kids, fans and families.”

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic 176 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

—Nina Scales

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Deadpool. And then what can we say about Arnold Schwarzenegger, another icon who Stan thought was a real superhero himself. He was a huge fan of Arnold’s. We are finalizing a deal now with a major global media company that will serve as a co-production partner.

TV KIDS: How do you approach building a company and a brand today, given all the changes that have taken place in the market?

HEYWARD: The landscape has extended so dramatically. It’s not just three or four networks over the air. It’s not only cable networks anymore. It’s a very broad landscape where you have every emerging technology that you could imagine. We’re trying to be very focused on how kids consume media. I have an 11-year-old, and I see how she does it.

With age compression, kids are growing up much faster than they were years ago. You have to be mindful of that.

You have to be mindful of the impact of cellphones, tablets, the emergence of 5G and the way kids are getting information and data and games and everything else. So it’s a

ANDY HEYWARD

By Mansha Daswani

O

ver the course of his prolific career, Andy Heyward has produced more than 5,000 episodes of children’s entertainment. Today, as chairman and CEO of Genius Brands International, he is shepherding a slate that includes Nick Jr.’s Rainbow Rangers, Netflix’s Llama Llama and the upcoming Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He talks to TV Kids about the company’s focus on a select group of high-end, compelling properties, growth opportunities for the Genius Brands Network and delivering “Content with a Purpose.”

TV KIDS: How has the company grown in the last five years?

HEYWARD: We have Rainbow Rangers on Nickelodeon and Llama Llama on Netflix. Our own network, the Genius Brands Network, has a very broad footprint and is available in about 80 million U.S. television households on major platforms such as Comcast, Cox and Dish, and OTT channels that range from Amazon Fire and Prime to Roku.

Genius Brands is still a young company, but we’re growing rapidly. Our goal is not to have a catalog of 13,000 titles— it’s to have a select number of properties that are very successful. Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama have been picked up for second seasons, they are doing well and they have robust licensing programs attached to them. Now we’re focused on our newest launch, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten. We have a team of champions behind the creative. Stan Lee was probably the greatest and most successful creator of all time, and this was likely his last creation. We’re working with Fabian Nicieza, who co-created

dynamic and continuously evolving landscape. But, having said all of that, it still comes back to having better characters and better stories than your competition. There are only so many first-tier writers in Hollywood. You have to get the best writers, the best character development, the best story.

That’s what will drive success; it doesn’t matter what the platform is. The platforms are always going to change; if you have the right stories and characters, they’ll live on whatever platforms are out there.

TV KIDS: And the focus remains on “Content with a Purpose”?

HEYWARD: Since the beginning, our mission has been to create content that has value. It must bring forth some enrichment. For example, while Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten has plenty of action, adventure and comedy, it is also empowering and aspirational and delivers invaluable lessons, particularly about the importance of health, nutrition and exercise, which is key for Arnold.

TV KIDS: What’s the approach to finding that great storytelling talent?

HEYWARD: The first thing I ask them is, What do you read?

If they tell me they read the classics, and they understand conflict and crisis and jeopardy and stakes, I have an insight into how they’re going to be as a storyteller. If what they are reading is fluff with no real value, I’m not going to be as excited about them as writers. When I’m meeting with designers, I ask them to show me their character drawings— I want to see how they draw characters. I’m a fundamentalist in that way. Those things aren’t going to change.

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become an evergreen property. As we do the international rollout, we’ll see a real opportunity to grow the brand.

TV KIDS: I’ve heard that broadcasters are willing to share with OTT if it’s a particularly stand-out show.

TYRE: Some broadcasters are trying to lay the groundwork that they don’t want to share with Netflix, but in the bigger broadcast territories that have a significant impact on consumer products, we are finding success on windowing opportunities. Many broadcasters feel like it will still rate well either way. And having it on multiple platforms allows young children to have the opportunity to watch it when and where they want.

TV KIDS: Tell us about Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten.

TYRE: There is a tremendous amount of buzz around the series. Stan Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger are both

s senior VP of international distribution, Caroline Tyre is working to bring the company’s properties to free-to-air, pay-TV and digital platforms worldwide.

She is also, as head of Genius Brands Network, looking for additional acquisition and distribution opportunities for the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel and Baby Genius TV.

A

TV KIDS: What are the rollout plans for Rainbow Rangers?

TYRE: Nick Jr. has recently greenlit season two of Rainbow Rangers for the U.S., which we’ll be delivering shortly.

Season one is launching on Nickelodeon and Noggin in Latin America, Cartoonito in Italy and in a number of other territories. Now we’re focusing on the key Western European markets, as well as everywhere else in the world.

The show is flashy and eye-catching, which is great for preschoolers, but it also has a great message in terms of diversity and girl empowerment. There are not many female-led superhero shows. We are delighted to have Mattel as our global master toy partner, and we have about 350 SKUs for Rainbow Rangers merchandise coming to retail over the next nine months, so the brand is really starting to rev up.

TV KIDS: What’s the approach to distributing Llama Llama?

TYRE: We launched season one of Llama Llama on Netflix earlier this year to rave reviews, and a second season will be premiering this November on Netflix. Internationally, we’re just taking season one out now, and we’ll be doing some second-window sales at MIPJunior. The series is available in 20 languages. It’s such a beautiful show that truly reflects the vision behind the best-selling book franchise created by Anna Dewdney. It addresses social and emotional issues for preschoolers such as first trips to school, first friends, frustrations and fears. We feel it has all of the elements to

legends in the industry and both have such a huge fan base.

Plus, there is very little out there in the preschool space that has a superhero feel that only Stan Lee could create. It delivers adventure, comedy, positive messaging and it’s gender-neutral, which is what people are looking for. The other part that we’ve had a great response to is each episode will feature an animated Stan Lee as a cameo. We’re working on a traditional model of broadcast but also have a robust digital strategy in development. We will be debuting the series to buyers for the first time at MIPJunior.

TV KIDS: What are the plans for Genius Brands Network?

TYRE: We’re in 80 million U.S. television households, which is about 70 percent of the market, and we’re looking to grow that substantially in the coming years, both in the U.S. and internationally. In addition to fueling the pipeline with Genius Brands’ original content, we’re looking to license content that ties in with our mission to provide “Content with a Purpose,” both for Baby Genius (kids 0 to 5 preschool) and Kid Genius (kids 6 to 11).

TV KIDS: Are you pursuing a linear channel launch internationally, or is it more of a digital play?

TYRE: We are looking to continue in the OTT space. We’re on set-top boxes, mobile, AVOD, SVOD, and that’s going to remain a core part of our strategy. We’ve revamped our YouTube initiatives by producing new content and launching new brand-specific channels. We currently have Baby Genius and Kid Genius channels available on YouTube and plan to actively grow those as part of the overall network. We’ve also just launched dedicated channel strategies for Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama and will be focused on creating and delivering new content to keep the channels fresh for our fans.

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veteran of Disney Consumer Products and Hasbro, Lloyd Mintz is tasked with exposing Genius Brands’ curated portfolio of brands to licensees around the globe. The company’s senior VP and head of worldwide consumer products is in the midst of broad U.S. retail rollouts for Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama, with international campaigns in the works.

A

TV KIDS: How are you positioning Rainbow Rangers at retail in the U.S.?

MINTZ: We are in phase one of rolling products out at retail.

We’ve started with our first phase of merchandise that will then grow through September and October. The initial items are books from Macmillan in multiple retailers, including Walmart, as well as the first bicycle from Dynacraft on Walmart.com, Target.com, Kohls.com and Amazon. Many of those sales are driven online because

they take up so much floor space. The goal is that the bike sells so well this holiday season—which is the biggest selling season for bikes—that actual floor space will be allocated for Rainbow Rangers next year.

We have T-shirts coming out from Bentex in October as a direct-to-consumer program. We also have a Halloween license with Jakks Pacific and costumes will be available at Walmart, Party City and HalloweenCostumes.com. And we have a direct-to-retail program with another set of costumes going to approximately 1,600 Spirit Halloween stores. These are our most immediate rollouts with plans in place to significantly expand in 2020. We have season two of the series coming to Nick Jr. and new content coming to our Rainbow Rangers YouTube channel. Based on consumer, retailer and licensee feedback, having our content online in more snack-size, portable segments so that kids can watch on the go is one of our most important brand awareness initiatives. We’re releasing original and repurposed content three times a week on YouTube. All of these content initiatives, paired with merchandise available at retail for the first time, should create even more momentum and enthusiasm for the property.

TV KIDS: What’s the international strategy for the property?

MINTZ: We’re in deep dialog with major broadcasters in every region and country in the world. Latin America is done and the series is airing on Nickelodeon Latin America. Italy is done with Rainbow Rangers airing on Cartoonito. Consequently, we’re talking to agencies in both territories. China is underway with broadcast and consumer products coming next year. My expectation is that much of the world will be covered by the end of this year for broadcast next year. Once we have a broadcast partner, then it makes sense to have those conversations with

agencies to begin developing a merchandise program.

We’ve been flooded with inquiries from all over the world for representation of the property. But in our estimation, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have an agent before we have a media partner. We’re putting that step first, and we expect that as those broadcast partners are on board, the agencies for those respective territories will follow fairly quickly thereafter. That’s the plan.

TV KIDS: Where are you on the Llama Llama retail rollout?

MINTZ: Our Llama Llama rollout at retail has been ongoing. The initial product is out there, and we are in mass market, bookstores, specialty and the value channels.

We’re even in grocery with a cake decorating kit. And we’re online. For instance, we have a Halloween costume on Fun.com [sister site to HalloweenCostumes.com]. We have a lot of product that is either out or coming out in the coming 6 to 12 months. We have an ongoing Llama Llama DVD series from NCircle Entertainment with more DVD collections being released throughout the rest of this year and 2020. The initial wave of two DVDs released this year has done extremely well and we think it’s going to continue to build into next year.

TV KIDS: What are your plans for the Superhero Kindergarten L&M program?

MINTZ: We are in the early stages as the company just announced the development of the series, but there are certainly conversations happening now with global partners. In fact, at least once a week I get an unsolicited inquiry from a potential licensee who has heard or read about it or saw it at Licensing Expo. We’re not getting too far out ahead of it, but it’s ongoing, and I know there is an international audience for it.

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Ameba TV

Ameba Ameba TV Ameba TV is a streaming offering dedicated exclusively to children’s content, with apps available on a variety of devices.

“Ameba TV is available on all the top-tier streaming platforms and can get great placement for your properties,” says Tony Havelka, owner and CEO of the parent company Ameba. “We are always looking to acquire completed content suitable for audiences from 2 to 10 years old.” While Ameba TV is primarily an English-language service, “we will be looking to expand our non-English library this year,” he adds. This is the first year that Ameba TV is attending MIPCOM after having been accredited by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO).

“We are looking to work with producers that are in need of a Canadian broadcaster to fulfill their CAVCO requirement to unlock CMF and venture funding,” Havelka says.

“If you want your content streamed in the U.S.A. and Canada, we can do it.”

—Tony Havelka

Animasia Studio Mighty Justice Go! / Chuck Chicken / Mighty Mechs: EnviroBots Mighty Justice Go!, on offer from Animasia Studio, is a brand-new action comedy that follows as the world’s worst villain, Bug Biker, decides to learn to be a superhero after he accidentally saves a child. Season two of Chuck Chicken sees the titular character come back stronger than ever, with more superpowers from his golden egg to take on Dr. Mingo and his henchmen Dee, Don and Dex. Mighty Mechs: EnviroBots, meanwhile, is a 3D-animated shortform series that aims to spread the message of caring for the environment to viewers ages 6 to 9. “Pairing good storytelling with our strong animation team in Malaysia, the outcome will definitely satisfy international buyers’ appetite for high-quality content,” says Edmund Chan, Animasia’s managing director.

Mighty Mechs: EnviroBots

“Our ultimate goal is to produce quality shows that can entertain international audiences and hopefully, in some ways, inspire them to do positive things.”

—Edmund Chan

Jenny

Attraction Distribution Jenny / Pat & Mat / Family Movies For MIPCOM, Attraction Distribution is promoting its children’s and family content under its newly minted “a+ kids” label. Highlights from the slate include Jenny, about a young girl whose life changes overnight when she is diagnosed with leukemia. A number of broadcasters are already on board, and the remake rights have been sold in Slovakia.

“One of our goals at MIPCOM is to find more remake producers, including for an English remake,” says Xiaojuan Zhou, president of Attraction Distribution and executive producer of Attraction Kids. The company’s catalog also has the slapstick comedy Pat & Mat, based on a beloved Czech animation brand, along with a collection of family movies.

There are about 150 family films in the portfolio, most of which are live action.

“The series Jenny is realistic and heartwarming.”

—Xiaojuan Zhou 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 185

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Australian Children’s Television Foundation The Inbestigators / Hardball / Little J & Big Cuz A Netflix Original, The Inbestigators is a live-action comedy about four children who form a detective agency and solve one mystery after another. Australian Children’s Television Foundation is offering the first two seasons for international sales, with broadcast available in August 2021. The company will be screening episodes of Hardball, a live-action series for 7- to 10-year-olds, at MIPJunior for the first time. “While traversing the highs and lows of pre-teen life, Hardball explores themes of family, multiculturalism and acceptance,” says Tim Hegarty, international sales manager. Buyers can also view episodes of the animated series Little J & Big Cuz, which follows the adventures of a couple of Indigenous Australian kids living in the outback with their Nanna and Old Dog.

The Inbestigators

“These stories deliver messages of inclusion, acceptance, friendship and togetherness with natural ease.”

—Tim Hegarty Wonder Woollies

Bejuba! Entertainment Chicken Big / Wonder Woollies / Wishfart Bejuba! Entertainment is looking to secure presales and coproduction partners for Chicken Big, Wonder Woollies and Flora of the Forest at the market. “Chicken Big is comedy, comedy, comedy,” says Tatiana Kober, Bejuba!’s president.

“Wonder Woollies is delightful,” she adds. “It’s targeted for preschoolers with an emphasis on both the older and the younger ones in this demographic.” With regard to its completed series, Bejuba! is building on the success of season one of Wishfart by closing the financing and starting preproduction on season two of the comedy, aimed at ages 6 and up. Kober also cites among her MIPCOM goals sales for the new preschool series Cutie Pugs, Lil Astronaut and I’m a Dino. “Like any great boutique, we’ve got lots of unique pieces of content,” says Kober.

“We’re working with strong creators the world over.”

—Tatiana Kober

Beyond Distribution Motown Magic / Dumbotz / Quimbo’s Quest Beyond Distribution is shining the spotlight on the animated series Motown Magic in Cannes. Commissioned by Netflix, the show centers on music, magic and the power of one’s imagination, following along as 8-year-old Ben uses a magical paintbrush to bring the street art decorating his city to life. “The series features new renditions of songs from the world’s most popular music catalog—Motown!” says Munia Kanna-Konsek, Beyond Distribution’s head of sales. Dumbotz, aimed at children aged 6 and over, depicts a world populated entirely by robots that sees the local mayor call upon the eponymous Dumbotz to save their world. A kid who doesn’t look like any other human or animal embarks on a journey to learn who and what he is in Quimbo’s Quest.

Dumbotz

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“These series all feature high production values and embrace international themes with really eye-catching animation and lovable characters.”

—Munia Kanna-Konsek

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© 2018 MOUSE PRINTS PRESS B.V V. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TREASURE TREKKERS AND ALL RELATED TITLES, LOGOS AND CHARACTERS ARE TRADEMARKS O OF MOUSE PRINTS PRESS B.V.

SEE US AT MIPCOM M R7.D18

Inspired by the awardd win nning book series Maurice’s Valises by acclaimed author and photographer J.S. Friiedman.

Oscar-nominee Director Thierry Marchand (Oktapodi) Executive Producer Agust Ingason (formerly LazyTown Entertainment) Multi-award winning writing team led

by Andy Yerkes Music by award-winning Hollywood movie composer Atli Orv O arsson

www.treasuretrekk kers.co

cakeentertainment.com

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BLAST Inc. BLADER / Jumbo Monster GOMERA / Maison de Castle Leading BLAST Inc.’s kids’ content slate is BLADER, a liveaction show aimed at the 3- to 16-year-old set that features a robot hero and a new enemy character for every episode.

“Japan’s top creative minds assembled for the show,” says Junya Okabe, BLAST Inc.’s CEO, who adds that the show easily transitions into toy merchandising and that there are pre-developed products ready to be delivered to the company’s partners. The series can also be localized for various markets with subtitles and dubbing. Additional titles on the company’s slate include the comedy Jumbo Monster GOMERA, which centers on the titular character’s trip to the human world as he tries to train to become a fullfledged monster, and Maison de Castle, a series centering on the lives of five girls sharing the same apartment.

BLADER

“Reaching new heights in the live-action hero genre, our goal is to go beyond Power Rangers.”

—Junya Okabe

CAKE Mush-Mush & the Mushables / Treasure Trekkers / Legend Quest Produced by La Cabane and Thuristar (My Knight and Me) in co-production with CAKE, Mush-Mush & the Mushables follows the adventures of the Mushable community of pocket-sized guardians of the forest. Ed Galton, CAKE’s managing director and chief commercial officer, highlights the show’s “charming characters and warmhearted and joyful stories.” Three heroic mouse-sized adventurers tasked with protecting priceless artifacts are at the center of Treasure Trekkers. The Netflix Original Legend Quest follows 12-year-old Leo and an intrepid crew of ghosts as they travel across the globe on a magical ship to defend the world against evil forces. The fantasy/adventure series is inspired by Mexican folklore and is currently available in 18 languages.

Cartoon Network

Treasure Trekkers

“Treasure Trekkers is an adventure series with universal themes of empathy and kindness at its heart.”

—Ed Galton

Apple & Onion

Infinity Train / Apple & Onion / Summer Camp Island Cartoon Network is highlighting Infinity Train, a series about a coding prodigy on a mysterious train, at MIPCOM. “Its U.S. premiere was highly anticipated by the 5 millionplus fans of the original YouTube short, and its serialized storytelling lends well to on-demand viewing,” says Humphrey Black, VP of media distribution at Turner EMEA. Also on Cartoon Network’s slate is Apple & Onion, a warm buddy comedy packed with fun, relatable characters and universal themes. “Music is also a big element of the show that really connects with today’s kid audience,” says Black. Meanwhile, Summer Camp Island, an imaginative series from the British artist Julia Pott that was introduced at MIPJunior last year, is set in a summer camp where nothing is quite as it seems.

“Cartoon Network has such a strong identity, and we are continuing to invest in creator-driven content that embodies those authentic brand values.”

—Humphrey Black 188 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Wowzu!

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Cisneros Media DinoItAll / Wowzu! / AnimalFanPedia A hybrid live-action and animated series designed for Generation Alpha, the Cisneros Media highlight DinoItAll dives into a unique and fantastical universe of dinosaurs. The liveaction series Wowzu! sees children react to wild and wacky animal behaviors through challenges, memes, dance-offs, lipsyncing and more in each episode. AnimalFanPedia is an entertaining and educational wildlife program that Cisneros Media is taking to MIPCOM. The company will also be spotlighting Dino Bites, a franchise for preschoolers with 60 one-minute episodes featuring dinosaur adventures. Referring to Cisneros Media’s kids’ content production unit, Ailing Zubizarreta, the company’s VP of creative services, says, “Mobius.Lab Kids is focusing on topics and formats that have become a fascination with the Generation Alpha audience.”

“There is a growing opportunity within the digital-native Generation Alpha, who are looking for content created using digital cues and textures.”

—Ailing Zubizarreta

Cyber Group Studios Tom Sawyer / Bananimals / Purple Turtle Cyber Group Studios is launching Tom Sawyer, a modern take on Mark Twain’s masterpiece that follows the adventures of Tom and his best friend Huck. “This is a story about freedom, happiness and growing up that I trust will deeply resonate with kids,” says Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media for Cyber Group Studios. Bananimals is a new kids’ comedy series in which hero Gordon the bull cures the village people with the help of seven-day-old chick twins. Purple Turtle is an earlypreschool series with which Cyber Group wants to “reach the hearts of very young kids with great sweetness and make them understand that kindness to others and to yourself is paramount,” says Mathieu. “This series comes with great publishing potential, with books having sold worldwide.”

Purple Turtle

Daewon Media Armored Saurus / GON An innovative live-action series for the 7- to 12-year-old set, Daewon Media’s Armored Saurus tells the story of a boy named Jin who pilots a weaponized T-Rex and teams up with the Armored Saurus squad to defend Earth from invading fully-mechanized extraterrestrial dinosaurs. Currently in post-production, the series is set for delivery early next year. “A toy expert who used to be a CEO of Sega Toys and his team have been involved in this project, and we are in discussions with a worldwide toy distributor,” says Marie Hwang, Daewon Media’s head of sales and acquisitions.

From Daewon’s library, GON is available worldwide following on successful pickups from Netflix, DreamWorks Asia, TV Tokyo, EBS in Korea, Cartoon Network Asia, TVB in Hong Kong, YoYo TV in Taiwan and more.

“We are looking to foster new relationships with clients from emerging markets at MIPCOM.”

—Marie Hwang

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GON

“Our aim is to create a very diversified and complementary offer for our clients to take to all kids worldwide.”

—Raphaelle Mathieu

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Dandelooo Stinky Dog / Shooom’s Odyssey / Hungry Bear Tales Stinky Dog, based on the Colas Gutman book collection illustrated by Marc Boutavant, is a slapstick series from Dandelooo’s catalog that features the smelly pup and his best friend Flatty Cat. The comedic duo lives in a trash can and battles it out with the hypocrites and thieves, Stinky Dog’s clumsiness a weapon unto itself. A preschool special about a baby owl, Shooom’s Odyssey follows the titular creature as she seeks out an unsuspecting mother figure after a storm throws her from her nest. Hungry Bear Tales centers on an ursine pair whose affinity for sweet treats gets them into trouble. “We believe in new creative visions and book-based successes that will touch children’s hearts and which we hope will become tomorrow’s great brands,” says Emmanuèle Pétry Sirvin, a partner at Dandelooo.

Hungry Bear Tales

“Based on our vast and many years of experience, we understand broadcasters’ needs.”

—Emmanuèle Pétry Sirvin

DHX Media Malory Towers / Springboard / Chip & Potato DHX Media has become WildBrain and is at the market exhibiting Malory Towers, based on Enid Blyton’s book series of the same name. The live-action show follows 12-year-old Darrell Rivers at her all-girls’ boarding school in the 1940s on the cliffs of the Cornish coast. Gymnast Jenny Cortez is at the center of Springboard, which sees her strive to make her athletic dreams come true as she navigates school in the new town where her family has opened up its own gymnastics club. “There are considerable appetite and demand from broadcasters for distinctive tween live-action, and both shows underscore our commitment to the genre,” says Josh Scherba, president. The 2D-animated preschool series Chip & Potato trails the kindergarten adventures of the titular 4-year-old pug and her secret mouse pal who everyone believes is a spud.

Malory Towers

“We are ready to hit the ground running with a strong, diverse slate of fresh new content and a new CEO, Eric Ellenbogen, at the helm.”

—Josh Scherba

DQ Entertainment Toadlly Awesome / The Psammy Show / The Jungle Book Young viewers can follow the adventures of a racecardriving, skydiving, yodeling and extreme mini-golfing hyperactive toad and his two best friends, Mole and Ratty, in Toadlly Awesome. Aimed at kids 6 to 9, the show is a lead offering from DQ Entertainment. The company is also presenting The Psammy Show, centered on five children who unearth and befriend a magical sand fairy who grants them one free wish every day, and three seasons of The Jungle Book, following the jungle adventures of Mowgli.

“Our shows are based on iconic classics that have been revived, keeping their charm but making them more contemporary,” says Tapaas Chakravarti, CEO and managing director. “These shows engage and entertain not only children but the entire family.”

The Psammy Show

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“With state-of-the-art facilities, utilizing the latest production technologies, we deliver high-end animation with a lean production pipeline.”

—Tapaas Chakravarti

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Almost Never

Dynamic Television Almost Never Seasons one and two of Almost Never, a live-action series about a boy band called The Wonderland, are on Dynamic Television’s kids’ content slate at MIPCOM. “Not since The Monkees has a scripted television series launched a boy band from the small screen into the mainstream,” says Dan March, managing partner at Dynamic Television. Almost Never follows as The Wonderland is defeated in the finale of a popular talent-competition show to Girls Here First, losing out on a record deal, instant fame and their manager Sasha Small. Can they prove Sasha wrong and deliver a hit and earn success on their own? “The band uses its exploding fan base on social media to drive audiences to the show, proving a unique marketing platform to reach kids where they are most active,” says March.

“Our program strategy is quality over quantity, and with Almost Never, we believe we have the number one liveaction kids’ series in the world.”

—Dan March

Entertainment One Family & Brands Ricky Zoom / Peppa Pig / PJ Masks Launching in multiple international markets this fall, the animated preschool series Ricky Zoom leads the Entertainment One (eOne) Family & Brands slate. The show follows the titular little red rescue bike who shares his experiences with his pals Loop, Scootio and DJ, racing around the sports track, testing out new stunts at the park and zooming into adventures. “The aspiration and excitement of the action scenes are balanced with the relatability of the experiences the characters go through, which makes Ricky Zoom an entirely unique and compelling proposition in the preschool market,” says Monica Candiani, executive VP of content sales for eOne Family & Brands. Fresh content in production for PJ Masks and Peppa Pig will also be available at the market.

Peppa Pig

“Our awardwinning portfolio brings audiences high-caliber entertainment that they’ll want to watch again and again.”

—Monica Candiani

Topo Gigio

For Fun Distribution Topo Gigio Topo Gigio is the first title to be represented by For Fun Distribution, a company founded by Francesco Mozzetti, a veteran of Italy’s Mediaset. Launching in Cannes, Topo Gigio follows a mouse who lives in a house with humans and sets out on carefree and irresistible adventures alongside his best friend Zoe, Bike Bob and his country cohorts Mole, Pigeon, Bunny Twins, Turtle and Toad—otherwise known as the GTeam. “Heartfelt stories, kid-identifiable characters and the lovable Topo Gigio ensure that this series will provide wonderful memories for children worldwide,” says Mozzetti, managing director. “We’re delighted to introduce this series during MIPCOM, which, as usual, will also be an important venue to move on with further steps on other projects.”

“For Fun Distribution wants to become a point of reference for companies looking for business partners, particularly for the European market.”

—Francesco Mozzetti 194 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Bionic Max

Gaumont Animation & Family Touch the Earth / The Royal Family / Bionic Max Touch the Earth, on offer from Gaumont Animation & Family at MIPCOM, is based on the New York Times bestselling book series by Julian Lennon and Bart Davis and follows a group of kids as they travel around the world helping local children solve problems. Also based on a popular book series, The Royal Family is a comedy that follows a modern-day royal clan eager to explore everyday life. Meanwhile, Bionic Max is a buddy comedy that follows Max, the first bionic guinea pig born in a laboratory, and Jean-Claude, a social outcast at the lab. “Bionic Max is highenergy, slapstick fun, and kids will escape into the chaotic madness, laugh out loud and do what kids should do–have fun!” says Laura Laas, VP of international TV sales at Gaumont Animation & Family.

“Gaumont has a long legacy of creating the widest range of engaging and fun content for families and kids of all ages.”

—Laura Laas

Genius Brands International Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten / Rainbow Rangers / Llama Llama Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in and produces Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, a new animated action-adventure comedy series that Genius Brands International is representing. The title, created by the late Stan Lee with Fabian Nicieza (Deadpool co-creator) on writing duties, features superhero-driven stories that touch upon the importance of health, exercise, nutrition and anti-bullying.

“The series also offers a great co-viewing opportunity with parents and kids,” says Caroline Tyre, senior VP of international distribution at Genius Brands International and head of Genius Brands Network. The sophomore seasons of Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama round out Genius Brands International’s catalog, with the latter show also offering Halloween and New Year’s Eve specials.

Rainbow Rangers

“One of the great elements about Rainbow Rangers is the positive messaging and empowerment it delivers with a huge amount of diversity with the characters.”

—Caroline Tyre

Tib & Tumtum

GO-N International Simon / Zip Zip / Tib & Tumtum Leading GO-N International’s MIPCOM slate, Simon is in its third season of following a little rabbit who abounds with the energy of childhood. Also on offer is the second season of Zip Zip, which features Washington the fox, Sam the wild boar and his boar piglet sister Eugenie, and Suzie the blackbird. Another title that GO-N International is bringing to the market is Tib & Tumtum, a new comedy and adventure series that centers on the friendship between a boy and a dinosaur. The shows “introduce kids to a creative animation universe by telling engaging and fun stories with distinctive art directions,” says Eric Garnet, GO-N International co-founder. “Our productions have been broadcast around the globe in many territories, covering diverse themes and targeting audiences from preschoolers to kids—always being met with great enthusiasm.”

“We are always searching for opportunities to broaden our international visibility and to reach spectators with our stories all around the world.”

—Eric Garnet 196 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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The Bureau of Magical Things

GoldBee Heirs of the Night / Becca’s Bunch / The Bureau of Magical Things Heirs of the Night, ZDF Enterprises’ new vampire saga that has been selected for a MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening, follows a group of young vampires who need to join forces and become stronger than ever in order to survive. “With strong co-viewing potential, and a definite family appeal, it is a metaphor of Europe’s unification,” says Christophe Goldberger, managing director of GoldBee, which represents the series in select markets. Becca’s Bunch celebrates friendship and shows kids the value of aiming high, having fun and teamwork, with an inclusive outlook and accessible humor. The Bureau of Magical Things, from the creator of H2O: Just Add Water, is a tween/teen light drama that combines magic, mystery and mythology, while promoting such real-world concepts as individuality, diversity and acceptance.

“Our programs are created for A-list partners by outstanding producers with a fantastic track record.”

—Christophe Goldberger

Green Gold Animation Mighty Little Bheem / Jungle Trouble / Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka Greenlit for a third season by Netflix, Green Gold Animation’s Mighty Little Bheem follows the adventures of the titular toddler. “The first two seasons of Mighty Little Bheem have already been extremely well received across the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and other territories,” says Rajiv Chilaka, founder and CEO of Green Gold Animation. The company will also be showcasing at MIPCOM Jungle Trouble, which centers on a crew of jungle animals as they try to save their home. The show offers “a fun and lighthearted take on a universal dilemma of progress versus cost,” says Chilaka. “We believe the universality of the concept will appeal to kids globally.”

The 3D series Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka brings back the favorite character as he and his friends embark on a highstakes journey across China.

“We will be showcasing our brand-new shows during the market and will be looking forward to meeting potential partners to explore co-production opportunities.”

Jungle Trouble

—Rajiv Chilaka

Big Blue

Guru Studio Pikwik Pack / True and the Rainbow Kingdom / Big Blue Suki the hedgehog, Axel the raccoon, Tibor the hippo and Hazel the cat deliver magical packages filled with love to their town’s citizens in Guru Studio’s Pikwik Pack, which has broadcast support from Disney Junior, Hulu in the U.S. and Treehouse in Canada. “Preschoolers are going to fall in love with Pikwik Pack’s charming characters and stories packed with huge laughs, inspiring adventures and big beating hearts,” says Jonathan Abraham, VP of sales and business development at Guru. Big Blue, a new 2D-animated series on the company’s slate, follows sibling underwater adventurers Lettie and Lemo, who lead a submarine crew with a magical ocean fairy named Bacon Berry to explore and protect an ocean-covered planet.

Guru’s flagship preschool series, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, is returning to MIPCOM with a new season.

“Big Blue is currently in production, and we are now ready to find the right home for this highaction, comedy-driven show.”

—Jonathan Abraham 198 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Hoho Rights Shane the Chef / The Overcoat / Little Luke and Lucy Planting the seeds for healthy eating, Hoho Rights’ Shane the Chef encourages children to develop a better understanding of food and an interest in cooking. “The series is already performing very well on Channel 5’s Milkshake! in the U.K. with real, positive social media engagement,” says Helen Howells, joint managing director of Hoho Rights. An adaptation of a classic Russian folktale, The Overcoat is an animated short film that tells a timeless story that deals with the desire to belong and to be loved. “It’s funny, moving and utterly original, the perfect festive treat for families to enjoy together at Christmas,” says Howells. Hoho Rights will also be spotlighting at MIPCOM the new CG-animated series Little Luke and Lucy, based on the Petite Bob et Bobette books.

“Our main goal at MIPCOM is to continue to distribute the high-quality programming that we have in our catalog and increase awareness of these titles.”

Shane the Chef

—Helen Howells

ITV Studios Global Entertainment Robozuna / Thunderbirds Are Go ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s kids’ content slate includes the new animated series Robozuna, which launched on CITV in the U.K. to strong ratings. “Robozuna is a brand-new proposition that hasn’t aired on [free-to-air] TV aside from in the U.K., and it’s ready to go with 40 episodes available,” says Steve Green, executive VP of kids content and distribution. There are 78 episodes now available for the adventure hit Thunderbirds Are Go, with rights offered in multiple territories worldwide. “Thunderbirds Are Go has a heritage in several markets due to its connection to the original Thunderbirds series,” Green says. “Aside from that, the series has been made to an incredibly high and exacting standard, and it has proven extremely popular in multiple territories already.”

“We want to raise the profile of our kids’ properties and series to showcase the original and unique IP that we are extremely proud of.”

Robozuna

—Steve Green

Jetpack Distribution Emmy & Gooroo / Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed / Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty Winner at the MIPJunior International Pitch event, the Jetpack Distribution highlight Emmy & Gooroo is an animated preschool series set in a magical forest that features the timeless themes of friendship and teamwork.

Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty is an animated mash-up that has at its center Felicity—part rainbow, part butterfly, part unicorn and 100 percent kitty. The show follows along as Felicity heads off on adventures with her friends, using her newfound magical and majestic powers along the way.

Jetpack is also bringing to MIPCOM the second season of Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed. “It’s very much a global hit,” says Dominic Gardiner, CEO of Jetpack Distribution.

“There’s so much fun and mischief in the show, it’s easy to see why!”

Emmy & Gooroo

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“The preschool animation show Emmy & Gooroo is set in a magical forest, something hugely exciting and appealing for young children globally.”

—Dominic Gardiner

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Dinosaur Train

The Jim Henson Company friendZspace / Dinosaur Train / Word Party Available for the first time at MIPJunior from HIP (Henson Independent Properties), the CG-animated series friendZspace (working title) is a character-driven comedy about three funloving Earth kids who jet off into a supercluster of stars and hop from planet to planet on a mission to make friends all across the universe. “It’s a comedy about discovering common ground—even if it eludes us at first—and embracing each other’s differences,” says Claudia Scott-Hansen, The Jim Henson Company’s senior VP of global distribution. Now on its fifth season, the Emmy-nominated Dinosaur Train recently celebrated its 100th episode. Rounding out the highlights, Word Party is an early-preschool series that features four baby animals who invite the young viewers to help teach them new words and learn these new words themselves as well.

“The Jim Henson Company’s distribution team is skilled, experienced and wellconnected worldwide.”

—Claudia Scott-Hansen

Kidoodle.TV Safe Streaming Currently available in over 140 countries, Kidoodle.TV, owned

by A Parent Media Co., is a family-focused Safe Streaming channel that is committed to ensuring children have a safe alternative to stream their favorite television shows. Kidoodle.TV is looking for fresh, quality content that has a proven track record of performing well on YouTube and/or networks and is aiming to continue conversations for co-partnership opportunities.

Brenda Bisner, the company’s senior VP of content and business development, says, “The focus of 2020 is with co-partnerships for original content, and we’re well underway, as we continue to look for ways to meet the needs of digitally-native children and harness the shaping of ‘experience’ brands that are not only native to the platform, but to the time we are living in, and most importantly, for a global kids’ audience.”

“We are excited to continue growing our compelling content offering while letting kids from around the world watch their favorite shows all within our Safe Streaming environment.”

—Brenda Bisner

Konami Cross Media NY Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Konami Cross Media NY will have new episodes available in Cannes of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, the sixth Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series and the fifth main spin-off series in the franchise. In addition to having deals on Netflix, Crunchyroll and Hulu, the company plans to continue the rollout of the series on local streaming services throughout Europe. Following its recent rebrand and as the anime genre is enjoying an increase in popularity in the current age of streaming services, Konami Cross Media NY plans to close new deals to further digitalize the content and brand. In addition to highlighting the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise at the market, the company is looking to meet with potential partners to further develop such iconic Konami gaming IP as Contra, Bomberman and Frogger.

Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

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Lacey Entertainment

Kiva Can Do!

Topo Gigio / Kiva Can Do! / Dinosaur King Lacey Entertainment is introducing the animated series Topo Gigio, which draws upon the history and appeal of the classic eponymous mouse character, to English-language markets at MIPCOM. For young children, Kiva Can Do! is a Nick Jr. series that follows the adventures of a little girl with a wild imagination, her best friend Saul and her dog Angus, who she built out of shoeboxes and paper towel rolls. “With 25 different language versions available, great storytelling, a fresh animation style and proven appeal, we believe that Kiva Can Do! will enjoy newfound audiences on free TV, as well as SVOD/AVOD platforms around the world,” says Brian Lacey, the company’s president. Meanwhile, Lacey describes the classic adventure series Dinosaur King as “Pokémon meets Jurassic Park.”

“We work with creators and producers around the world to develop content that has the potential to break through in a highly competitive environment worldwide.”

—Brian Lacey

Next Level

MarVista Entertainment Next Level / Back of the Net / The Lies I Tell Myself Billed as a cross between High School Musical and Mean Girls, the MarVista Entertainment title Next Level is a dancebased musical comedy-drama starring such Gen Z talent as Chloé Lukasiak (Dance Moms), Lauren Orlando (Total Eclipse), Emily Skinner (Andi Mack) and Hayden Summerall (Chicken Girls). “It’s a great story appealing to all ages with a lot of fun, current music and amazing performances that will travel well around the globe,” says Deena Stern, MarVista Entertainment’s head of marketing, communications and acquisitions. Back of the Net, another kids’ and family feature, captures the enthusiasm among girls for world-class soccer. Dealing with social conflict and the challenges that come with dating as a teen, The Lies I Tell Myself centers on a girl trying to balance dating two boys at the same time.

“We find that young adult content appeals to a broad demographic, from younger kids who find it aspirational to families who enjoy the co-viewing opportunity.”

—Deena Stern

Mattel Barbie Vlogger / Enchantimals Tales of Everwilde / Thomas & Friends Mattel is presenting at MIPCOM the 23rd season of Thomas & Friends, which sees the classic tank engine visiting Italy and Brazil on his trips around the world.

Barbie Vlogger, meanwhile, sees the classic character and her friends share information about their lives and favorite things, and Enchantimals Tales of Everwilde— both seasons of which are available—follows as the titular characters and their animal best friends explore the fantastical land of Wonderworld. Frederic Soulie, Mattel’s senior VP of content distribution and business development, says that right now is an “exciting time” to be in the kids’ content industry, “where strong, global, well-known brands and franchises are more than ever in high demand.”

“As an IP owner, content producer and distributor, it is an exciting time to be in the industry.”

—Frederic Soulie Barbie Vlogger

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Tom and Lili

Mediatoon Distribution Sardine in Outer Space / Tom and Lili Mediatoon Distribution is bringing a pair of animated series commissioned by Canal+ to MIPCOM. Sardine in Outer Space follows the titular character and her crew in their fight against the villain Supermuscleman and his evil sidekick Dr. Krok. The show was adapted from a book series with over 1,500 pages of kids’ adventures. “The use of bright colors and short format allow young children to enter into the world of space travel,” says Jérôme Alby, Mediatoon Distribution’s managing director. Tom and Lili is also based on a series of books, and it tells the story of the eponymous characters who live in their family restaurant. “Although we frequently look to the future to discover new trends, our two featured programs this year reflect the re-creation of previously wellknown brands in publishing,” says Alby.

“With over 3,000 hours’ worth of programs in our current catalog, we cater to a range of targets, from preschool to teens and all the ages in between.”

—Jérôme Alby

MeteoHeroes

Mondo TV Group House of Talent / MeteoHeroes / Robot Trains Launched in September, Mondo TV Group’s first web series, House of Talent, is headlining the company’s slate at MIPCOM. The 260-episode teen-skewing show follows as a crew of influencers, who have a combined half a billion monthly impressions, live together in the real world. The show “has already inspired two novels (with more to come) and multi-venue fan meet and greets that have attracted over 80,000 fans since the beginning of 2019,” says Luana Perrero, Mondo’s head of content sales. Also on offer from Mondo are MeteoHeroes, which features a group of pollutionfighting kids, and Robot Trains, an animated series for the 3-to-5 set. “We’ve got a lot of exciting properties to talk about of course, but these three certainly underline the diverse appeal of the Mondo offering,” says Perrero.

“Audiences want to interact on multiple platforms and fully experience content from different angles.”

—Luana Perrero

Insectibles

One Animation Oddbods / Insectibles / Rob the Robot One Animation is presenting its flagship property Oddbods at MIPCOM. Broadcast in over 180 countries, the non-dialogue comedy follows the adventures of seven different, fun and funny friends who celebrate individuality and acceptance.

Insectibles follows as Zak and his grandfather are accidentally exposed to Gramps’ Shrinkinator and befriend genetically modified insects in pint-sized adventures. One Animation is also bringing to the market Rob the Robot, which showcases the titular intergalactic character and incorporates a developmentally appropriate curriculum for preschoolers based on in-depth educational research. The slapstick comedy Antiks, aimed at kids ages 3 to 7, rounds out the slate, following two ant siblings, Joey and Boo, as their insatiable curiosity leads them on wild adventures.

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Created by Christian Faber © 2019 Goodman Rock

Created by Damjan Mitrevski © 2019 Toon2Tango | Mondo TV | Vhouse animation

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M booth

MIPCO Visit us @ Toon2Tango

+49 171 3511436

info@toon2tango.com

P-1 M2 P-1 N1 /

toon2tango.com

(Mondo)

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Snowsnaps 68 TV KIDS

Pink Parrot Media Snowsnaps Pink Parrot Media is bringing the animated series Snowsnaps, a brand extension of the globally distributed movie Snowtime!, to MIPCOM. Available as a series of 52 5-minute episodes or 26 11-minute episodes and targeted at kids 5 to 8, Snowsnaps stars Violet, Tomas, Sami and Kiki, the first-graders from the movie who love to play outside on a cold winter’s day. “The amazing CGI texture and look will appeal to international buyers that are attracted to the comedy and adventure genre that kids crave to watch anytime and anywhere,” says Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos, Pink Parrot’s media executive.

“I am sure MIPCOM will open the doors to buyers and global streamers that are eager to embrace the series for its value and quality.”

“Snowsnaps is a series of shorts that can be programmed everywhere on traditional and/or nonlinear platforms.”

—Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos

Planeta Junior Gormiti / Power Players / Squish Power Players, which Planeta Junior is presenting at MIPCOM, premiered last month on Cartoon Network. “It is very technically innovative, as its animation style integrates images of the real world with animated characters,” says África Vázquez, Planeta Junior’s international media sales director. The company is also working on the third season of Gormiti, an animated series that follows a group of kids who have the fate of the magical land of Gorm in their hands. Meanwhile, Squish is the story of three best friends who happen to be amoebas. “It is very easy to watch but also has great lessons, as the characters, even though they are amoebas, face the same everyday problems at school as any kid in any country would,” says Vázquez.

Squish

—África Vázquez

Ryan’s Mystery Playdate

pocket.watch Ryan’s Mystery Playdate / HobbyKids Adventures / Bigby pocket.watch is a new studio serving Generation Alpha that is digital-first. “We are showing how there is a bridge from the digital-first world to the traditional linear and SVOD worlds,” says Stone Newman, chief revenue officer. “Our first success here is with Ryan, where we introduced the global consumerproducts brand Ryan’s World, making it the fastest-growing new preschool brand in the market.” The show Ryan’s Mystery Playdate features the YouTube phenomenon, known from Ryan ToysReview. “The show as is or the format easily translate across all borders and give buyers the opportunity to participate in the success of YouTube content with something built for broadcast,” Newman says. Further highlights include HobbyKids Adventures, inspired by the YouTube creator channel HobbyKidsTV, and Bigby.

“We are working very closely with our partners at all levels to invest in new co-productions that will increase our catalog.”

“The fast evolution with digital-first brands dominating the kids’ business is here; partner with pocket.watch to make that transition easy, exciting, fun and successful.”

—Stone Newman 208 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Portfolio Entertainment Hero Elementary / The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! / Addison Portfolio Entertainment is showcasing the newest addition to its catalog, Hero Elementary, which features an autistic lead character. “Cartoons have always been a fantastic medium for introducing important social issues to young audiences in a manner they can relate to, and we’re proud to have the opportunity to share this with kids around the world,” says Donnie MacIntyre, Portfolio Entertainment’s VP of sales and business development. Starring one of children’s literature’s most enduring characters, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! whisks kids away to many exotic locales—anywhere from an African jungle to outer space—to learn all about science and natural history. Addison, meanwhile, stars a young female inventor and her inquisitive pals as they work together to help their neighbors and solve mysteries in their community.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!

“We’re coming to MIPCOM this year with a robust slate of live-action and animated content for children of all ages that we can’t wait to share with the market.”

—Donnie MacIntyre

Primeworks Distribution Ejen Ali the Movie / Adiwiraku 2 / Saladin Leading Primeworks Distribution’s slate is Ejen Ali the Movie, the company’s first animated film, and “it is something we feel will resonate with an international audience for its sense of adventure,” says Lyn Nasihin, general manager. Adiwiraku 2, meanwhile, is the inspiring true story of a teacher who leads his team to win a gold medal for cricket at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

Primeworks Distribution is also highlighting Saladin, a series inspired by the life of the titular medieval statesman and warrior that chronicles a fictional period in his life as a young adventurer. “It boasts a rare combination of action and adventure with values and teachings that earned the title an International Emmy nomination under the children and young people category back in 2011,” says Nasihin.

“Our constant efforts to not only expand our business initiatives but also strive to promote Malaysian content internationally has led us to represent an interesting mix of new Malaysian content partners this MIPCOM.”

Ejen Ali the Movie

—Lyn Nasihin

Rainbow 44 Cats / Pinocchio / 2 Happy Farmers The second season of Rainbow’s preschool show 44 Cats continues to follow the adventures of four kittens who make up a musical group called The Buffycats. Also on Rainbow’s slate is Pinocchio, a brand-new CGI restyle of the world-famous Italian classic by Carlo Collodi, featuring a modern setting as the background. Also for the preschool set is the new series 2 Happy Farmers, which features educational themes such as the importance of contact with nature, playing outside, loving animals and helping each other. “At a time when no show for preschoolers introduces the wonderful world of farming to the young audience, we believe this show will turn out to be a great success,” says Andrea Graciotti, Rainbow’s head of sales, TV series, movies and co-productions.

44 Cats

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“We are working to increase our international business network, establishing partnerships with new media players while reinforcing our cooperation and friendship with current partners across the globe.”

—Andrea Graciotti

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Monty & Co

Serious Lunch Tik Tak / Monty & Co / The New Legends of Monkey Serious Lunch is set to announce the U.K. broadcaster for Monty & Co, a puppet sitcom series with episodes arranged as “mini-dramas,” at MIPCOM. Meanwhile, Tik Tak, the company’s non-dialogue series for toddlers, aims to have a calming effect on anyone who watches it and helps kids’ learning skills. “We were interested in distributing a series with strong cognitive development at its core,” said Leila Ouledcheikh, Serious Lunch’s director of global sales. Rounding out the slate highlights is Daytime Emmy winner The New Legends of Monkey, inspired by a 16th-century Chinese epic novel. “The appeal of this show for the younger and older audiences alike is escapism—a world of landscapes and structures that captures their imagination and transports them to a place that feels ancient but somehow timeless,” says Ouledcheikh.

“The puppets in Monty & Co are great quality, and the songs in each episode are fun.”

—Leila Ouledcheikh

Hilda

Silvergate Media The Octonauts / Hilda / Peter Rabbit Leading Silvergate Media’s MIPCOM slate is The Octonauts, an animated preschool series that follows a team of adventurers who explore new worlds, rescue sea creatures and protect the ocean. Also on the bill is Hilda, a 2D-animated series that follows the adventures of a fearless blue-haired girl as she travels from her home in a magical wilderness full of elves and giants to a bustling city, where she meets new friends and mysterious creatures. Silvergate has also developed the classic Peter Rabbit character into a new CGIanimated series aimed at the preschool set. “The publishing background has a global reach, so the animated series builds on a world that audiences are likely to be familiar with but updates the stories for a modern audience,” says Ron Allen, Silvergate’s executive VP of commercial.

“We’re delighted to be presenting Silvergate’s biggest production slate to date.”

—Ron Allen

Heidi

Studio 100 Media 100% Wolf—Legend of the Moonstone / Heidi / Tip the Mouse Based on the book 100% Wolf, Studio 100 Media’s new production 100% Wolf—Legend of the Moonstone tells the story of Freddy Lupin, heir to a proud family line of werewolves, who was in shock when on his 13th birthday, his first “warfing” goes awry, turning him into a poodle rather than a ferocious monster. “In addition to the series, the movie that we are producing will continue the book’s coming-of-age themes of embracing yourself, finding your place in the world and standing up for what you believe in,” says Dorian Bühr, Studio 100 Media’s head of global distribution. All three seasons of Tip the Mouse will also be on offer. “The preschool CGI series is based on a huge publishing success with over 11 million books sold worldwide and a ten-year brand presence,” says Bühr. There are 26 brand-new episodes of the Heidi CGI series as well.

“Now with four animation studios, the Studio 100 Group is creating a substantial output of series over the coming years.”

—Dorian Bühr 212 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Beyblade Burst

SUNRIGHTS Beyblade Burst SUNRIGHTS is offering at MIPCOM Beyblade Burst, the first season of which introduces viewers to Valt Aoi and his group of passionate Blader friends. Season two, Beyblade Burst Evolution, sees Valt travel to Spain after being scouted by a prestigious Spanish Bey club. In Beyblade Burst Turbo, the series’ third chapter, viewers meet Aiger Akabane, a wild child who tries to take Valt’s world champion title. Lastly, Beyblade Burst Rise, the fourth and newest installment of the ongoing adventure, follows new protagonist Dante Koryu and his partner Ace Dragon as they set off for Japan, the birthplace of Beyblade. “The series has strong themes of friendship and adventure and values such as hard work, competition, good sportsmanship and never giving up on your dream,” says Natasha Gross, SUNRIGHTS’ TV sales and licensing director.

“SUNRIGHTS has cultivated Beyblade Burst’s presence across major broadcast channels, digital streaming platforms and popular social media.”

—Natasha Gross

Zibilla

Superights That’s Joey! / Maelys’ Mysteries / Zibilla Superights is premiering the first episode of the animated comedy series That’s Joey! at MIPJunior. Based on the books by Thierry Coppée, the series follows the titular youngster as he racks up mischief and concocts zany schemes. Maelys’ Mysteries, which follows the escapades of the eponymous girl, is also based on a book series and premiering at MIPJunior. Meanwhile, from Nadasdy Films comes Zibilla, the story of a little zebra in a world where her differences make her stronger. “These three new programs cover all genders and ages, from preschoolers’ to kids’ comedy, adventures and edutainment, with two common values: friendship and kindness,” says Nathalie Pinguet, deputy managing director of sales and acquisitions at Superights.

“Superights will present many new shows this year.”

—Nathalie Pinguet

Tasty Tales of The Food Truckers

T&B Media Global Tasty Tales of The Food Truckers / FriendZspace Tasty Tales of The Food Truckers, an adventure-comedy series that follows a trio of animal pals who travel the world in their souped-up and sentient food truck to find rare ingredients to whip up exotic dishes and meet new friends, leads the MIPCOM slate of T&B Media Global.

Another adventure comedy that the company is bringing to the market is FriendZspace, a CG-animated series about human kids who explore the universe to make fast friends with alien children. Jwanwat Ahriyavraromp, founder and CEO of T&B Media Global, says that the company “seeks to bring unique and joyful entertainment to audiences worldwide by nurturing a culture of creativity and passion for excellence in all the storytellers it invests in.”

“T&B aspires to be a key player in the generation of happiness for the world.”

—Jwanwat Ahriyavraromp 214 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Agent 203

Toon2Tango Agent 203 / Hey Fuzzy Yellow / C.S.Eye Agent 203, the first of two animated properties leading Toon2Tango’s MIPCOM slate, is a coming-of-age adventure that features a strong female lead who is on a quest to save the galaxy and find her mother. The second animated offering is Hey Fuzzy Yellow, a preschool show that presents an unconventional curriculum designed to mirror the parenting values of millennials. “The revolutionary show leaves the beaten trail to take young preschool kids on a journey of laughter, education and emotion all in one show,” says Hans Ulrich Stoef, Toon2Tango’s CEO. Meanwhile, the company’s first liveaction series, C.S.Eye, tells the story of Sam, the daughter of a veterinarian who is on a mission to find out the stories behind the animals that her mother treats.

“We have the opportunity to start fresh and want to do that with amazing shows that have something extra.”

—Hans Ulrich Stoef

TV Asahi Doraemon / Shin chan / Super Shiro Two of TV Asahi’s flagship shows, Doraemon and Shin chan, have long legacies of fans and success in Japan already, with hundreds of episodes and theatrical movies produced every year. The company also has the new slapstick comedy Super Shiro, inspired by the Shin chan franchise. On the Sunday of MIPJunior, TV Asahi is hosting a breakfast session and world premiere for Super Shiro.

“While we are expecting interest from the existing Shin chan fans and partners, the show also has the very rare combination of being in the vein of Tom & Jerry and its type of action,” says Takahiro Kishimoto, head of animation in the international business department of TV Asahi. The show is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, known for his work on the Netflix series Devilman Crybaby.

Super Shiro

“Various broadcasters and platforms have already shown great interest in Super Shiro since we announced the show earlier this year.”

—Takahiro Kishimoto

Cry Babies

Zodiak Kids Percy’s Tiger Tales / Babyatrice / Cry Babies Targeting the preschool set, the Zodiak Kids series Percy’s Tiger Tales aims to show young ones that with a bit of imagination and a little help, they can overcome any difficulty. “This gorgeous show will appeal to buyers looking for a program about friendship, costume characters and positive messages,” says Delphine Dumont, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and co-production at Zodiak Kids. Further highlights from the catalog include Babyatrice, aimed at a family audience, and Cry Babies, meant for the upperpreschool demographic. For teens, there’s Flatmates, a comedic drama set in the buzzing metropolitan area of Manchester. Dumont highlights the “diverse characters and universal storytelling” as reasons she believes it will strike a chord with a broad audience.

“Cry Babies has already proven to be a huge success on YouTube and on all the platforms that have launched it.”

—Delphine Dumont 216 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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9 Story’s Charlie's Colorforms City.

Matrimonii imputat cathed Best & Bester.

Mansha Daswani talks to leading producers and distributors about how funding models are evolving.

I

f you’re an independent producer of children’s content, there is a good chance you spend a lot of time filling out paperwork. There are tax incentives to take advantage of and funds to apply for. And this is not new—kids’ content producers have long been adept at cobbling together financing from multiple sources, an effort that has intensified as both commercial and public-broadcast channels cope with budget pressures.

Meanwhile, the government-backed funding systems in many prolific kids’ markets are not offering up as much as they used to.

“In Canada, some of the funding is gone because of the changes to the regulatory system,” says Vince Commisso, cofounding partner, president and CEO of 9 Story Media Group.

“And the cost of content has gone way up! But there are many more buyers coming onto the scene, too.”

As for those new buyers, some—notably Netflix—are spending lots of money to fund shows, but that has its own set of implications for your back-end returns.

“The biggest change in the business has been the new financing from the streaming services,” observes Josh Scherba, the president of WildBrain (formerly DHX Media).

“We’ve been active with Netflix and Hulu and we’ve recently

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Mediatoon Distribution is working with the French studio Toon Factory on Sardine in Outer Space.

announced our partnership with Apple on Peanuts content.

The streamers offer different models, though, as the rights that are taken are more extensive, with the request generally being for global rights. However, the good news is that they are funding healthier budgets than we’ve ever seen in kids’ content. So they are an effective way to get shows funded but, as a result, there are fewer rights left on the table.”

IF IT AIN’T BROKE…

reflective of how the outfit generally does business. “That’s a commission by Canal+ in France,” says Emmanuèle Pétry Sirvin, partner at the company with Jean Baptiste Wéry.

“They finance 25 percent of the budget, another 25 percent is from the CNC, another quarter from local subsidies and tax credits and the last quarter is presales and sales. That is working. It’s not always easy because it is a lot of deals and contracts. That’s the traditional French model.”

Jérôme Alby, managing director at Mediatoon Distribution, also stresses the importance of the French funding system.

“We’re French, we’re Belgian and we’re European, so we’re still quite lucky to be able to get between 20 and 40 percent in subsidies,” he explains. “That can be from the state (France, Belgium) or the region, sometimes from cities. We’re still favoring, for the time being, a model in which we have one or two key commissioning channels. Let’s say one free TV and one pay, linear or nonlinear partner. That makes it easier for us to carve out the exclusivities and better optimize the windowing, to make sure we recoup our overall investment.”

Genevieve Dexter has a unique insight into funding models as CEO of both the Eye Present animation studio and the independent distribution outfit Serious Lunch. “If it’s

More on that later. First and foremost is the fact that the traditional models that have sustained kids’ producers for years do still work.

“The traditional routes are still there, including directly through being commissioned,” says Dominic Gardiner, the CEO of independent distributor Jetpack Distribution. “When you’re talking about a full 52x11-minute high-end animation that will go worldwide, financing takes a number of partners to join forces, have a common need and be able to work well together. Those routes have been well-trodden over the last 30, 40 years. There’s a lot of government intervention that is making that a little easier, whether it’s the more traditional markets like France and Canada, and now you have Singapore, Ireland and the U.K. It’s still very difficult, but everybody is trying to work together to get series made.”

Ed Galton, managing director and chief commercial officer at CAKE, notes that “tax-friendly territories,” such as the U.K., Canada, Ireland and Australia, tend to be a good starting point for landing your commissioning broadcaster, followed by doing a round of presales. “Whatever gap is left over, you would either gap-finance in return for an equity position as a minimum guarantee or find a facility that is willing to gap-finance. We’ve done that in the past by working with EIS [Enterprise Investment Scheme] companies out of the U.K. that were willing to gap-finance a small portion, say 15 percent. Or through somebody’s private-equity position as well.”

At Dandelooo in France, the model used to finance the International Emmy Award–winning Treehouse Stories is Dandelooo is co-producing Stinky Dog with fellow French studio Folivari.

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Apple has commissioned WildBrain to produce new content based on the Peanuts franchise for its upcoming streaming service.

animation, then everything goes through Eye Present, and we structure it as a co-pro, where we jointly invest in the development to get it to market. And if it’s live-action or a project that just needs distribution and a minimum guarantee, then it goes through Serious Lunch,” Dexter explains. “I’ve done lots of different models, which tend to be based on the strength of the property in different territories.”

On Best & Bester, for example, co-produced with Gigglebug Entertainment in Finland, “We are targeting worldwide pay-TV networks first, and then we will put into play a co-pro with Italy to get it over the line, together with our tax credits.” On Flix, meanwhile, which is better suited to public broadcasters, Dexter says, “We are tapping into Irish funding from broadcast [RTÉ], Screen Ireland and BAI [Broadcast Authority of Ireland] through our co-producer Aria Ungerer at Pictor Productions in Cork. We have also applied for Creative Europe MEDIA funding. All of these funds want to support classic European properties.”

Dexter relates that a different model was used for the first two seasons of Messy Goes to Okido, financed via a “specialpurpose vehicle that raised EIS funding, a BBC license fee and DHX investment. For season three, we’re looking to swap out the private-venture capital with a Chinese co-production because we want to bring in some new partners who can bring value to the brand. The series has recently been picked up by CCTV and Mango TV, in addition to Tencent, Youku, iQiyi and all the other VOD platforms.”

BETTER TOGETHER Co-production remains an essential tool, delivering both financial and creative benefits to a property. At Dandelooo, Pétry Sirvin mentions Billy the Cowboy Hamster, where “70 percent is financed out of France and 30 percent from a Belgian co-production and a German presale.”

A new approach at Dandelooo, Pétry Sirvin says, is coproducing with Eastern Europe. “It started with distribution— we found a few programs from Latvia and the Czech Republic that we are selling into France. Now we’re looking at developing a feature film with Latvia. The nice thing is Creative Europe MEDIA supports them a lot. MEDIA [funding] is difficult to get. It’s a long application process and it’s a lot of work, especially on the distribution side, but when you get it, it comes on top of the local subsidies.

In France, we’re capped to 50 percent of public money.

MEDIA [funding] comes on top.”

Pétry Sirvin adds, “The thing about the co-production model is we cannot give away more than 30 percent. We have to spend 70 percent in the French territory; otherwise, we lose the tax credit. That is an equilibrium you have to find.”

THE RIGHT MIX “Financing means finding a compromise to meet all financers’ needs as far as the editorial part is concerned,” adds Francesco Mozzetti, managing director of For Fun Distribution, the recently formed distribution division of the Italian animation production outfit For Fun Media.

“Sometimes you can accept this, sometimes [you can’t] because you risk jeopardizing the deep values the property is based on.”

On the company’s brand-new Topo Gigio, Mozzetti notes, “We have decided to rely less on third-party contributions and keep the full control of a property we believe in. Thus, we presold some rights to cover 30 percent of the budget and took the risk for the rest.”

Topo Gigio is based on a well-known brand. Brian Lacey, the president of Lacey Entertainment, which is working with For Fun on the Topo Gigio rollout, notes that a property’s origins must be considered when determining a financing plan.

“It is important to differentiate content that is fresh and original and content that has already established equity values. A model that we have enjoyed with considerable success is content that brings at least one or two markets with participating broadcast platforms. Typically, this might represent anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of a production budget. The balance is raised through a variety of methods. Third-party investors might include partners with complementary activities, such as publishing, gaming, etc.”

As to the role played by potential L&M revenues in determining financing plans, there is no clear consensus.

“That is the $6 million question,” says Jetpack’s Gardiner.

“When you’re trying to finance a series, if you’re thinking, we’ve got half the money, we’ll get the other half from licensing and merchandising—that’s a big target to try to reach.

People do take that gamble. If the licensing does pay off, and you’ve produced the show at a reasonable budget and you’ve got good distribution, yes, licensing is still extremely profitable. But it’s a small number of shows that get to that level.”

Galton says that CAKE generally doesn’t factor L&M revenues in financing models. “I’m a firm believer that there is

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For Fun is introducing the brand-new Topo Gigio this MIPCOM.

value in the IP you’re creating and the production itself. I think we lost our way in the early 2000s when that model shifted and the toy companies and some of the big entities that had valuable IP felt that television was only a platform and their main source of revenue would be the L&M marketplace. I think we’re bringing it back to some level of normalcy. The emergence of the SVOD universe has put value back into the creation of IP. There are very few IPs that make money in licensing and merchandising. When anyone comes to me and says, We’re going to make all this money on licensing and merchandising as part of the business plan, I treat it cautiously.”

Dandelooo’s Pétry Sirvin agrees, stating, “Nobody can count on merch revenue to make your company big and profitable. You could, but then you’re going downstream on the quality of what you’re doing. You’re just turning things into backpacks and shoes, and that’s not what we want to do.”

Lacey is also of the opinion that generally, you can’t “project meaningful or reasonably accurate estimates for ancillary revenues. It is simply too difficult in most cases to access production funds in advance on projected ancillary revenues, with a notable exception being content that is already well established.”

WildBrain’s Scherba observes that the extent to which L&M revenues factor into financing plans depends in part on your commissioning platform. “If you’re going door-to-door and you’re going to take less money to fund the content, you better have a commercial strategy for how you’re going to make that money back, and that has to be from your consumer-products group.”

RIGHTS AWARE Scherba references one of the biggest questions producers and distributors are facing today as global streamers up the ante on content budgets but ask for a lot in return: How do you decide whether to go with a worldwide deal or a countryby-country approach?

“It starts with identifying what your creative aspirations are for the show and what the right budget level is accordingly,” Scherba says. “From there, it’s working through the math—what is the world worth in a market-to-market strategy? We have a pretty good sense of what those numbers are.

The layer we throw on top is our international sales team

weighing in on whether they think those deals are achievable in each market. You put all of those together and you have a projection. You weigh that versus your budget, and you take an informed view.”

At Mediatoon, the approach has generally been to “maximize visibility and revenue,” says Alby. “We are open to discussions in which someone can buy out the rights of a show.

However, the model we’ve favored is one in which we’re sure to keep a very fair part of the rights and also the copyright. This way, after a period of one, two, three or four years, we can start monetizing the rights on a very large scale.”

Opting for a global first window on a streaming platform “can greatly eliminate a number of important revenue streams for producers over a long period of time, most notably exploitation on other broadcast platforms as well as full exploitation of ancillary rights,” Lacey adds.

“In general, we are not ready to live with just the executive producer’s fee—which is basically what you are left with in deals with the SVOD platforms,” says For Fun’s Mozzetti.

Jetpack’s Gardiner likens doing a global exclusive deal with a platform to “selling your house—you don’t get it back! You hand over the keys and that’s it, you move on to the next one. There are some [projects] in which you don’t want to do that. You might have an idea that you think, this is the pension, it’s the one that will be paying me forever.”

CAN WE SHARE? Even if all rights aren’t taken at the outset, it can be a challenge to distribute a show that has a streamer attached.

“Linear broadcasters are now reliant on on-demand activity to keep their relevance, especially in the kids’ space,” CAKE’s Galton says. “We have lots of rights restrictions when we’re working with Netflix and some of the other platforms. That makes it much more complicated.”

Gardiner references Jetpack’s experience on Kazoops!, an Australian preschool series. “The structure of the financing [came together] before there were a lot of wholly owned series on Netflix. It was a BBC, ABC Australia and Netflix coproduction. The rights were coming back [after the Netflix window]. We made lots of sales. But there were certain sales we thought we would get but didn’t because of the Netflix factor.”

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CAKE is co-producing Mush-Mush & the Mushables with La Cabane and Thuristar, with Boomerang on board as a partner.

Linear channels, Gardiner continues, care much more about on-demand than they used to. Pétry Sirvin at Dandelooo adds that some broadcasters are not just asking for a holdback on SVOD—they want all rights, precluding a run on a dedicated on-demand platform. “My big effort with the team is to try to decrease that. I’m saying, [holdbacks of] 24 months, maybe 18, and please let us do some SVOD deals once you’ve exploited the free-TV window at first. It’s a struggle for each property. Little by little, we’re getting there.”

RISK AND REWARD Jetpack’s Gardiner also sees attitudes changing slightly. “Even some of the big players, who can afford to pay for it all if they wish, recognize that a bit of risk-sharing and collaboration enables everyone to get what they want.”

9 Story’s Commisso reflects a similar view, stating, “There are lots of models where the SVODs are saying, We’re going to pay you a majority of the budget and we want some potential exclusivity for SVOD, but you can have other rights. And we monetize those other rights after that and then it’s a question of what your deficit is or if you de-risk during production.”

The significant investments by SVODs are also creating opportunities for distributors to represent properties that benefited from OTT involvement, as Serious Lunch is doing with The New Legends of Monkey from See-Saw Films. Netflix was among the partners on the show, “but their holdbacks against broadcast and home video are up, so we are taking it to market as a second-window proposition,” Dexter says. “We are hoping that the extremely high quality will outweigh the limitations on VOD rights. In this case, buyers can enjoy VOD rights but with a limit on the number of episodes at any one time.

Where a property is really strong, then you can get over some of these barriers.”

With all the shifts taking place in the market, the role of the distributor has also had to evolve.

“The trend I see, given the fact that you have to have different revenue streams and you have to be a real expert when

you exploit, is distributors are coming aboard much sooner now,” says Mediatoon’s Alby.

“A few years back, the distributor was just a middleman, the broker. Today and tomorrow, he has this growing role. There are fewer government incentives, fewer subsidies.

Technical expenses are climbing. Windowing is becoming tougher. And the distributor is sometimes becoming a very big investor and almost a co-producer, and at the same time, an IP manager.”

Jetpack’s Gardiner says that his company is working with producers “right across the spectrum. For some, the financing is already done, it’s not an issue. Others have private funding. We also work with people who need presales to close gaps. And we help marry broadcasters with producers and finesse the deal with editorial and give feedback and expertise if required.”

At CAKE, the strategy has been to position itself as both “a distribution business and a production business,” says Galton. “We can benefit from being producers, but then we can also benefit from placing content on platforms—linear, digital, wherever—when the opportunity arises. While others may feel exposed, we feel very positive about where we are and our position in today’s marketplace.”

Commisso at 9 Story is feeling equally bullish. “The demand for content, especially kids’ content, is only going to continue to rise. Will the funding from territories like Canada continue to support that demand while it is going up? I think the answer will be yes because there is a net benefit to doing it.”

BREXIT FEARS The question of when, and how, the U.K. will leave the EU has left some uncertainty for British animation producers.

“That’s a black cloud on the horizon,” Gardiner says. “Two years ago, people were a bit more panicky than they are today. Everybody has one eye on it. Is the storm going to arrive or pass us by? But you can’t change what you’re doing.

You have to keep doing it until the storm happens, and then people will start taking whatever actions are necessary.”

Dexter at Serious Lunch is not worried about Brexit’s impact on her distribution business. She has heard rumblings about what Brexit means for the U.K.’s co-productions with territories like France. The biggest issue she sees is access to Creative Europe MEDIA funding. “I’m hoping there will be some compensatory things happening in the U.K.,” Dexter says. “At the moment, we’re allowed a 20 percent tax credit, which was ratified by the EU. If we exit the EU without any regulations, then it is within the government’s power to increase that tax credit.

There’s new funding from the BFI for short-form animation and then we have the Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), which is for both development and production. So we have some new types of funds here that everybody is adapting their development slates to tap into.”

Adapting is the keyword, Dexter notes. “The kids’ business has always been at the forefront of imaginative fundraising because we haven’t had the luxury of anybody fully funding our programs for a very long time—although Netflix is now doing so. I’m sure we will adapt and prosper.”

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Sniffing Out a Hit Leading commissioners and buyers tell David Wood about how their content needs are evolving.

A

few years ago, a straw poll of commissioners and buyers about the growth of SVOD competition in the kids’ TV market would have elicited feelings of uncertainty and existential angst. Today, despite the turmoil created by streaming services, many now concede that the impact of deeppocketed OTT players has been beneficial.

Undeniably, it has made the kids’ marketplace a very healthy one for producers, insists Frank Dietz, Super RTL’s deputy program director and head of acquisitions and co-productions.

“If you had asked me about the economic state of the market two years ago, I would have said there was a drought. But now there is a lot of choice, and we are not having trouble finding shows,” he points out. “I see the market as a very dynamic place now. The impact of Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney+ has definitely made it a producers’ market.”

Sarah Muller, the head of independent animation and acquisitions at BBC Children’s, has no doubt about the impact of streaming services: “There is a more vibrant

production environment with many more ambitious ideas making it off the drawing board. More competition and choice are always good!”

DEMANDING TIMES Now that the SVOD market is more mature, there is also growing confidence among established players, who can now see how they might use their trusted brands to carve out a niche for themselves in the on-demand space.

“New competitors, along with new technologies and programs, have a strong impact on user behavior,” says Astrid Plenk, managing and program director of the German public-service channel KiKA. “With increasing frequency, families want to access content independent of time and location. It is for this reason that we have extended our own portfolio with the introduction of the KiKAPlayer, thus establishing a new distribution channel.”

David Levine, the VP of kids’ programming for Europe and Africa at The Walt Disney Company, argues, “It’s a really exciting time to be part of this industry. There is an increased level of demand spurring development in new areas, which has been extremely positive for the industry as a whole. As a 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 229

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comedy 101 Dalmatian Street, a reboot of classic Disney characters Chip ‘n’ Dale by Xilam and Monsters at Work from Dwarf Animation—as clear signs of a reinvigorated marketplace.

Plus, there are Disney’s existing European collaborations on shows such as Penny on M.A.R.S. (season three is now in production with 3Zero2), Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Zagtoon and Method Animation), PJ Masks from Entertainment One Family & Brands and Cyber Group Studios’ Gigantosaurus.

“It’s amazing to see what can happen when we include different voices behind the camera and on-screen,” continues Levine. “It would be great to see this become a constant, to ensure the days of being pitched something that is a pastiche or tokenistic are truly behind us. We should be able to elevate everyone’s storytelling.”

WISH LISTS Super RTL’s lineup of acquisitions includes Entertainment One’s Ricky Zoom.

result, we have seen welcome growth with new and diverse voices joining the industry, a change we are excited to see and incorporate into our projects, too.”

Levine signals that Disney’s greatest need is for animation that works for an audience of kids between the ages of 7 and 11. He is also focusing on the opportunities that Disney+ brings for expanding kids’ content. “The creative opportunities this will bring to our teams and partners are second to none,” says Levine. He points to a host of European collaborations for Disney+—including the animated

With the abundance of content being produced today, what are leading programmers looking for?

At CBBC, comedy is very high up on the most-wanted list, says Muller. “Comedy, always comedy—not just for the 6-plus audience, but also for the preschool audience, who like to laugh too. Live action that tells different stories from an alternative viewpoint around the world is of interest. We are also looking for content for 12- to 16-year-olds, which certainly includes challenging animation for an older audience and drama that pushes the boundaries.”

Diversity is critical when it comes to desired content from the networks, something that Super RTL’s Dietz

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another, it must have an element of relatability, or it needs to be aspirational.”

He cites DreamWorks’ Spirit Riding Free as a show that has a unique selling point and a touch of charm that’s relevant to today’s audience.

Plenk from KiKA singles out concepts that feature strong female characters as being in demand, as well as animation aimed at the 6-to-11 elementary school audience.

Current co-productions include Tib & Tumtum from French toon house GO-N Productions, Mystery Museum from Hahn Film and a CGI TV comeback for The Smurfs.

SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION

Silvergate Media produces The Octonauts for CBeebies in the U.K.

picks up on. For example, shows that reflect the variation in family structures evident in society today.

“We don’t look for the lookalike shows or hybrid projects that link two ideas that the market has already seen,” Dietz explains. “We are looking for original content with strong storytelling and characters and a narrative that is suitable for our audience. Ten years ago, we still did commercial half-hours. Now that’s divided into 2x11 minutes, plus we also have forms that are only 7 minutes. But whatever the format, we believe that there must be a connection between the kids and the characters—in one way or

For KiKA and other kids’ broadcasters, co-productions are key. “As an ex-producer, co-production has always been incredibly important to me, and I am very aware of the potential benefits,” says BBC Children’s Muller. “Co-pros are taken much more seriously now, with an understanding that you can dream bigger through the co-pro route.

For the right type of storytelling—fantasy, magic—the sky is the limit, and the kids’ sector is set up well to capitalize.”

To get an idea of the current co-pro focus at Boomerang, look no further than Taffy, observes Cecilia Persson, the VP of programming and content strategy for Turner EMEA kids and international acquisitions and co-productions.

“We developed and co-produced it with Cyber Group Studios, and the show is tailor-made for the channel and completely embodies the values and sensibilities of Boomerang,” says Persson. “That’s why we’re keen to get on board early and work collaboratively with production

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perhaps because of the broader scope of his networks, Gulli, Canal J and TiJi, which he says reach children from 3 to 12 years of age and their caregivers.

“We are curious about all proposals and ask only to be surprised,” Figue says. “We are looking for series that adhere to the values of our channels: good humor, tolerance and open-mindedness. Comedy is the most unifying genre on our stations, but adventure and action also play a major role. This year we will be paying particular attention to upper preschool.”

WINDOW WATCHING Portfolio’s The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! has sold widely, including to KiKA in Germany.

partners, whether it’s for a co-production or prebuy.”

This enables the content to be tailored appropriately for the Boomerang audience—a core demo of 4- to 7-yearolds—satisfying their appetite for pure slapstick comedy and entertainment with a strong visual emphasis.

In terms of most-desired content, Persson adds, “One of our current focuses for Boomerang is on the younger entry point—content that has the same genetics as our popular ‘squash and stretch’ animation, but with a softer touch.”

This is best epitomized by the CGI-animated adventure series Mush-Mush & the Mushables, developed by France’s La Cabane Productions, Belgium’s Thuristar and international kids’ entertainment specialist CAKE. Julien Figue is the deputy managing director for the youth segment at M6 Group, which recently acquired much of Lagardère’s TV division. He is less prescriptive,

In an era of rapid expansion of OTT services in the kids’ space, everybody agrees that the negotiation of rights has become a much bigger, more complex and significant process.

The marketplace is now characterized by a lot more co-operation and rights sharing, and most parties are open to negotiation.

“We generally take the first pay window but are open to being flexible on this if the opportunity is strong enough,” says Disney’s Levine.

In recent years, the development of digital services such as catch-up and SVOD has changed the way the market works, says Figue.

“For instance, the digital rights of a property are now increasingly subject to discussion and negotiation. With Gulli, we have our own digital platform and systematically ask for rights for all screens.”

Figue acknowledges that the rise of these new players in the market represents “a major challenge for us in the development of our services.” He adds, “We have learned to work with

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them. For example, our DreamWorks series (the Dragons franchise, Spirit and Trolls) have a first SVOD window on Netflix before arriving exclusively to linear on Gulli and Canal J. These series remain very high performers on our channels despite this first window. That is clear evidence of how players cooperate to get the best content on their networks.”

Figue continues, “We can also note that for our prebuying properties, we systematically have exclusivity of 12 months versus all platforms, including Netflix and Amazon.”

STANDING STRONG While there is much emphasis on the impact of on-demand services, linear is still a popular way for kids to consume content and share it with their families in many markets around the world. “Linear still has a bright future,” insists Figue.

“Gulli is more than a channel. It’s a reference brand for parents and their children and has a duty to offer them an ultra-secure and intuitive space. We have reworked our entire SVOD offer, GulliMax, to offer nearly 4,000 videos (including complete series, new episodes and exclusive content) in a space where inappropriate content can never be made available to a child. Indeed, all the highlights and recommendations are edited and worked on every day by our teams. This is what makes GulliMax different from the VOD giants such as YouTube.”

Also holding its own against the SVOD onslaught is Super RTL, which still commands a 22-plus-percent share of 3- to 13-year-olds compared to KiKA, Disney and Nickelodeon.

“We have stayed healthy because we know our audience and make certain that a wide range of relevant

content is made available to them,” Dietz reports. “We are on every platform where kids want to watch...plus we reach them through TOGGO Tour and live events. That’s pretty much our mission. The overall presentation of the channel makes it desirable to watch, and what also differentiates us from Nick and Disney is our freedom of choice. We are not a U.S. content pipeline—we choose and select what we want.”

RIGHT OF WAY With Super RTL’s subscription streaming platform, Kividoo, now established, the whole business of rights negotiation has become more complex and involves many more people, admits Dietz.

“If we invest a considerable amount of money and help build up an IP in the marketplace, we don’t like to have a secondary window exploited by an SVOD platform. If we reach a larger audience, we don’t want to share with a third party. We would like to keep it exclusive, but it would depend; every deal is different. The result is there is not a classic formula or blueprint for launching shows now. It depends on the strategy of our partners regarding consumer products, for instance.”

Established kids’ networks across Europe do have some advantages over the OTT services like Netflix and Amazon, from brand loyalty and parental approval to a considerable amount of experience in effective presentation and marketing.

“Let’s face it: kids have to find Netflix shows to watch them, which is not always the easiest task,” says Dietz. “One minute it’s out there on their premium rank of shows, then two days later it’s much harder to find.”

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Eye Present & Gigglebug’s Best & Bester.

Chelsea Regan hears from leading producers and distributors about the best approaches to delivering gender-neutral shows.

I

n 2019, it may seem surprising that developing truly gender-inclusive content—engaging shows that appeal to and excite girls as much as boys—continues to be a goal rather than a given. Programs geared primarily toward boys are still often passed off as genderneutral, with mostly one-dimensional and secondary girl characters that serve as hooks to pull girls into the audience. According to a recent Hopster report into preschool programming, titled “Is TV Making Your Child Prejudiced?” over a third of the episodes in the

Rainbow’s 44 Cats.

50 preschool shows examined perpetuated stereotypes. Boys fight. Girls are image-oriented. Boys are the protectors and the bearers of knowledge. Girls clean. Boys are powerful protagonists. Girls are undermined and objectified.

It doesn’t have to be this way, and shows like Guru Studio’s True and the Rainbow Kingdom are helping to pave the way forward. In the animated series, which is now in production on its fourth season, a girl is the protagonist, and a boy character, a cat named Bartleby, serves as that hook to reach across the gender divide. And even better, he’s not one-dimensional. In addition to teaming up

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Tatiana Kober, president of Bejuba! Entertainment, says, “It used to be that the girl would be a more of a sidekick character for [a show] to be considered gender-neutral, and the boy had to be the lead. The research in the past was always backing up that gender-neutral series still had to have a boy lead and probably a boy best friend, and then a secondary girl.” The tides did eventually start turning—with a little push from like-minded execs. “We started sneaking more girls into [shows] because we got stronger as women and there’s a lot of women in the industry, and the guys saw it, too.”

At GO-N Productions, which counts gender-neutral shows such as Simon and Zip Zip among the titles in its library, having women involved in the creation of a program is part of how the company ensures that girls feel represented and portrayed authentically on-screen. GO-N has had just as many women as men working on its productions at its Paris-based studio for the last few years.

“We try to have parity among the characters, strong characters that are equally boys and girls,” says Eric Garnet, cofounder and producer at GO-N. “The parity is very important to make sure you have gender-neutral shows. You should also have parity within your studios. I think that’s one of the ways that the industry changes.” Garnet adds that women animators are also key to more accurately drawing female characters and how they move.

WINDS OF CHANGE

41 Entertainment’s S.M.A.S.H! features a mix of boy and girl superheroes in training.

with True on her often-sidetracked missions to save the titular kingdom, he takes some time out to train with the Kittynati ninjas.

“Boys find an immediate entry point with [Bartleby] and even though the show isn’t strictly about him, he provides a lot of humor and a foil to True,” says Frank Falcone, Guru Studio’s president and executive creative director, who describes the character as one with a lot of energy and ambition in a series that’s about taking care of other people—a nice change from shows about waging destruction that conventional wisdom dictates are more appealing to boys.

During a focus group session, Falcone and the Guru team were ready and waiting for some unequivocally negative reviews from the “rough-and-tumble little boys” they’d lined up to watch a sample of True and the Rainbow Kingdom. And initially, it seemed as though their assumptions were bearing out; the first episode they screened received a lukewarm reaction. But, it did enough to get the assembled kids to agree to stay put for a second episode, which happened to center on Bartleby training to be a Kittynati. It proved to be the real litmus test for Guru.

“When that was over, we were like, Do you like the show? They were like, Yeah, this is a great show; we love this show,” says Falcone of the welcome surprise that became a teachable moment for Guru. “If you queue up the right show, it can change your perception of whether you want to watch the rest of the series. Strategically programming episodes for gender can make a difference in whether they engage in the rest of the series because they won’t be biased by one particular story.”

Would a character like True and the Rainbow Kingdom’s Bartleby have been enough to get your average boy to watch a girl-led series ten or even five years ago?

Would Bejuba!’s Wishfart pass muster for the average 5- or 6-year-old? Or GO-N’s Zip Zip with preschoolers?

Uncertain. But times have changed, kids have changed (or perhaps just the perception of their tastes) and thankfully, so has the kids’ TV industry. Diversity is winning out.

GO-N represents the gender-neutral comedy Zip Zip.

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elements within the show that have surprises or elements to engage or inspire.”

Gender-neutral shows and the strategies used to hone them are products of an industry changing with the times. “I think we’ve all grown up,” says Bohbot. “I think all of us have just caught up with the reality of the world.

Kids reflect, more than anybody else—and people don’t always recognize this—society as it is. They’re in front of it; they see it before we see it, as it may take older people more time to adjust.”

Bejuba!’s Kober—who says she was raised to believe that she could do anything, a belief she carried through to starting her own company— thinks that a show’s appeal to both boys and girls has to do not only with how characters are presented, but also with the positive external factor of an evolving culture. “You can have stronger girl characters and even lead [girl characters] if you position them properly. The boys will be [attracted] to it and they won’t be thinking, Oh, this is a girls’ show. They’ll embrace it,” says Kober, adding, “I think people have changed; society has shifted.”

GENRE SWAP

Henson Independent Properties, a division of The Jim Henson Company, represents friendZspace.

Allen Bohbot, the founder and managing director of 41 Entertainment, has found that a program’s crossgender appeal comes down to treating boys and girls as equals, whether it’s fronted by a boy or girl character. “Girls aren’t just going to watch because you put a girl in front of them; they’re not going to buy that,” says Bohbot, who believes that the industry is catching up to its young audience. “I think now people have said, OK, it doesn’t need to be all boys— because we were archaic in our thinking—it doesn’t have to just be a girl lead. It has to be a show that tries to appeal to both boys and girls and treat them the same instead of what we were doing before, which was to treat them very differently.

And that was us, the industry. That wasn’t the kids.”

WISE ONES A common thread among those making and selling kids’ content is the sense that the children are perhaps a more openminded audience than they have been given credit for.

“Stereotypes of any gender-specific stories or characters are no longer expected nor embraced by kids, if they ever were,” says Claudia Scott-Hansen, senior VP of global distribution at The Jim Henson Company. “I think that’s more of an adult perception.” What is expected and embraced by kids these days, according to Scott-Hansen, is a bit of reality. “You have the best chance with all audience demos if you have well-developed, appealing—but I like to say ‘imperfect’—characters. If you have a strong, story-driven narrative, that’s always a must. And ideally, you’d have

While some execs in the kids’ content business maintain that comedy is the genre that most appeals to both boys and girls, others are less certain. Why wouldn’t action and adventure series also reach across gender lines? What about those that dive into science and nature, music or learning?

Dinosaur Train, an educational children’s series from Henson that has paleontology and natural science at its core and is popular with both boys and girls, manages to do so because “it’s a bit of the unexpected,” says ScottHansen. “It’s a portrayal of this adoptive family, with all different kinds of kid characters and personalities and also physical abilities.”

Testing out the musical adventure series Do, Re & Mi, Gaumont learned that while boys believed the character of Mi was a boy, girls thought the character was a girl. Taking a cue from the intended audience, the studio decided to commit to leaving Mi a gender-neutral character in the truest sense. “We don’t have the other characters saying he or she,” says Terry Kalagian, senior VP of creative development for animation and family at Gaumont. “The other characters, when they refer to Mi, they say Mi. We’ve kept that. We’ll see how it goes once it gets out there and launches, but all of the testing was very, very interesting to see that kids are looking for mirrors when they’re watching a show. Here they have this character whose actual name is Mi and they saw themselves in that character.”

41 Entertainment has S.M.A.S.H!, following superhero kids and their super-powered pets. “There’s some science in there because there’s technology and there’s action and there’s a lot of humor because, How does a 5-year-old become a superhero? They make a lot of mistakes along the way, and those mistakes are usually funny,” says Bohbot of the series.

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Touch the Earth from Gaumont is based on Julian Lennon and Bart Davis’s eco-themed children’s books.

Coming soon to Bejuba!’s slate is a preschool show centered on a girl whom Kober calls “a cross between an Indiana Jones and a Jane Goodall.” Explaining the series’ potential appeal to both boys and girls, she adds, “We might have her in purple, but we don’t want to clothe the series in pink.”

PRETTY IN PINK With all the talk about shows with broad appeal across genders, the enduring place for shows that play to an audience that craves content with a bit more sparkles than forestdwelling creepy crawlers could be lost in the conversation.

That audience still exists and so should still be catered to.

“I think there’s room for all of it and there should be. That’s what inclusivity is all about,” says Kober. “Some girls like to be princesses; some girls like to play with trains. You want to connect to them all.”

As GO-N’s Garnet puts it, “Girls have the right to like pink and princesses.

As producers or creators or even broadcasters, we don’t have the right to impose on that.”

Gaumont’s Kalagian credits the rise of tough female characters hitting the big screen in such films as The Hunger Games and Divergent as part of the reason why kids are more open to seeing such characters take the lead on the small screen. She also believes there’s still plenty of room for princesses. “I would never bet against Sofia the First or Elena of Avalor. [These shows] have taken that kind of concept and put a contemporary point of view on it. They’ve been able to take that fantasy of being a princess and then actually put it into a modern-day context,” says Kalagian, adding, “It’s more about redefining what pink means so that it’s more like real life.”

As broadcasters are focused on engaging the largest swath of eyeballs with top-tier gender-neutral content, “pink” programs might be increasingly more likely to find a home on a streaming service. “It is easier for a girls’ show to find a home on an SVOD platform rather than on a network,” says Cristiana Buzzelli, senior VP of content and licensing at Rainbow, the company behind 44 Cats. “Broadcasters are more attentive to stay away from stereotypes and are looking for more balanced characters who can represent a wider audience. A show can be girls-oriented, this is fine, but it would be important to represent girls with a more ‘inclusive’ approach.”

Teamwork is a major theme of Guru Studio’s Pikwik Pack, which will have its world premiere screening this MIPJunior.

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Jungle Jack’s World of Wonders is represented

by Bejuba!

Entertainment.

With streaming platforms, a show’s ability to capture a broad audience isn’t as much of a requirement. The programs don’t need to pull in both boys and girls, they don’t need to attract both younger and older kids and they don’t need to be particularly tolerable to parents, as watching via such platforms is more often than not an individual experience that can be tailored to tots’ particular tastes.

“When you’re looking at personalized viewing services like VODs and YouTube, you don’t need to [appeal to everyone] because people don’t sit around to watch YouTube; they tend to watch YouTube on personal devices,” says Guru’s Falcone, who thinks that VODs can change the game in terms of all genders finding and engaging with all kinds of shows. “I don’t think that anyone would shy away from having a super sparkly pink show for personalized viewing. As we see personal viewing propagating around the world, you’re going to get the opportunity to expose kids to shows they might feel embarrassed about watching and then talking about on the playground,” Falcone explains. “But if they’re watching it on their own, no one knows what they’re watching. You’re able to make choices that aren’t as peer-influenced.”

AGING UP Creating kids’ shows that bridge genders—to stand alongside those geared more toward girls or boys—is difficult.

Creating shows that will keep their attention as they age is even harder. When asked about what age boys specifically turn towards gaming, the majority of the kids’ content execs surveyed for this article observed it was around 8, and that trying to bring them back to TV made for children would be a lost cause.

“Every year it changes; by the time you publish this, it will be younger and younger,” says Falcone, who deadpanned that the age kids are lost for good is 6, before settling on 8. “I think that everyone is feeling the pinch of TV moving into preschool, because kids’ TV seems to have lost the appeal to older kids.”

GAME TIME Henson’s Scott-Hansen—a mother of four who often uses her kids and their friends as a sample group to study in her own living room—sees evidence of this firsthand. “I’ve been noticing the shift earlier, and I think my youngest ones started going on YouTube and Minecraft much more readily when they were about 6,” she says. “[Gaming] is addictive in a way that TV isn’t, or at least it’s not yet. It seems to be appealing to boys earlier than girls, but I think that by 8 or 9, they all seem to be mesmerized by it.”

GO-N’s Garnet also sees boys moving to gaming, though he sees girls moving away from kids’ TV even younger, favoring outdoor activities and reading.

Kids, like their older adult peers, just want quality content, whether an adventure series led by a determined girl or a comedy centered on a boy with a robust sense of humor, targeting preschoolers or those in the bridge demo.

They want to be entertained. They want a good story. They want to see themselves reflected on the screen.

“It comes down to telling interesting stories and telling stories that relate to their lives,” says 41 Entertainment’s Bohbot. “I think you’ll see animation not only be genderneutral and ethnicity-neutral but even physically neutral, whether they have an ailment or a disability, that’s OK. They can still contribute and perform and be cool. That whole trend line is where the industry is going. And it’s just a reflection of society and us catching up with it.”

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Tooning

in to

ASIA

Asian animation houses are eager to co-develop content and bring their homegrown concepts to the global market.

By Mansha Daswani

W

hen Kyoto Animation’s studio in Japan was hit with an arson attack this summer, resulting in more than 30 deaths, international condemnation was swift, and fans of the outfit rushed to lend their support. Within two weeks, a GoFundMe campaign launched by Sentai Filmworks, a company that has represented many Kyoto productions, had raised almost $2.4 million to help the studio recover.

“In a world where nearly anything, including Japanese anime, can be reduced to a commodity, Kyoto Animation’s productions are distinguishable as some of the world’s most heartfelt, soulful and beautifully crafted works,” the GoFundMe campaign stated.

The level of the outpouring of support speaks to the special place Japanese anime holds in the global animation market.

But, as Takahiro Kishimoto, the head of animation in the international business department of TV Asahi, reports, anime for kids does not do as well in Western markets as it used to.

“The demand for Japanese animation has always been high in the international arena, but the hot markets have shifted,” Kishimoto says. “In the case of TV Asahi, a lot of our business occurred in Europe and North America in the 2000s, but our main market has gone east to Asia in the last ten years. Before that, the American market was the biggest market for us in terms of deal

Green Gold’s Mighty Little Bheem.

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CONTENTS

Toy Time As a child of the ’80s, I spent many a Saturday morning plopped in front of the TV set with a bowl of sugary cereal, taking in the latest cartoons.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

From Inspector Gadget to She-Ra: Princess of Power, My Little Pony to The Magic School Bus, it’s safe to say that I have a healthy dose of nostalgia when I look back to the shows of my childhood that have since made a comeback for a new generation. It was while watching these blocks of back-to-back animated series as a kid that I’d learn about the newest toys I’d be begging my parents for moments later or adding to my birthday or Christmas wish list. Watching flashy TV commercials for the next must-have doll, plush or miniature plastic figure was one of two ways I could discover what new playthings were out there. The other was by perusing the aisles of the toy store.

For kids today, neither of these is likely to be their primary point of toy discovery. Children’s viewing habits are much like their adult counterparts, with ondemand programming now a regular part of their media diets. The concept of a commercial break is somewhat foreign to them (as is the idea of having to wait to watch their favorite show at a specific time).

With the collapse of Toys “R” Us and brick-and-mortar stores, in general, feeling the squeeze from the online market, the days of spotting new toys while being wheeled through the aisles of a mass retailer are also rather distant.

Nowadays, brand owners and retailers are getting creative in the ways they work together to bring awareness to licensed products. Platforms, too, are figuring out how best to handle the issue of advertising with regard to kids—some not so successfully. Earlier this month, YouTube was slapped with a whopping $170 million fine for allegedly violating children’s privacy laws, facing allegations that the popular video site was collecting personal information from children without parental consent and using the data to target ads to kids.

TV Kids examines the current state of the licensing and merchandising industry in this issue, with a feature that explores the ways IP owners are navigating these new waters. We also hear from Ulli Stoef, who has had a long career in brand building and recently launched a new production and distribution operation. He weighs in on his approach to building 360degree properties.

—Kristin Brzoznowski

FEATURE 8 OUT OF THE BOX Changes in consumer viewing habits are forcing those in the L&M industry to adapt and overcome.

INTERVIEW

12

Toon2Tango’s Hans Ulrich Stoef The m4e veteran discusses the plans for his new company, which will center on building 360-degree properties and developing strong ties with leading creatives.

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One Animation’s Oddbods.

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OUT OF THE BOX

Changes in consumer viewing habits are forcing those in the licensing-and-merchandising industry to adapt and overcome.

By Alison Skilton

W

hen the bastion of American toy sales, Toys “R” Us, vanished from the U.S. retail landscape last year, the kids’ licensing-and-merchandising business braced for the worst. Clamoring against Disney to score precious shelf space was challenging enough. Now there was even less available. And just as ecommerce has put the squeeze on brick-and-mortar retailers, the rise in on-demand viewing has upended all the traditional models for building a viable kids’ brand.

These days, rather than daily appointment viewing, it’s far more likely that a child is binge-watching a show that they’ve chosen from a curated selection on a streamer. And with changes in viewing habits come the inevitable shifts in the ways consumers interact with the products associated with their favorite shows and movies.

MOVING FASTER “The key is to innovate, to work hard and also to adapt to changing viewing and buying habits as well as new marketing channels,” says Valentina La Macchia, Mondo TV’s licensing director. In response to these changes, Mondo— which manages the kids’ animated property MeteoHeroes as well as the non-broadcast IP Feisty Pets, among others— has thrown its hat in the digital space, representing a web series, House of Talent, for the first time. The show follows as a crew of 20 influencers, who have a combined half a billion monthly impressions, come together in the real world to live together. It has over 260 10-minute episodes that 8- to 14-year-olds can watch, engage and even interact

with. “And they can do this on any web-enabled device, because, let’s face it, that’s what they’re used to: entertainment on the move is a teen and tween lifestyle choice and we mean to reflect that,” La Macchia says.

Rob Spindley, senior VP of commercial development for the U.S. and EMEA at One Animation, the Singapore-based content producer behind the Oddbods property—which has amassed over 10 billion views on YouTube—agrees that L&M schemes need to shift drastically to meet consumers’ needs.

“Traditionally, buyers were primarily focused on looking at the free-to-air broadcast figures—that was the key focal point of the retail and licensing sector,” he says. “If you had a prime broadcast slot, that’s where the buying decisions were generated from. Brand support as consumers transition to alternative platforms to view content has created a big disturbance to that previous methodology. A strong online presence is now also key.”

He continues, “We’re seeing brand emergence and decline moving faster than it ever moved previously.

YouTube and digital channels can elevate brands from zero to hero and back again in a heartbeat, as kids have consumed everything they want to consume and they’ve moved on to the next thing.”

Spindley points to the “playground chatter” afforded to shows in the past, which saw kids watching an episode of a show each week and then talking to their friends at school about it, creating a slow buzz and feeding a longterm appetite for the show. In today’s viewing world, Spindley observes, “Children can sit down and they can

9

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Genius Brands International is working on the brand plans for Llama Llama, a Netflix original.

just watch an entire series [in one sitting]—which is great for the brand for that very short period of time, but the consumer then is moving on to something new.”

For this reason and many others, it’s harder now than ever to get onto retailers’ shelves. Jennifer Coleman, VP of licensing and marketing at Konami Cross Media NY, which manages the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand, points to Fortnite as a prime example of how much money and time it takes for new and untested IP to reach shelves. It took years for a game that has become a cultural phenomenon to get into stores. “In order to secure that shelf space, you have to show that you’ve got that proven audience in there,” she says. “You have to show that you have the eyeballs, show that you have the engagement. And once you can prove that, it’s much easier to get on the shelf. So it’s a substantial investment in marketing, content development and production.

There are high barriers to entry.”

Mondo TV’s La Macchia agrees with Coleman: “Licensees prefer to wait for identifiable demand—that’s not ideal for a broadcast business that thrives on new ideas.”

PAIRING OLD AND NEW

Thankfully, Coleman says, Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! property, as well as its classic gaming IPs Frogger, Bomberman and Contra, have the brand recognition that gives them that foot in the door. Konami’s legacy brands stand somewhat immune to the fickleness of consumer interest, delivering much-needed stability, Coleman says.

Genius Brands International is in a similar situation when it comes to its known IP, says Lloyd Mintz, senior VP and head of worldwide consumer products. Of Llama Llama, a Netflix original, Mintz says, “We have one advantage that most of the other shows that might suffer from bingewatching don’t have, which is we also have a ten-year-oldplus best-selling book series. There are over 25 million books in print. There are about half a dozen new titles every year, including a featured hardcover title. Those usually shoot to the top of the best-seller list. Because they are hardcover, they get a lot of attention. I think with some shows, people do binge-watch and then move on. But

when you’re a book series, you do benefit because you’re part of the bedtime reading routine. You get into that rotation of books that constantly get read. That’s one thing that helps us compared to others who may not have that publishing heritage.”

Coleman says that Konami is expanding its online Yu-Gi-Oh! store and working more with streaming platforms. “That’s been one way for us to try to make sure our content is still finding its way into the hands of our fans and continuing to keep that audience engagement,” she says.

Mintz outlines a similar strategy that Genius is taking by focusing on the online market. “We just started a Llama Llama YouTube channel,” he says. “We’re not only reacting to the market, but we’re picking up on best practices from other properties that have gone before us and what’s worked for them and what hasn’t. We know that YouTube helps elevate that engagement.”

Mintz adds that it is crucial to time L&M rollouts carefully to allow the brand to build recognition in the market.

“We’ve seen too many properties that have been in too much of a rush to get product out there. I don’t know if anybody can point to one that has followed that strategy and been successful. If people don’t really know and ultimately love the property, then the product is not going to sell.”

EXPERIENCING CHANGE So how do companies get their products on shelves in a world where e-commerce reigns supreme? “How do you keep [customers] coming in the doors when you can’t beat the Amazon price? What else can you offer?” Konami’s Coleman asks.

Experiential retail might be the answer. It’s a space that the L&M sector has begun to look toward as the future of what will keep buyers leaving their houses to spend money on products that they could likely purchase online, often for less. “To get products to retail is still a must—but getting consumers to retail is no longer about just putting product on shelves,” says La Macchia. “It’s about ensuring a memorable in-store experience for their consumers. Given the strong competition from e-commerce, it’s very important

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to be able to add value to the shopping experience, with events, meet-and-greets and the chance for kids to interact with their favorite characters.”

For the YooHoo brand, based on the Aurora World plush toys and now encompassing the preschool series YooHoo to the Rescue, Mondo TV has secured a customized shopping area in various Mondadori locations across Italy.

“We’re also planning four in-store events in the megastores, featuring YooHoo costume characters along with an engaging format to get kids and families to experience a unique interaction with the brand,” she says. There are also Feisty Pets-themed shopping mall events across Italy.

KEEPING UP Unique buying experiences come in many shapes and sizes. “A prime example might be a birthday cake, for instance,” says One Animation’s Spindley. Using an app, a consumer can scan the packaging, “and the Oddbods emerge on-screen and ‘Happy Birthday’ plays. Added-value interactions like this provide additional layers and deeper brand engagement to the consumer experience.”

“Look at the Trolls experience that DreamWorks has built in New York,” Konami’s Coleman offers. “You’re not just going in there to purchase—though of course monetization is going to be a part of it. It’s more about interacting with the brand so that you’re getting a 360-degree experience—from green-screen opportunities to characters there to a play space. That seems to be a direction that retail is headed in, and I think that even in Toys “R” Us announcing that they were going to be coming back, they mentioned some experiential retail opportunities.”

Mondo TV has also dipped into the world of immersive retail, launching a new AR app for its animated property Robot Trains that allows kids to interact with the characters from the show in real time. “Retailers, too, have the opportunity to demonstrate the innovative immersive technology in-store, encouraging kids to scan products or use an exclusive graphic marker to activate special content and become part of the Robot Trains world,” La Macchia says. “This adds value to the retail experience.”

For anime and gaming IPs, Konami’s Coleman says many experiential retail opportunities center around good old-fashioned human interaction. “In addition to normal brick-and-mortar, there are a lot of [fan conventions] and the expos, so those are a growing opportunity for us,” she notes. Pointing to retailer FYE’s pop-up shop at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, she says that customers are “going in to interact with whatever that brand or that IP is that’s surrounding that pop-up shop opportunity. Even the retailers are catching on to that and realizing that these are different opportunities where they can certainly monetize and capture new audiences and revenues.”

For brands to stay competitive, they have to undertake multifaceted L&M schemes, ensuring their products are

offered across every category and in every space that consumers might look. One Animation’s Spindley says the company always aims to launch campaigns that “engage our entire ecosystem. All of the messaging we produce is aligned and cohesive, delivering a consistent message across multiple touchpoints and media for maximum consumer recognition.”

Giulia Bertè, licensing and brand manager at the Italian production-and-distribution group Showlab, agrees, saying that launching a brand requires a comprehensive approach to its licensing and merchandising. “We always try to create a project that involves all the commercial elements,” Bertè says. “We want to build a brand in all aspects. So when we start to work on a project, we always think about how many commercial spheres can be involved. We don’t want to just offer a new property to the market; we want to make it a big, big project.”

Adapting to fast-changing consumer buying and viewing habits, exploring innovative partnerships and keeping an eye toward the experiential retail space are key to brand relevancy in today’s market. “There will be many L&M opportunities that will see the business grow now and in the future,” La Macchia says. “What matters is to be ready for them.”

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Mondo TV has launched a new AR app for its Robot Trains property.

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between 2 percent and 6 percent back-end participation, they get paid for the development work and that is it. Here we’ve developed a different system; we’re incentivizing them much better. They develop shows and we will take full responsibility for the management, the financing and the executive production. The creator who had the idea and is the creative mind behind it will have higher participation. It’s what we call fair equity positions.

On the other side, since it’s a new company and we have less of an infrastructure than before with Studio 100 and m4e, we will quite often share distribution with a coproduction partner. We’ll do this in a much broader way than we ever did before. To give you an example, we are developing eight shows over four years for Mondo TV. Hopefully, we’ll bring four to six into production. We are benefiting from Mondo’s existing distribution capabilities and their strengths in certain territories. For other territories, we’ll try to secure the co-production needs and the distribution needs with third parties, and we’ll only take a handful of distribution territories ourselves. For the licensing, we control the brand, undertake brand management and work with the distribution arms of our partners.

TV KIDS: What’s more challenging about setting up a new content company today compared to the early days of m4e? And what are you enjoying more?

HANS ULRICH STOEF

TOON2TANGO

By Mansha Daswani

H

ans Ulrich Stoef has had a long career in building brands. The former Universal Studios and EM.TV executive founded his own rights-management company, m4e, in 2003 and subsequently built it into a powerhouse kids’ and family content outfit with brands such as Mia and me. Stoef moved to Studio 100 after that company picked up a majority stake in m4e. This year, he embarked on a new journey, setting up the worldwide production-anddistribution operation Toon2Tango. Stoef tells TV Kids about the new company’s plans.

TV KIDS: What was the thinking behind the creation of Toon2Tango? How are you positioning the company in the kids’ landscape today?

STOEF: The positioning has two sides. I’m still doing what I’ve always done, which is developing and producing kids’ and family entertainment shows and films to create 360degree IP. We also offer our expertise to third-party creators. We’ve found that, quite often, producers have fantastic IP, but at the end of the day, they are given

STOEF: Consumer licensing is more difficult. Distribution via linear broadcasting is melting down because of the digital opportunities today, and digital is not catching up in delivering the number of eyeballs you need to break a new brand. I have a strong network after many years in the business and deals with prominent companies worldwide. That makes it easier. Even though we are a new company, we’ve been able to go into big deals with companies like Mondo immediately, and broadcasters have asked us if we could do something together on the development, distribution and production sides. That’s what I enjoy—without the heavy lifting of infrastructure and costs. We know it’s a challenging and ambitious market, but we have enough time and experience to put that into balance for our own projects and thirdparty creators as well.

TV KIDS: What qualities do you look for in third-party projects?

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STOEF: I can’t tell you a specific genre because we look at everything. We try to stay away from all the mass-market stuff out there, and there is plenty of it!

We’re trying to be boutique with creative and new shows. [At m4e] Mia and me was a new concept because it was hybrid and nobody in those days wanted to do a hybrid. We’re looking for those kinds of shows.

Third-party creators could have great ideas that maybe don’t fit the market for certain reasons and therefore won’t become commercial successes. We work with them on creating something that is unique but has the opportunity to generate significant amounts of money.

Toon2Tango’s initial slate includes the preschool series Hey Fuzzy Yellow.

TV KIDS: You know the L&M business very well. It’s under pressure right now with the challenges at retail. What are some of the strategies needed to succeed in this space?

STOEF: Many of the traditional retailers in Europe are closing down or buying less inventory; that’s the reality. But if you have a strong brand, a consumer will find it on Amazon, wherever. The play patterns are still the same—I don’t see many new interactive toys coming to the market that succeed, to be honest. In retail, it’s the B-to-C marketing that matters. What we’re talking about is eyeballs, and thus, consumer demand.

TV KIDS: Are you seeing financing models change as distribution models shift?

STOEF: They are not what they were 15 to 20 years ago.

There was tons of money in the market, and everybody

was going into gap financing. That’s not the case anymore. Instead, people are looking for government money, tax credits, subsidies and whatever is possible.

Even upfront distribution guarantees are pretty tough to manage right now. Part of the problem is that there are too many mediocre shows from small distributors or producers who have no idea what they are doing, and they are still getting partially financed by regional or country subsidies. That is going to change. If producers have no real business model behind them, it’s over, and they won’t get the money anymore. In the future, creative talent will have to work even closer with companies like us; otherwise, their shows will not be produced.

TV KIDS: Are you looking at opportunities to adapt existing IP such as books and comics or focusing on new ideas?

STOEF: It could be book adaptations, it could be game adaptations or it could be comic adaptations, whatever we like. We have no intention to produce five to six shows a year. That’s not what we want to do.

TV KIDS: What message do you want to send to creatives about Toon2Tango?

STOEF: We want to encourage them to contact us when they have a great project and they don’t know how to get it to the next stage. They should speak to us. We’re happy to talk, give them some of our suggestions of what we would do. If we like the show, we can find a way to work with each other in a fair way.

That’s very important. We don’t want a me-too product to an existing show or the 110th genderneutral comedy property. That’s simply not us!

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value. Now, India has replaced the U.S. and will most likely be [our largest market] for another ten years at least.

In the meantime, Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand are showing rapid growth.

We have seen very strong demand from broadcasters and platforms in this region in the last few years.”

Kishimoto is hopeful the tide will swing back with TV Asahi’s latest animated property, Super Shiro, which is premiering at MIPJunior. From Tokyo studio Science SARU, which is led by Annecy Cristal Award winner Masaaki Yuasa, the series is inspired by TV Asahi’s megahit Shin chan franchise. “From the outset, we decided to produce Super Shiro with an eye for the global market,” Kishimoto says. “Various broadcasters and platforms have already shown great interest in the show, including Turner, where we have closed a deal for AsiaPac. The series is expected to launch in early 2020 on their kids’ channels, after the domestic launch of the show in October 2019 on AbemaTV and Video Pass, our digital platform partners.”

GLOBAL VIEW Indian animation studio Green Gold Animation is also eager to develop IP with the worldwide market in mind, especially on the heels of the success of Mighty Little Bheem. The Netflix original series is based on Green Gold’s Chhota Bheem franchise, which has been a massive success in the subcontinent and other parts of Asia.

“Mighty Little Bheem has surpassed our expectations with its performance in the U.S.,” says Rajiv Chilaka, founder and CEO of Green Gold. “We’ve seen extremely flattering numbers from uncharted markets such as Latin America, North America and parts of Europe.”

The process of turning an Indian-originated IP into a global hit came with “unique challenges,” Chilaka says.

“Cultural context is a double-edged sword. Bheem, a phenomenon in Asia, has always been rooted in our culture; the Indian culture. Thus, the dilemma for us while creating Mighty Little Bheem for the world was whether to celebrate the cultural signifiers or downplay them. We decided that to stay true to the character, we had to celebrate them. We realized many in the audience wouldn’t know what a ladoo [an Indian dessert] is, but we understood it could be a learning opportunity for kids. After the release, we have had many parents from different parts of the world reach out and inquire about the recipe for the ladoo!”

Chilaka continues: “Mighty Little Bheem is inherently Indian but relatable to every child worldwide. One major lesson was the importance of social context as well. For instance, one episode was tweaked so that the children were fighting over a ball of yarn instead of a big piece of cake. The concern was the message it would send to children in countries where obesity is a problem.”

DQ Entertainment is also a firm fixture in India’s extensive animation industry. “With state-of-the-art facilities, utilizing latest production technologies, we deliver high-end animation with a lean production pipeline,” says Tapaas Chakravarti, CEO and managing director of DQ Entertainment. “We have provided animation services for over 160 globally recognized shows with all the major broadcasters and international production houses.”

While the Indian animation industry has long been sustained by service work for producers in the West, local players are moving to develop their own IP. “We were one of the very first animation studios in India that led the shift to the creation of indigenous IPs,” Chilaka explains. “We pride ourselves on our original content and endeavor to keep creating shows that resonate with the evolving audience. In the last few years, we have ventured into co-productions and service partnerships on a local and global scale, as we realize it provides us with an immense learning opportunity. As of today, we stand at a 70-30 split for the originals/work for hire, with both growing at a healthy rate.”

At Animasia Studio in Malaysia, meanwhile, the work-forhire to original IP creation ratio is about 50-50, according to Raye Lee, the company’s executive director.

MALAYSIAN GAINS Malaysia’s burgeoning animation sector has been helped along by a range of local government-backed efforts, including FINAS’s Film in Malaysia Incentive and MDEC’s MAC 3 co-production fund.

“Entities like MDEC in Malaysia look at the entire ecosystem of an IP, from funding to creating market access,” adds Lyn Nasihin, the general manager of Primeworks Distribution, part of local media giant Media Prima. “Our original IP Ejen Ali has benefited from both a grant from MDEC as well as links to potential buyers and partners.”

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Super Shiro, a new anime series from TV Asahi, premieres at MIPJunior.

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Animasia Studio arrives at MIPCOM with a second season of Chuck Chicken.

The show hails from fellow Malay outfit WAU Animation and has been received well thus far, Nasihin says. As such, Primeworks is expanding its efforts in the animationdistribution space. “After our entrance to the animation IP circuit with Ejen Ali, we began to notice our buyers’ demands for animated titles. We have since partnered with several animation IP owners as their distribution representative in international markets. We carry titles like Cingkus Blues, Alif & Sofia, Fridgies, Soccer Bugs, Knowsy Nina, Ninja Cat, Saladin, 7 Satria and many more. We have also most recently brought on board the South Korean IP Bo & To’s Family as part of our catalog.”

GOING OVER THE TOP For many of the region’s animation distributors, digital platforms have emerged as significant revenue contributors.

“Digital/OTT platforms are giving us additional licensing opportunities,” says TV Asahi’s Kishimoto. “Furthermore, it is also very exciting for us to see a lot of potential to develop, create and produce new shows together with these platforms through co-production, co-commissioning and whatever models that make sense for both parties.”

Animasia’s Lee adds, “We licensed some of our original content to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and iflix [among others].

With some proven success for our original content and production capabilities, we are also readying ourselves to welcome bigger-budget original content contracts for SVOD platforms.”

International collaboration is top of mind for Asian animation producers and distributors, through a range of models.

“We at TV Asahi have been actively looking for new international projects and collaborations over the last few years and are continuing to do so,” Kishimoto says.

“For Ninja Hattori, Shin-Ei Animation, our wholly owned animation studio, has been working with different production partners all over the world and the latest season is being produced in collaboration with studios in India and Korea.”

In fact, Ninja Hattori “was the very first project that TV Asahi produced for the international market—not for our own broadcast—and to date, we have produced five seasons and another 26 episodes (season six) will launch in India and other markets in 2020,” Kishimoto adds.

TV Asahi also collaborated with partners in the Philippines and Singapore on the YA anime Barangay 143. That endeavor proved to be a learning experience for all involved, Kishimoto says: “To be honest, the creative collaboration at the initial stage was not as smooth as was expected due to the differences in working methods between Japan and the Philippines. For example, while production has gone to digital in the Philippines, the majority of Japanese artists are still sticking to the traditional hand-drawn animation style using paper and pencils. Such differences in production, together with the language barrier, created some difficulties, which have been overcome. We have all learned a lot from this project, and I strongly believe that Barangay 143 has set a benchmark for future collaborations between Japanese studios and studios overseas.”

For Animasia, one route to expanding its international business has been the creation of an office in Los Angeles focusing on preproduction services and serving as a “bridge for the Eastern and Western worlds,” Lee says. “With our partnerships in North America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and China, we can bring potential international projects from the West to the East and vice versa, as representatives or through co-pros.”

Primeworks is also exploring co-pro opportunities, Nasihin notes. “We are open to co-producing, co-financing and representing IPs with global partners, keeping in mind that the IP should resonate with the regional audience and that it should be in line with Asian values. We currently represent Mourinho and the Special Ones as well as Gombby, which are from Portugal. We are also in talks with India, China, Korea, Thailand and Russia to develop original ideas.”

Green Gold’s Chilaka says that his company is “actively looking for opportunities to collaborate with international partners and create global shows. To this end, we have established our Los Angeles operation, which is aimed at creating IPs for the global audience. Currently, we are in a partnership with TV Asahi and its animation production arm Shin-Ei

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Primeworks Distribution represents a number of Malaysian series, including Ejen Ali.

Animation by re-creating Ninja Hattori episodes in 2D HD. Also in the pipeline is a 3D-animated feature film, Escape to India, a co-production with Mundoloco Animation Studios in Argentina.”

On what’s ahead for the company, Chilaka states, “Our journey has just begun, and we are hungry as ever to create content that resonates with the global audience. With Mighty Little Bheem, we have showcased our studio’s capabilities to produce world-class shows. We have opened ourselves to newer territories, increased and bettered our capacity and are aiming for more. The next couple of years will be focused on strengthening our original IPs as well as servicing and partnering with international studios.”

UNIVERSAL ANIME While TV Asahi’s Kishimoto is eager to explore more international collaboration opportunities, he knows that original, iconic Japanese creations still have immense value in the global market. “Doraemon and Shin chan, two of the most-loved kids’ animation shows in Japan, have been exploited all over the world and have generated substantial revenues. Produced primarily for domestic broadcast on our own channel, both shows have given us a strong foothold in the international market.”

Indeed, Doraemon has demonstrated its staying power, marking its 40th anniversary this year. “With hundreds of episodes plus theatrical movies produced almost every year for the last four decades, we are extremely proud and delighted to see the longevity of Doraemon continuing and being loved by kids all over the world,” Kishimoto says.

Kishimoto is also excited about the prospects of seeing more anime-style shows originating from outside of Japan.

“In India, for example, Doraemon and Shin chan have been on air every day for the last 15 years—this has made millions of Indian kids very familiar with Japanese animation. Now as teenagers or college students, they have started looking for their own shows with local stories and characters but in the Japanese anime style that they have grown up with. That is exactly the same scenario as in the Philippines with Barangay 143.”

He also hopes that Japanese animators can learn a few tricks from their international counterparts: “I believe that the more Japanese animators collaborate with partners abroad, the more they will learn not only about the different styles, techniques and ways of producing animation but also about what makes [Japanese animation] special.”

Scrambled is part of the slate being offered by India’s DQ Entertainment.

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I

n October of last year, Bob Bakish, the president and CEO of Viacom, tapped Brian Robbins to lead Nickelodeon at a challenging time for kids’ channels. “I have asked Brian to drive the innovation and transformation that will ensure the brand remains the dominant force with young audiences,” Bakish said in announcing Robbins’ appointment. Robbins had already been part of the Viacom family, having run Paramount Players, and was familiar with meeting the needs of young audiences on digital after founding Awesomeness. Robbins has significantly ramped up Nick’s content slate since becoming president, unveiling new IP, adding a slate of unscripted shows and developing a smattering of reboots, including All That, which he originally produced for Nickelodeon in the 1990s. Robbins speaks to TV Kids about his strategy

By Mansha Daswani for keeping young ones tuned into Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. TV KIDS: It’s been a year since you were tapped to lead Nickelodeon. What did you identify as key strengths of the brand at the time, and what areas did you feel you wanted to work on?

ROBBINS: It’s been a fast and fun year. The reason I came here—and I had a very nice job before this at Paramount running a movie division—was looking at the landscape and realizing what a powerful brand Nickelodeon is in kids’ and families’ lives. I looked at all the assets that we have: one of the largest animation studios in the world, multiple linear networks, a pretty large digital footprint, consumer products and live entertainment. There’s so much strength in the brand and so much great history and so much IP at the company. Ultimately that’s what drew me here. The truth was, in the last several years before I got here, clearly led by the digital disruption to linear television, the brand lost its way a little bit. There was definitely a lack of IP in the pipeline and talent in the pipeline. And talent in front of and behind the camera. So that’s what I focused on right away.

TV KIDS: What are some of the major lessons you brought from your time as a producer and running Awesomeness and Paramount Players?

ROBBINS: Only make good shows! [Laughs] And, honestly, before I got to Paramount, I was never an executive. I always was a producer and director and ran my own business. Even Awesomeness was a startup in my own company. I’ve always been an entrepreneur and a builder. I think I’ve carried that same attitude here to Nickelodeon. When you’re an entrepreneur, you have to go fast. And you have to build. And you have to be bold.

You have to make decisions and own them and not be afraid. So that’s how I approached it.

TV KIDS: The channel has quite a few reboots and spin-offs in the works. What factors do you take into consideration when bringing back a beloved brand like All That?

ROBBINS: We definitely have a handful of reboots and spin-offs in the works. It’s actually a small percentage of our overall slate. That said, people talk about the reboots and spin-offs because it’s known IP and that’s kind of why we’re doing it. Bringing back All That seemed like a nobrainer to me. Obviously, it was my show and I have so much love for it. But All That was such an important part of the history of Nickelodeon because it brought so much talent to the air. It led to Kenan & Kel and The Amanda Show. Then The Amanda Show led to Drake & Josh, it led to iCarly and so on and so on. If you look at that family tree, it’s pretty impressive. When I got here, there weren’t a lot of live-action hits. Henry Danger was kind of it. We didn’t have a whole lot of on-air talent to work with. So [the new All That] was a great way to bring in a bunch of new talent and diverse talent and jumpstart the show. I also knew that All That reached a diverse audience, which was an audience that we needed to reach, especially in the world we live in today. Coincidentally, the show did another thing for us: it brought back the older girl audience to the network. So it’s done three really great things for us. Actually four, because it’s getting good ratings!

TV KIDS: Tell us about how Kamp Koral came about, and what the plans are for the SpongeBob universe.

ROBBINS: Literally my second or third day here, I was asked to go to a SpongeBob season 12 or 13 pickup meeting. I asked a lot of questions. What I realized is that we’ve made a lot of shows over many, many years, but the shows basically stayed the same. We had all these great characters in the world of SpongeBob, but we never

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played into what he did on YouTube. We were able to migrate a large portion of that audience that watches him on YouTube, that wasn’t watching linear television, to watch his show here. So we’ll continue to be opportunistic about people and ideas like that.

TV KIDS: What role do acquisitions play in the Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. lineups?

ROBBINS: Acquisitions are still an important part of filling out the schedule. And more than just filling out the schedule. We had LEGO City Adventures on this summer and we have LEGO Jurassic World running now. That’s a great partnership with LEGO. Ricky Zoom, which just premiered, is another acquisition for us. So we have a handful, and we’re always on the lookout for more.

Premiering this November on Nick Jr., Blue’s Clues & You! is a reboot of the beloved preschool series.

individually explored their origin stories or their histories or put them in their own environments. So we decided to put a room together and really look at what the SpongeBob universe looks like. And out of that came the Kamp Koral idea and actually a couple of other ideas. Kamp Koral is the first show. It will be a limited summer series. I just saw amazing animation tests and conceptual art that blew us all away. It’s basically about how Patrick and SpongeBob met in summer camp when they were kids. It’s not SpongeBob babies, so to speak, but it is in CG, and they’re younger and cuter. Sandy is really cute in it. She has braces. It’s really fun and it looks different but still feels like SpongeBob. I couldn’t be more excited about it.

TV KIDS: What other shows are you working on now that you’re particularly excited about?

ROBBINS: First of all, we have the relaunch of Blue’s Clues in November, which looks amazing. And then we’re launching a show I’m really excited about, called America’s Most Musical Family. It’s a music competition but through our lens. So you have to be either a brother and sister or a whole family. So you’d have to be The Jackson 5 or Donny and Marie. I’ve got to say; it just kills it. It’s so good, and it’s so exciting. I’m also excited about our all-new version of the hit U.K. game show The Crystal Maze, which is going to bring that family competition craze to the U.S. The show features a team of family members who work together to take on a range of physical and mental challenges through escape room-style gameplay. It will definitely bring a whole new type of action and storytelling to Nick.

TV KIDS: And you have The Casagrandes, a spinoff of The Loud House, coming up.

ROBBINS: I can’t take credit for that. It was happening before I got here. But I must say I’m super proud of the show. First of all, it’s the first animated show starring a multigenerational Mexican-American family. And it couldn’t be a better time to have that show. Besides that, it is hilarious. It’s so well written and the characters are so good. And I can’t wait to share it with the world. I think the show is terrific.

TV KIDS: How are you discovering and incubating new talent?

ROBBINS: All That was a big step for us in bringing new talent on the air. One of the first shows we greenlit when I got here that’s been a big hit for us is Ryan’s Mystery Playdate. We took one of the biggest stars on YouTube and were able to develop a television format in longer form that

Ryan’s Mystery Playdate from pocket.watch is based on the hit Ryan ToysReview YouTube channel.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Bodybuilder. Movie star. Governor. And now, animated preschool teacher in Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten. From Genius Brands International and created by the late, great comics icon, Superhero Kindergarten features the voice and likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Courage, guiding powerful tots as they develop their own superpowers and learn lessons about camaraderie, kindness and protecting the environment. Schwarzenegger talks to TV Kids about the new series.

By Mansha Daswani TV KIDS: How did Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten come about? Where did the idea come from?

SCHWARZENEGGER: I think it started a long time ago, when we were talking about doing something together. This must be five, six, seven years ago. [Stan Lee] asked me, What is your ultimate dream, what would you like to do? He would always ask really out-there questions! I said, I always wanted to do sequels to Kindergarten Cop and Twins. He said, Kindergarten Cop, why is that? I said, I always enjoyed not only doing movies for kids but working with kids. He would stare into emptiness, thinking, like he saw something that we didn’t see.

He said, Let me get back to you on that. Then he’d call us back and say, I have an idea. He also told Andy Heyward [chairman and CEO of Genius Brands International]. He had an idea of [me] playing a superhero who is retired and now teaching toddlers and young kids who have superpowers how not to abuse those superpowers and instead channel them into something positive. That’s where my job comes in as the kindergarten teacher, teaching those kids lessons about discipline, environmental issues, bullying, being inclusive, setting goals and doing something good for the world and the community. They are unruly kids. They have tremendous powers. I’m supposed to bring order to the whole thing. This is how he explained it to us, and I said, That’s brilliant! It puts a whole other spin on Kindergarten Cop that makes it refreshing and new. They were interested in doing it as an animated kids’ show. I’ve never really done anything specifically for a young audience.

This gave me a good chance to do that. I’m looking forward to doing the voiceover for it and participating in the storytelling.

TV KIDS: How did you work with the creative team on the look of your animated self, Captain Courage?

SCHWARZENEGGER: They have brilliant animators. There’s not much to correct there. The only thing to discuss is the clothes he will wear, the look he should have, the haircut. You show them certain things from Kindergarten Cop that show the frustration in the face so they can draw that well. And I let them know the way I see it. But there’s not much I can influence because they are really, really good.

TV KIDS: What was it like working with Stan Lee? SCHWARZENEGGER: He was a very special and talented man. I don’t think any of us understood how those images came about in his head. He just saw things very clearly and could describe them very clearly. He was just a genius. He lived in all these different worlds. He could put himself into that world and talk as if he was there, and you would be just blown away by the stories he came up with. And the characters he created— that’s what I always liked about him. That’s why we were drawn to each other. Whatever I do, I want it to be as popular in South Africa as it is in Switzerland or Australia or China or the Middle East. Things like bodybuilding—no country says, We’re not into bodybuilding. It’s a universal thing. It’s not for the rich or the poor; it’s for everybody. It’s the same with environmental issues. It’s universal. Everything in my movies was universal. The Terminator posters were used for inspiration, no matter where you were. That is what is so appealing about Stan’s stuff. His characters are admired in every country. They aren’t characters you admired in the ’60s and not in the ’70s.

You admired them in the ’70s and now in 2019.

TV KIDS: Tell us more about the key messages in the show.

SCHWARZENEGGER: The anti-bullying message, the environmental message, the importance of exercise and nutrition, be inclusive, don’t be prejudiced, respect everyone no matter their gender, everyone is equal. The key thing is not to make it a message TV show. Because as soon as people detect that, it rubs them the wrong way. With Saturday Night Fever, no one pushed the idea that it was to promote dancing. It was just a great story with sexy people and they were extraordinary dancers and you just wanted to watch them because they were really good. After the movie came out, thousands of discotheques were built all over the world. Even in my own little home village where I grew up with 800 people, they started having a discotheque. That’s the kind of influence that movies or TV shows can have, without really preaching. That’s the key thing here. Make this an entertaining show, but at the same time, let messages come through that are very inspirational to young kids as they watch those young heroes.

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stories we would write together. I wanted to make a pastiche of all the things we loved when we were kids, but then have Steven be the core of it. Steven, as a character, is also based a bit on the childhood of Ian Jones-Quartey, my co-executive producer when we started the show. So [it’s partly] his experience, and then my experience as a nonbinary bisexual kid, mixed with the support I used to get from my brother, who was also my best friend.

TV KIDS: Fans have a deep emotional connection to the show. Is that ever overwhelming for you?

SUGAR: [That connection] is something that I understand.

When I was younger, I felt the strength that animated characters gave me in my day-to-day life. When I was in college, I read Roland Barthes’ book A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments. It talked about the idea of the image repertoire.

It said that in a love relationship, you aren’t necessarily able to completely fall in love with a person, because you can’t know every part of them. What you fall in love with is this repertoire of images that you share. As a big fan of comics and cartoons, I was struck by that. It made me realize that I shared an image repertoire with the creators of my favorite comics and cartoons. That’s what those pieces of media are. I try to approach cartoons as the image repertoire. This is something I’m going to be sharing with my audience, and I know it could have that weight. I

Rebecca Sugar

Steven Universe

By Mansha Daswani

F

rom featuring the first same-sex wedding in a children’s animated program to focusing on emotional, rather than physical, strength and intelligence, Steven Universe has been widely hailed for breaking barriers in kids’ content. The Cartoon Network original, created by Rebecca Sugar, has won an Emmy, a GLAAD Media Award and a Peabody, and in addition to earning near-universal critical praise, it is also a certified hit. Five seasons in, the show spawned a TV movie this summer and is at the heart of a massive franchise that includes games, books, merchandise and more. Sugar, who landed her own show after perfecting her chops as a storyboard artist and writer on Adventure Time, tells TV Kids about the inspiration for Steven Universe.

TV KIDS: Where did the idea for Steven Universe come from?

SUGAR: The show is based on my younger brother, Steven.

I wanted to make something that captured the feeling of my childhood and mix that with everything that we used to like to watch, the games we used to play, the fantasy 276 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

completely understand when people feel connected to me because we’ve shared these images.

TV KIDS: The music in Steven Universe: The Movie was phenomenal. I know you write all the songs. How did you craft the soundtrack?

SUGAR: One of the most exciting things about working on the movie is that I made sure that the composers were involved at the very beginning of the story process. That is not something I always get to do.

When we had our first big writers meeting and I pitched the general idea of the movie, the composers were there, the string players were there, the storyboarders who also write music with me were there.

We were discussing the sound of Spinel [the main antagonist in the movie] and the flow of the different styles of music while it was still an outline. [The music] was deeply in the foundation of the story. I was writing the music as I was writing the story, and they are inextricably linked.

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TV KIDS: When did you start working on the movie?

SUGAR: The idea goes back to 2015. I was asked if I would be interested in writing a TV movie musical of Steven. My answer was yes, immediately. I knew if we were going to do this, it could not just be popped into the story we were telling [in the series]. The story we were telling was too crucial. It would have to be something we conceptualized to make sense in relation to the story we were telling as a TV show. I’m also a strong believer in writing about the truth of what’s going on with us as a team. So as we were approaching the finish line of the story we had originally written [for the series], I wanted to write about how that felt. That is so much of what the movie is about.

TV KIDS: Tell me about your journey from being part of the Adventure Time team to running your own show.

SUGAR: What was so amazing about working on Adventure Time is that the storyboard artists were given a lot of freedom to write very personal stories into the show. Pen [Ward, Adventure Time’s creator] really encouraged that. I had come from the world of independent comics. I had believed that I would get a day job in animation but that my really personal work would be something I did privately, in underground comics. Until I got to Adventure Time, I couldn’t have begun to imagine that I could tell a deeply personal story in this commercial of a medium. So when I got to pitch my own show, I wanted to make sure that I built in that level of freedom for my writers and storyboard artists and a level of collaboration where we were all bringing personal stories to the table and discussing whether or not what we were doing was honest and authentic. And I wanted to keep the tradition of storyboard-driven shows.

On Adventure Time, the storyboard artists were also writing all the dialog. We would get structure, acts, an outline, but the artists were doing the writing, which is a very traditional way to make a piece of animation. That’s how they were doing it in the 1930s and 1940s. In the golden age of animation, artists were doing the writing. As television became the source of traditional animation, people switched to

scripts. Adventure Time was being created in a very traditional way. And as an animation history fanatic, that was incredible to me. I couldn’t believe that we were making art in such a traditional way. So I made sure Steven Universe is a storyboard-driven show and that all of us as artists have a huge amount of control over the writing. The storytelling will always intrinsically be very visual, which is absolutely crucial for an animated show.

TV KIDS: It’s a show, a movie, games and more. How involved are you with the broader franchise?

SUGAR: I try to be involved in as much as I can. I am very involved with the children’s storybooks; I write them myself. I stay very involved with the games that come from Grumpyface Studios. Anything that I can direct, I do.

TV KIDS: That sounds like an insane amount of work!

SUGAR: It’s a lot of nights and weekends. But what I love about the ancillary projects is that we get to express the show through different mediums. There are things we can only do in the games, ways we can show the dynamic between all the characters using the language of games.

For example, the first game, Attack the Light, is an RPG [role-playing game], which makes perfect sense for the series. [In the game] Steven is only defense and his power level is much lower than everybody else’s on his team.

These are things we know about the characters, and we get to express them in the game. And then that changes over the course of the game. So as the characters develop, that development is reflected in the game language, which I find very exciting. And then in books like The Answer and a new one we have coming out, The Tale of Steven, we get to do things with the format and the composition of a book, and also what it means to be holding a book and reading it. It’s a way to tell stories we’ve told on the show but explain them through a book. That’s exciting to me. I love being very involved with these ancillary projects because there are ways to explain our premise that are so specific to those different mediums.

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Steven Universe: The Movie aired on Cartoon Network this summer.

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and organizing the marketing of our series in the U.S., such as Gigantosaurus, which Richard has been very busy doing. We’ve been working with agents to secure many licensing deals in the U.S., such as apparel, bedding and publishing. We are ready for a big launch of the toys starting this fall. So we’ve been using the U.S. office, and Richard has been instrumental in this, to develop our brands and sell our series in the U.S. Second, we’ve looked to establish a development slate targeted more to North America and global, interfacing with the French office. So our series become more global. For instance, Ira is working with Pierre Belaïsch [senior VP, creative development consultant, and former head of Lagardère Active], who is based in France, in developing a number of shows.

TV KIDS: Tell us about the U.S. development slate.

SISSMANN: We have Monster in My Pocket, which is a reboot. We are co-producing it with Joe Morrison, the creator of Monster in My Pocket. Joe was at Mattel for a long time. We’re doing a massive CGI reboot, digitally connected. We’ll have a big trailer at MIPCOM. The other thing we’ve been doing with Ira is developing James and the Ever Afters. It’s what we see as our next big preschool series after Gigantosaurus, which has rated

Pierre Sissmann

Cyber Group

By Mansha Daswani

T

he last few years have seen significant growth for Cyber Group Studios. Headquartered in Paris and led by Pierre Sissmann as chairman and CEO, the company set up a U.S. outpost to drive its North American business, scored a global deal with Boomerang for the original series Taffy, created a megahit in Gigantosaurus, airing on Disney Junior in the U.S., and opened a new studio in Lille. The company has also pioneered new alliances, especially in the digital media space, as it looks to expand its business worldwide. Sissmann tells TV Kids about the gains made so far and what’s still to come.

TV KIDS: How has the opening of a U.S. office benefited your business?

SISSMANN: We opened Cyber Group Studios in L.A. a couple of years ago. Richard Goldsmith is our CEO there. He takes care of our business in North America, plus China, Australia and New Zealand. Ira Singerman, who was at Mattel, Universal Pictures and Spin Master, is our VP of development. So far, we have used our office for two main purposes. One is to sell, obviously, 278 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

number one in the U.S. in its first three months on Disney Channel and Disney Junior. And it has spread around the world. James and the Ever Afters is being co-produced with Arnie Zipursky of CCI Entertainment. It is a series where James and his group of friends, a bunch of misfits—there’s an elf, a fairy, a little monster who doesn’t freak anybody out—want to make everyone happy in the world. It is a fantasy, comedy-driven bridge series. I think it’s a great series because it’s very optimistic. It is beautifully designed and the bible author is Kate Barris. We’ll have a fabulous trailer at MIPCOM. TV KIDS: What led to the creation of the new studio in Lille?

SISSMANN: In Paris, we do mostly CG animation. And in Lille, we’ve established a new studio where we’re doing 2D. So in Lille, we’ve been doing part of Taffy.

We’ve moved massively into 2D. As you know, we were preschool, then preschool kids, mostly CGI. Opening this studio in Lille is a very important point

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because it enables us to address all sides of creativity.

Some things are better in 2D, other things better in CGI, some are better with a mix of 2D and CG. The only thing we’re not doing so far is stop-motion.

Maybe that will happen one day. But I want to break all the technological barriers so we can address any kind of creative issues. It’s not about, I’m doing this in 2D, this in CGI. It should be, I’m doing what is best for the series, for the vision of the creator.

We are in production on six series and in development on anywhere between five and ten series. There’s Droners, which we are co-producing with Supamonks Studio and La Chouette Compagnie for TF1. Tom Sawyer is coming for ARD and Rai; it’s a mixed CGI 2D series we are coproducing with Groupe PVP in Canada. Nefertine is a great preschool show set in ancient Egypt, co-produced with the Italian studio Graphilm. We are also finishing Sadie Sparks for Disney Channel. We are soon going into production on Goal Force, a new show for Disney EMEA that we are coproducing with La Chouette. It’s about soccer, set in a world of fantasy. And then we are in development of James and the Ever Afters and Monster in My Pocket with MEG Toys and a few others.

TV KIDS: How are you increasing Cyber Group’s presence in the rest of the world?

SISSMANN: We’re doing a couple of things. One of my objectives was to give a global imprint to Cyber Group Studios for a couple of reasons. One is to reach a public that has different needs on a worldwide basis. Of course, there’s the global [shows]. But we also want to cater more to huge regional markets. Last year we signed a partnership with Soyuzmultfilm Studio in Russia. It is the stateowned studio. We are co-producing up to four series with them. Three are at a very advanced stage. Hopefully, the first two will be released next year. We had a Russian

team in our offices with our development team, and we send our collaborators to Russia regularly. It started about a year, year and a half ago and now it’s on an ongoing basis. Hopefully, [those shows] will cater to the Russian market but even more on a worldwide basis. What we bring is an international perspective on how to write and of course a robust distribution network, which is being handled by Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media.

At the beginning of this year, we also signed an agreement with YoBoHo, one of the world’s biggest MCNs, based in Mumbai. They do 1.5 billion monthly views. We are developing two dedicated YouTube series with YoBoHo. So when you look at what has happened over the last two years, we’ve started to extend our reach. First in the U.S., which was very important, and now we are expanding to China, where we are going to open two new offices. We are already in Russia and we’re working with India. This is my vision of catering to and addressing the needs of kids and families around the world. If you look at India, for instance, it’s a huge market. There are a billion Indian citizens. You need to give them what they’re familiar with.

Same with Russia, same with China. That’s been a big move for Cyber Group Studios.

Last year I decided to get back into the movie business.

It’s where I started; it’s what I was doing at Disney with The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Tarzan, for instance.

We are now in preproduction of Gigantosaurus the Movie. We have Michael J. Wilson, the creator of Ice Age, leading the scripts. We’re looking at a 2022 release. We have two others on the backburner.

So we’re expanding the company horizontally and geographically. It’s amazing to be in a meeting with our French development staff, our U.S. colleagues and now our Russian, Chinese or Canadian partners because you address cultural issues.

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Cyber Group Studios has a co-production deal with Russia’s Soyuzmultfilm Studio that includes Digital Girl.

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Hans Bourlon entrepreneurial step we took on the heels of that acquisition to establish a new studio. So [the acquisition] brought two studios together, allowed us to have a good synergy of people and activities and gave us some extra brands that are performing very well.

TV KIDS: How are you positioning your animation production facilities?

BOURLON: We have Studio 100 Animation in Paris, Little Airplane Productions in New York, Flying Bark Productions in Sydney and Studio Isar Animation in Munich. That’s a lot of studios, and making them work together is not easy, but we’ve tried to let them be as entrepreneurial as possible.

They can come up with their own ideas and cultural influences, and we’ve appointed Barbara Stephen, the CEO of Flying Bark in Sydney, to be the lead for the content of all those studios as CEO of content.

By Mansha Daswani

W

TV KIDS: What’s the approach to crafting the ideal development pipeline across the company so that you have enough new ideas in the works while maintaining a steady production output?

BOURLON: Little Airplane in New York is focused on the development and production of new projects for small children and toddlers, which is a very specific activity.

Flying Bark in Sydney is doing lots of service work for the U.S. at the moment. We are developing new ideas and also creating remakes of our well-known characters, like Maya the Bee, Heidi, Vic the Viking and so on. At Studio Isar Animation in Munich, we are doing CGI, modeling, shading, lighting, compositing and rendering, mostly for our own feature-film activities. We also do service work for third parties and co-productions. There’s a lot of activity in this segment. We do 2D, 3D, CGI. We can handle every technique.

TV KIDS: Now that the m4e integration is complete, what benefits are you deriving from that acquisition?

BOURLON: For the expansion of our group in the international field, it was important to have that majority stake in m4e. They had some strong brands, like Mia and me, Wissper and Tip the Mouse—and a vast back catalog. We were able to integrate this company into our activities and bring the best talent together. That’s a critical issue, as this acquisition was the basis [for the creation of] Studio Isar Animation, which we founded in Munich. It was an

TV KIDS: What have been some of the latest developments in your theme-parks business?

BOURLON: We are very active in the leisure business and this makes our group unique, as we are producing theater shows and theme parks. We started in 1999 with the acquisition of an old theme park on the Belgian coast.

Now we have seven parks, all created on the basis of our television characters. Last year we opened one in Poland. Maya the Bee is the most important IP driving the leisure business. We also have an open-air theme park in Germany, one in the Netherlands and several in Belgium. We are developing some new water parks; we are building one, planning two more and also considering two new parks in Poland. We are planning to invest something like €250 million in theme parks.

For a media group, when the value of certain things is changing because of digitalization, the leisure business as a counterpart is very stable. You cannot

ith theme parks across Europe, animation studios, an international-distribution business, channels and an L&M arm, Studio 100 has carved out a unique position in the global kids’-and-family sector. Headquartered in Belgium, Studio 100 is home to such classic brands as Maya the Bee, Heidi and Vic the Viking and, following its investment in Germany’s m4e, properties like Mia and me and Wissper. Its theme parks and touring theatrical shows have remained a stable, lucrative source of revenues amid changes in the content-distribution business. Hans Bourlon, co-founder and CEO of Studio 100, tells TV Kids about the 360-degree strategy at the heart of the company’s operations.

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Studio 100 digitalize attendance to a theme park. For an entrepreneur, it’s vital to have this as an added value for your group.

TV KIDS: What’s your overall perspective on the licensingand-merchandising market?

BOURLON: There are a lot of changes happening. Having strong brands is a key factor for success. But there are a lot of struggles in retail. Some big groups are overwhelming the market. We’re trying to position ourselves in this. We have some home territories where we think we are very strong—Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany. In Belgium, we have lots of live-action characters that are only known in our language area, the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium and the Netherlands, and we have international characters like Maya, Vic, Heidi and some new ones to come. We have lots of licensees and merchandising that we create ourselves, so we are very active in this area. But, of course, there’s a question mark about the future. We will invest in and create lots of products and be very entrepreneurial in this sector, but we know it won’t be easy.

TV KIDS: What impact are the OTTs having on your business?

BOURLON: We know that 20 years ago, there was a huge problem in the audio industry—because of technical innovation that economy almost disappeared in a very short time. We think that in the industry of moving images, this won’t be the case.

Thanks to Netflix, people are, for the moment, used to paying for subscriptions so they can have some specific content at home.

They will have to make choices in the coming years [as more platforms launch]. There will be a lot of competition. But when you’re on the side of creating content, there are lots of opportunities at the moment, too. There’s SVOD, AVOD, lots of OTT possibilities for content. And we think there’s [value] in that. We have several deals with national broadcasters for regular linear TV. We have deals with Netflix, and we are very positive concerning this. We’re also very active on YouTube. As long as you’re on the content side, I think you’re safe.

cooking channel in Belgium and the Netherlands [called njam!]. In Germany, we have Junior TV for children distributed via the Sky platform, and we have a deal with beIN Media Group in the MENA region [for] beJunior.

TV KIDS: What are your major growth priorities for the company in the year ahead?

BOURLON: There are lots of them! We are building some parks and we’ll also open some. In Belgium, we are very active in the musicals sector and have a musical show that is technologically innovative. It’s reached almost 650,000 people with a turnover of over €35 million for our group, and we will do more of these musicals in the coming years. We also hope to expand this activity beyond our language area. We have some new titles that we are working on in terms of animation, which we will communicate soon. There’s some service work in Sydney that is very promising, and there are some new things in the pipeline.

As an independent group, we have the opportunity and possibility to flourish and grow in the coming years because of the mixture of media and leisure activities.

That’s the key for us.

TV KIDS: How are your TV channels faring?

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Studio 100 operates several theme parks featuring rides based on its iconic brands, including Plopsaland De Panne in Belgium.

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By Mansha Daswani

T

argeted at that elusive demo between older tweens and younger teens, Zodiak Kids’ Flatmates for BBC iPlayer speaks to how the company is tapping into new opportunities to serve audiences across the youth spectrum. Benoit di Sabatino, a veteran of the children’s programming business, has served as CEO of the Banijay Group-owned production-anddistribution company for the last year. He speaks to TV Kids about how he is positioning Zodiak Kids and building on its strengths in live-action and animated fare.

business development, and we share the strategic decisions and investments.

Understandably, the other appeal was Zodiak Kids itself. Of course, I knew this company as a key player in the kids’ business and was familiar with its large catalog (the result of the Marathon Media, Télé Images Productions and The Foundation merger), comprising over 3,000 30-minute episodes and brands such as Totally Spies!, LoliRock, Joe All Alone and Spy School. In addition, I knew Delphine Dumont [senior VP of sales, acquisitions and co-production] and was aware of the strengths of the team worldwide. These are the reasons I decided to come back to the kids’ business with Banijay.

TV KIDS: What key strengths did you see at the division, and in what areas did you feel changes were needed?

DI SABATINO: I was impressed by the live-action production team based in London under the responsibility of Gwen Hughes [COO, Zodiak Kids Studios] and Steven Andrew [creative director, U.K.] and by their multi-award-winning productions. Subsequently, beyond the returning productions, I allocated a budget to develop new live-action series for the international market. On joining, I discovered Zodiak Kids was running 27 YouTube channels under the guidance of Natalie Walmsley, Ian France and Dan Lewsey in London. These included the high performing ZeeKay Junior for a preschool audience, Mister Maker and LoliRock. Seeing the potential in this space, I asked [Zodiak Kids Studios] France COO Ludovic Taron to define a strategy to develop our digital department. I also reinforced the distribution department by providing significant means to invest in new mandates. And with Gary Milne, head of content development, we decided to build a new animation production lineup by relaunching a selection of existing developments, launching new ones and deploying a co-production plan.

TV KIDS: What most appealed to you about joining Zodiak Kids?

DI SABATINO: I had a few discussions with Stéphane Courbit [Banijay Group’s chairman] and Marco Bassetti [CEO] before joining Zodiak Kids about Banijay’s philosophy.

Specifically, the entrepreneurial spirit and the day-to-day relationship between the subsidiaries’ managing directors and the group’s top management. I had been running my own company for the past 25 years, so it was crucial for me to make sure I could bring my experience to the group, while [also] representing their vision. Their personalities and their experience convinced me the collaboration would be a success, and since my appointment, the partnership has worked seamlessly. I lead on the editorial and 282 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

TV KIDS: What’s driving the production division?

DI SABATINO: From an editorial point of view, we are developing in-house series for all broadcasters and platforms and are also striking collaboration opportunities with co-producers. It’s important to believe in and invest in ideas developed by others. It’s also a way for Zodiak Kids to open its creative landscape and develop long-term relationships with co-producers. Additionally, we look to build strong brand extensions for all of our titles (games, shorts, contests) and support them with dedicated promotional drives on social media.

Our goal is to produce four to six live-action series for the international and domestic markets, and two to four new animated series a year, while endeavoring to retain a high level of rights and worldwide distribution throughout our financing process.

TV KIDS: How do you see the commissioning landscape in the markets in which Zodiak Kids is active?

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DI SABATINO: It has undoubtedly changed with the emergence of new global platforms, and these businesses are not playing in the same landscape as the traditional broadcasters. They are investing more money in more expensive shows. Away from advertising and audience constraints, [the SVODs] can explore new types of creation. In fact, they are acting as editorial R&D companies with huge means. It’s a fantastic opportunity for producers, but on the other hand, the producer takes the risk of losing a significant share of their rights. From this point of view, the new digital landscape is mainly a cultural revolution bringing new financial capabilities rather than representing a new business model. At the same time, broadcasters still need new shows. And since they are managing the program’s exposure, they can support producers in building an audience success. [And the producers] retain the majority of the rights. At the end of the day, the commissioning landscape for producers today [presents] new financial and editorial opportunities but with more complex rules.

TV KIDS: What is driving the distribution division?

DI SABATINO: Distribution remains key and is performing very well at Zodiak Kids. Not so long ago, distribution was about selling a show in a territory by organizing broadcast windows to find the best exposure for the series. Today, distribution is about managing holdbacks and conflicting strategies between global competitors.

Global platforms are asking for exclusive SVOD rights worldwide because it’s in their DNA. They will ask too for a holdback against linear and pay TV to protect their business model. To them, all territories are considered equal, even those where the platforms are not yet wellestablished. Elsewhere, broadcasters are also asking for exclusive rights and holdbacks on free VOD and SVOD. It means that in the short term, players are mainly fighting to avoid the show going to competitors as opposed to giving the show the best exposure to build a potential success.

Last September, Zodiak Kids signed an exclusive deal to distribute 17 kids’ series produced by Amazon Studios. The experience has been great and has shown there is a second market for series released on SVOD platforms. There is definitely room to increase exposure and a property’s economic valuation. It has become apparent that there is room for all players to cross-promote their properties and work with expert distribution teams to fully exploit their brands.

TV KIDS: How are you navigating the ever-changing L&M business?

DI SABATINO: I decided to close the in-house CP [consumer-products] department. I have always thought that for a production/distribution company, L&M is not necessarily a strategy but an opportunity.

Not everything is eligible for CP. Also, you can produce series with no CP potential that are successful. My feeling is that you cannot create a CP property from scratch because you cannot guarantee success. As a producer, you are working hard to put together the best elements for the series (concept, authors, showrunner, director, executive producer). Quality is a matter of work; success is a matter of luck. Success is not duplicable, while overheads are. This is why I decided to work with a network of agents to learn from them and their direct experiences in the market.

TV KIDS: Are there new storytelling techniques or technologies that you’re most excited about using?

DI SABATINO: With the U.K. live-action team, we are developing new interactive content such as Secret Life of Boys, for which we got a BAFTA Children’s Award. As children watch the interactive episodes, playful buttons pop up for them to press. These offer unexpected punchlines, ridiculous action replays and surprising new perspectives. But for those who choose not to [interact], the episode continues without pause. This is a program with broadcast TV scale and quality but led by the interactive elements. In addition, we plan to create dedicated content for YouTube and social media for all the shows we develop.

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The award-winning Secret Life of Boys was commissioned

by CBBC in the U.K. and ABC ME in Australia.

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TR E N D S E T T E RS t’s no small challenge to come up with an idea for a children’s program that will stand out from all the competition and capture the hearts and imaginations of the youngest viewers.

If lucky enough to have an original, engaging idea, it’s yet a greater challenge to execute it properly. Today’s savvy youngsters expect the highest production values, the funniest jokes, the most engaging stories and endearing or hilarious characters.

Of course, once a designer, writer or producer has come up with a winning story with relatable characters, the goal is to get the show financed and seen by as wide an audience as possible. This calls for a rare breed of executives: individuals with a deep understanding of and appreciation for the creative process, if not creators themselves, who also have well-honed business know-how.

In acknowledgment of this vital segment of the television industry, World Screen, in partnership with MIPJunior, is holding its fifth annual Kids Trendsetter Awards to honor four individuals who have made significant contributions to the children’s television business.

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The honorees are executive producers, creators and entrepreneurs who have brought to life award-winning hits that have traveled around the globe: Iginio Straffi, Marc du Pontavice, Bronagh O’Hanlon and Rajiv Chilaka.

These four television professionals will take part in the Creators’ Superpanel, on Saturday, October 12, from 10:10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott. World Screen’s group editorial director, Anna Carugati, will moderate a lively discussion that will focus on generating ideas for shows and executing them for today’s media-savvy children.

“We’ve been thrilled with our partnership with Reed MIDEM over the last five years to honor creative professionals who are tasked with producing programming for the most impressionable and vulnerable of audiences—children,” says Ricardo Guise, the president and publisher of World Screen. “Given the responsibility children’s content creators hold, we are excited to present another edition of the Kids Trendsetter Awards. These creators have the difficult task of producing entertaining shows while serving the developmental needs of children. We look forward to celebrating their unique creativity with this award.”

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KIDS TRENDSETTERS IGINIO STRAFFI Like many children, Iginio Straffi loved comics and cartoons as a youngster. He turned that love into a business when he established Rainbow in 1995. He has since created and directed some of the animation studio’s most successful series, including Winx Club. Featuring a group of teenage girls with magical powers, Winx Club premiered in 2004 and has been sold to 150 countries. Netflix has commissioned a live-action version of the series.

Straffi has expanded Rainbow into an entertainment group. He acquired the Vancouver-based animation studio Bardel Entertainment in 2015. Two years later, he bought Italy’s Iven Group, which included Colorado Film. This studio has allowed Rainbow to branch out beyond children’s animation into liveaction films and TV series for families and adults. Rainbow now produces for all ages, from the preschool animated series 44 Cats to the Spanish-language teen-skewing telenovela Club 57.

MARC DU PONTAVICE Marc du Pontavice started his career at the famous French studio Gaumont. He oversaw the production of several series, including Highlander, before creating Gaumont Multimédia in 1995. He later bought its assets and founded Xilam Animation in 1999. Today, Xilam owns a catalog of more than 2,000 episodes of animated series that have aired in 190-plus countries on TV networks and digital platforms, including YouTube, with more than 600 million monthly views. Xilam’s slate boasts the global hit Oggy and the Cockroaches; The Daltons, about four prisoners hilariously trying to break out of jail; Paprika, the company’s first preschool show; and the brand-new Lucy Lost, an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel Listen to the Moon. Du Pontavice has also produced a dozen feature-length films, including Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life and J’ai perdu mon corps (I Lost My Body).

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KIDS TRENDSETTERS BRONAGH O’HANLON With a diploma in animation and a degree in interactive multimedia, Bronagh O’Hanlon began working as a painter at Brown Bag Films in Dublin in 2002. She then advanced to commercial director and art director where she directed commercials for several clients. In 2007, she created, wrote and directed the animated series Teenology for the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ.

Two years later, she designed the lead characters for the Disney Junior series Doc McStuffins and segued into art director for Doc McStuffins and Henry Hugglemonster. Recently, she created and directed Sadie Sparks, a comedy that blends 2D and CG animation. In the series, Sadie finds an ancient magician’s hat and its tenant, a grumpy old magical rabbit, Gilbert. Under his guidance, Sadie becomes a wizard-in-training, often using magic to get out of typical teenage problems. O’Hanlon is currently working on a new music-based animated series.

RAJIV CHILAKA Although he had a master’s degree in computer science, Rajiv Chilaka left a computer software job to study at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His dream was to create the Disney of India. He founded Green Gold Animation in 2001 and created numerous shows, including Bongo, Vikram Betal, Krishna and the super hit Chhota Bheem, about a young boy and his friends who keep the kingdom of Dholakpur safe. Bheem’s adventures have garnered such a huge following that Chilaka has directed three theatrical movies about him. The popularity of Bheem, as well as characters from other series, has allowed Chilaka to expand Green Gold beyond 2D and 3D animation. The company’s other businesses include licensing and merchandising—there are thousands of products connected to Bheem. Green Gold has sold its content around the world.

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We heard from kids that they wanted to hear more from Thomas, and we are continuing to focus on Thomas himself with any narration done in the first person. Kids also shared that they wanted to see Thomas travel more, and we’re delivering on that. Thomas and friends travel extensively this year and our theme for the season is “Digs & Discoveries,” which showcases traditional train activity as well as construction. Two new female characters are introduced this year as well, Darcy and Brenda, both of whom are construction vehicles.

TV KIDS: Tell us about Mattel’s Barbie content.

KEENAN: Like the content for Thomas, the content for Barbie is ever-evolving. When I joined Mattel, there was a long tradition of direct-to-consumer, long-form movies or specials, with Barbie “cast” as a fantasy character (such as a fairy, a rock star, a ballerina, a superhero, etc.) and there was very little content that showcased Barbie as herself. Since then, we’ve launched Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, an animated series that focuses on Barbie’s life in Malibu at home with her sisters and parents and at high school with her friends, as well as Barbie Vlogger, in which this same character vlogs online about current events, female role models and issues that girls and young women face every day. The response from viewers has been amazing.

Christopher Keenan Mattel

By Mansha Daswani

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homas & Friends has been a staple of preschoolers’ TV schedules around the world since the 1980s. The animated adventures of a blue tank engine received a major revamp in 2017, in time for the 22nd season. Christopher Keenan, senior VP and executive producer of content development and production at Mattel, tells TV Kids about what’s next for Thomas as the veteran brand heads into its 23rd season.

TV KIDS: What lessons were learned from incorporating the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, faster-paced stories and more girl characters into Thomas & Friends?

KEENAN: With each new content iteration, Thomas & Friends has continued to evolve on many fronts. Working with the UN and their Sustainable Development Goals was an opportunity that the creative team embraced wholeheartedly, and we were able to tell relatable stories in season 22 that brought these goals to life for our target audience. The effort continues in our branded, short-form content. The introduction of six well-rounded, prominent female characters has also been at the forefront of these most recent seasons, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how well they’ve been received by boys and girls alike. And, of course, shifting to a shorter format has prompted a much quicker pace when it comes to storytelling.

TV KIDS: What can you tell us about season 23?

KEENAN: As with season 22, season 23 makes the most of all the insights we gathered before launching the reboot.

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TV KIDS: What are some of the keys to successfully bringing the essential qualities of a toy brand to television?

KEENAN: While all the traditional rules apply (creating an engaging world, building strong characters, crafting relatable stories, bringing it all to life with a compelling execution), there is the added agenda of showcasing a play pattern—whether it’s role-playing or nurturing or construction or so on—so that the experience can extend to toy play when the screen is turned off. Kids love to tell their own stories with characters they meet on the screen, and toys give them the tools to do this. The more successful we are with organically embedding the character and story-driven content with elements of play, the more engaged kids are, whether playing with their favorite toys or watching their favorite programs.

TV KIDS: What new forms of storytelling excite you most in the kids’ landscape today?

KEENAN: As the platform landscape has splintered and expanded, so have the opportunities for bringing characters and stories to life in unexpected ways. Seeing a resurgence in 2D animation and stop-motion is as exciting to me as all the technical advances in CG. I’m also thrilled to see new creators bringing their ideas to life through inexpensive means and getting their work seen widely and quickly online. The doors have been opened to a whole new community of talented storytellers—and we need as many of those new voices as possible.

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Nicole Dubuc T TV KIDS: How did you come to be involved with The Rocketeer?

DUBUC: I was lucky enough that Disney reached out to me. I was super busy at the time, so I was going into the meeting like, I can’t take on anything else. And then the executive just slid the Rocketeer comic book across the table to me and I was like, Oh, you got me. I love it so much. So I got involved and I worked on developing it for a couple of years.

And here we are.

By Chelsea Regan

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icole Dubuc began her career in the entertainment industry in front of the camera. Best known for playing middle daughter Robin Cooper MacGillis in the sitcom Major Dad, Dubuc also held roles on such popular TV programs of the ’80s as Our House and ALF. Her first gig on the other side of the business was as an apprentice writer for Disney Channel’s Kim Possible. She went on to work on Miles from Tomorrowland and Transformers Rescue Bots, among many other shows. The latest from the seven-time Emmy nominee is The Rocketeer, an animated series inspired by the comics penned by Dave Stevens and the subsequent feature film. The Disney Junior show follows a young girl named Kit who learns that she is destined to be the next Rocketeer superhero, equipped with a rocket pack that enables her to fly.

Leading the series’ voice cast is Billy Campbell, who played the Rocketeer in the 1991 Disney film, as Kit’s dad, while Kathy Najimy (Hocus Pocus) voices her mother. Kit is voiced by Kitana Turnbull (A Series of Unfortunate Events). Dubuc speaks to TV Kids about how The Rocketeer honors its inspiration while finding inventive ways to connect to its young audience.

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TV KIDS: The comic book and movie were quite a bit different from the series for Disney Junior. Can you talk a bit about the changes that were made?

DUBUC: One of the biggest thoughts we had going into this was to make this awesome world accessible to preschoolers.

As part of that, our main character is Kit Secord, and she’s related to Cliff [Secord, the comic’s protagonist]. So she’s not so much replacing him as taking up the mantle. What we liked about the small-town community is that there are elements of it in the film that we kind of leaned into—so, the Bulldog Cafe, the rural elements of the airfield. We thought that might be kind of a cool thing to work in for a preschool show because having a smaller cast of characters in this town, where everyone knows each other, feels like something that kids are very familiar with. It makes it like something they could master. But we haven’t forgotten some of the stuff we all like about the comic or the movie, so we worked that into the design style a bit. My art director, Max, came up with this idea called “steampop.” So there’s a little bit of the steampunk element; it’s like steampunk meets preschool. We’ve got a lot of repurposed airplane parts that kind of make up the world around the show, and really leaning into the idea that this is a town with aviation history. It’s even called Hughesville, which is a reference to Howard Hughes. It’s got a lot of Easter eggs from the original stuff too because as I mentioned, we’re all fans first.

TV KIDS: How did you decide to make this iteration of Rocketeer a girl? And do you think this series, with its strong girl lead, will appeal to boys as well?

DUBUC: I thought it was kind of a neat way to continue the story and say, Look, everyone and anyone can be a hero.

Girls love to fly too. We even had one of our directors study to be a pilot and she said she was one of the few females in the class. It’s kind of neat to be able to say, Well, girls do this too. I absolutely [think the show will appeal to boys]. Kit is just a really fun character. I feel like she’s somebody that everyone would want to be friends with and fly in the sky with. She has a best friend named Tesh, who is a boy and they’re a great kind of contrast. Kit is like, I am going to do whatever it takes to get this done! And Tesh is like, Yeah, but there might be a shortcut! There’s a good kind of balance to that. Tesh is a really fun character. We also have Butch the bulldog in there. Who doesn’t love a bulldog?

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The Rocketeer TV KIDS: Billy Campbell, who played Cliff in The Rocketeer movie, is involved in the series. How did that come about?

DUBUC: We were lucky enough that he said yes when we asked him to play Kit’s dad. It was a great moment for me.

I’m like, I will try not to fangirl out every time we record this!

He plays Kit’s dad Dave, who is named after Dave Stevens, of course, so it’s a neat homage. And it’s been so cool having the original Rocketeer kind of guiding the new Rocketeer in a way on this project.

TV KIDS: Every episode of the series is going to have a new original song. Did you always plan on having music be a big part of the series?

DUBUC: We kind of ended up falling into that, but it’s been really great because it gives you these neat backdrops to have these beautiful flying sequences. Sometimes that might be backed away from in preschool because there’s not a lot of talking necessarily during it, but there’s all of this action. Being able to speak to what the characters are feeling through song during the action has been a really good fit for the show.

TV KIDS: What are some messages you hope the young viewers take away from the series and the character of Kit? DUBUC: I think one of the great things is it’s a really empowering show. It gives you the idea that anybody can be a hero if they believe in their heart that they’re ready to rise to the

challenge. And so, with Kit putting on the rocket pack, she gets this chance to create a positive impact on the world by helping out whenever she can. There’s that pro-social message of helping others, making new friends, stopping the bad guys. For a preschooler, I think it’s really empowering.

TV KIDS: You were part of bringing a same-sex couple to My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Can you tell me a bit about how that came about? And do you think we’ll be seeing more of a push for diversity in kids’ TV? DUBUC: Michael Vogel and I had written [that storyline for] the My Little Pony chapter books. Hasbro gave us the chance to get those characters into the show. That was really cool to bring them to life. I can’t speak to the whole oeuvre of animation, but I think it’s very important to have representation, to have people be who they are on-screen and I believe in a message of love.

TV KIDS: What else do you want people to know about The Rocketeer?

DUBUC: The Rocketeer is such a beautiful show. We’re working with this amazing animation company called ICON [Creative Studio] up in Vancouver and just like every time I look at a new episode I’m like, Wow, this is pretty. And some of the flying stuff I think is really going to be engaging for kids. I’m super excited for everyone to see it.

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Inspired by the comic book and subsequent feature film, The Rocketeer arrives on Disney Junior this fall.

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experience they want inside a guarantee of safety, which doesn’t exist anywhere else today at the scale Kidoodle.TV has. The coming months will reveal partnership announcements expanding Kidoodle.TV’s brand and customer base, as well as the release of new platform technologies and features that help creators manage and monetize their content on Kidoodle.TV. And, of course, we are undertaking our own version of originals that utilize the bilateral communication nature of the Kidoodle.TV platform.

Brenda Bisner

Kidoodle.TV

By Kristin Brzoznowski

ositioned as a safe alternative to YouTube, Kidoodle.TV reaches children in 140-plus countries with a curated selection of more than 13,000 episodes from all around the globe. Available across multiple devices, Kidoodle.TV has trademarked “Safe Streaming” as part of its mission to showcase age-appropriate content that kids love and that parents and caregivers can trust. In a COPPA-compliant ecosystem made for children, every piece of content, including adverts, is handpicked and approved by humans, not algorithms. For content providers, Kidoodle.TV represents a way to monetize their AVOD rights. Brenda Bisner, senior VP of content and business development at Kidoodle.TV, talks to TV Kids about the platform’s unique positioning in the streaming landscape and the types of content she’s looking to add to its already robust slate.

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TV KIDS: How is Kidoodle.TV uniquely positioned in the streaming landscape?

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TV KIDS: What types of content can be found on the service?

BISNER: With over 13,000 episodes and growing on a daily basis, we are proud to have great partnerships that bring additional revenues to the best content providers in the business on a platform that is safe for children.

Some of our great partners include 9 Story Media Group, Blue Ant Media, Moonbug Entertainment, Gaumont, Endemol Shine Group, Xilam, YoBoHo New Media, Media I.M., Millimages, Outfit7, WowWee, Driver Digital Studios, Spin Master Entertainment, Monster Entertainment, Nelvana and Foothill Entertainment.

The latest additions to the Kidoodle.TV family include content from Splash Entertainment, Serious Lunch, One Animation, Jetpack Distribution, Kidtagious Entertainment and MeMeMe Inc., as well as several others.

We look forward to announcing many more additions as we continue to secure more of the content out there for kids in our Safe Streaming environment.

TV KIDS: What type of content will Kidoodle.TV be looking for at MIPCOM? BISNER: Kidoodle.TV will continue to look for strong, quality content that has a proven track record of performing well on YouTube and/or traditional broadcast networks. The focus for the rest of 2019 and into 2020 around co-partnership opportunities for original content is well underway. We will continue to look at ways to meet the needs of digitally-native children and harness the shaping of “experience” brands that are not only native to the platform, but to the time we are living in, and most importantly for a global kids’ audience. In addition to that, we will be looking to align with partners who value safety for children.

TV KIDS: What is Kidoodle.TV’s strategy for shaping the future of “Safe Streaming” for kids around the globe?

BISNER: Safe Streaming was one of those meant-to-be moments for us and represents a lot of hard work to ensure that Kidoodle.TV is a safe alternative and a legitimate revenue opportunity for content providers and creators. The latest FTC fine to YouTube is a clear indicator that the market has now made meaningful change by enforcing COPPA laws, and people are becoming very aware of the dangers open platforms present to children. In that light, we are shaping the future of streaming for kids by offering to help creators monetize in as many markets they wish to be in, work with advertisers to find consistent brand-safe value, and, of course, carry the relevant content and experiences kids traditionally look for. Shaping this is a very exciting endeavor, and Safe Streaming is something we plan to expand to help establish healthy streaming habits for kids all over the world.

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ON THE RECORD

hroughout his career, whether as a producer or network executive, Bob Greenblatt has not shied away from challenges. He has sought out shows that drew attention because they were different. He helped build the fledgling FOX network in the ’90s with Beverly Hills, 90210, The X-Files and Ally McBeal. As a producer, Greenblatt brought to life Six Feet Under. At Showtime, he greenlit Weeds and Dexter, among several others that helped increase the premium cable network’s subscription base by 52 percent.

When he became chairman of NBC Entertainment in 2011, he had to draw talent back to the broadcast network that had fallen into last place and rebuild the schedule. He did so with such hits as The Voice, the Dick Wolf Chicago franchise, The Blacklist, This Is Us and The Good Place. Under his leadership, NBC was the number one network in the 18-to-49 demographic for five consecutive years.

Now, as chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer, he is on the front line of the battle all media companies are waging: creating a streaming service that will satisfy sophisticated and budget-conscious consumers, who already have a lot of entertainment choices.

WarnerMedia Entertainment comprises HBO and the linear cable networks TNT, TBS and truTV. But the company’s big focus is the streaming platform HBO Max, which is scheduled to launch next year with 10,000 hours of content.

Greenblatt is overseeing the increase in volume and scope of HBO’s output, all of which will also run on HBO Max. He and his teams have been making deals with numerous creators, showrunners and actors, including Greg Berlanti, Reese Witherspoon, David E. Kelley, Julian Fellowes and Nicole Kidman. HBO Max will have new original series from the DC Entertainment world. Greenblatt is also tapping into IP and libraries from Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, and all divisions of the company. Acquired and co-produced product will also be important parts of HBO Max. As Greenblatt tells World Screen, HBO will continue to focus on quality and provide the defining principles to everything HBO Max offers. Greenblatt welcomes the challenge of creating a new service that stands out from the competition—a task not dissimilar to the ones he has faced in the past and successfully overcome. In fact, his track record of success is being celebrated at MIPCOM, where he will be presented with the Personality of the Year Award.

ROBERT GREENBLATT WARNERMEDIA

By Anna Carugati

WS: Throughout your career, you have found shows that made their networks stand out. In today’s environment, what are the challenges of finding a standout show and, more importantly, finding the right home for it?

GREENBLATT: There’s never been more opportunity and the creative community has clearly stepped up, so great ideas are coming from so many people these days. I’ve always been in a fight to find extraordinary or game-changing material. It’s really about trying to find something that breaks through and speaks to people and is emotionally resonant. There is a lot of that in the world today. I’m happy that we are a company that tries to nurture those kinds of shows. When I was a young executive at FOX, we were the fourth network and had to become an alternative. I’ve been doing the same thing ever since. Being an alternative and finding a way to differentiate yourself is important, especially now, in a world in which there is so much programming. You have to have the people who are finding that. We have a group of executives at all of our networks who are really good at delivering content that is unique and distinctive, from HBO to the Turner networks, and HBO Max will be that as well. We want to be a reflection of HBO in terms of cultivating the best of the best. It’s our job to do that and it’s always been the challenge we all face.

WS: As you and Casey Bloys, HBO’s president of programming, increase HBO’s offering, are there certain programming genres that you are considering?

GREENBLATT: HBO is doing what it’s always done. Casey Bloys, who is very talented at running the programming division, has widened the lens a little bit. Some shows are a little bit younger than maybe they have been in the 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 299

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Watchmen (top) is HBO’s latest Sunday night buzzy original, following Game of Thrones (center) and Big Little Lies.

past—Euphoria is a good example.

There are some other projects on the drawing board that might be broader in other ways, too. We are looking to extend all the demos a little bit, but they are basically doing what they have been doing all these years. And the new original programming on HBO Max will broaden that even further. HBO skews younger than most people think, and Casey is trying to make it even younger but not doing a big, drastic change. He has a wonderful group of executives who have been doing this with him for a while, and some even before he was in his current job. They are really good at continuing what HBO has been doing for all this time but also growing and expanding gradually for the future.

we want to apply that to HBO Max. We will obviously be expanding beyond what HBO brings because the service will have a greater volume than HBO and a more expansive demo reach. But HBO is the heart of the service and it’s going to give us some of the defining principles of everything we do, which is, first and foremost, quality. So yes, HBO is really important to HBO Max.

WS: As you increase the output of programming, some shows may have to be produced more quickly than others. Is the straight-to-series model important? Are you still doing pilots?

GREENBLATT: We do it all. Pilots can be very instructive and helpful when you are trying to create a new show and a completely new universe. At the same time, we live in a moment when the straight-to-series model is the name of the game, and we’re very comfortable with that strategy as well.

We do a number of shows straight-toseries and several that come from the traditional pilot model. We recently announced three pilots that we are making for HBO Max: a half-hour dramedy called Generation and two other dramas, Red Bird Lane and Rules of Magic. And over the summer we picked up a dozen shows straightto-series for the service as well. It depends on competitive reasons sometimes, and on what is the best way to develop a project and bring it forward.

WS: Library product can be extremely valuable to a direct-to-consumer service. I’m thinking of shows like Friends.

GREENBLATT: We’ve seen that from existing platforms like Netflix and Amazon. We have data on some of those acquired shows, several of which our company—Warner Bros. Television—produces. I got the Netflix research when I was at NBC with The Office, and now I see it with Friends. Those shows are extraordinary leaders in engagement on those services. We know that only a handful of titles drive a great deal of engagement on those platforms, and the two shows I just mentioned are two of the biggest. The shows we produce from Warner Bros. for The CW—many of them from Greg Berlanti and DC Entertainment—are big players on Netflix. We know that. That’s why we made a new deal going forward with CW shows like Katy Keene and Batwoman.

Those are important drivers for audiences.

So it’s original programming, acquisitions and library that adds to the totality of the service. And we are prepared to invest heavily in all of them.

WS: In launching HBO Max, how critical is the HBO brand and what it stands for?

GREENBLATT: HBO is in the title, so it’s important that we envelop and respect the HBO brand here. We believe in HBO as a worldwide brand that will immediately help us launch our streaming service everywhere. I would argue it’s one of the greatest brands in the history of our medium. It’s the gold standard, and 300 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

WS: How are you planning to augment HBO Max’s offering beyond originals? Are acquisitions part of the strategy as well?

GREENBLATT: Yes, all of the above. Acquisitions, library content from the incredible Warner Bros. television and film libraries and MGM is part of that as well. We are doing a lot of new original programming beyond HBO, but yes, a lot of acquisitions and a lot of library content.

WS: TNT, TBS and truTV have been significant brands for Turner and now WarnerMedia.

How are you maintaining the relevance of those brands, and what role will they play on HBO Max? GREENBLATT: A lot of the programming from those networks will go into HBO Max, usually slightly delayed due to carriage deals we have [with pay-TV partners], unlike HBO programming that will be there day-and-date. But TNT, TBS and truTV are very important to us. They are heavily watched. They are at the highest level of what distributors pay for cable networks because of a rich mix of original programming, movies and top-notch sports. It’s

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TNT is gearing up to launch The Angel of Darkness, the sequel to The Alienist, which was one of the network’s highest-rated original dramas. our goal to keep them strong and vibrant.

Much of the scripted and unscripted programming will eventually find its way to HBO Max. WS: In planning and programming HBO Max, how is WarnerMedia Entertainment working with Warner Bros. and the news and sports division of WarnerMedia?

GREENBLATT: We are working with every asset and network that we have in this company, and it’s a big and wide-ranging company. It’s Warner Bros. television and film, CNN, and we talked about the Turner networks and HBO. There are Cartoon Network and Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera in the library. We are acquiring a lot of library product but also commissioning new projects from all those divisions.

On the news front, at the moment, we won’t have any live news. But CNN has a rich documentary and reality department, and we’re going to be working with them on those kinds of programs. In every area of this company that makes excellent programming, we are trying to find ways to either license existing product or make new product with them. The beauty of this HBO Max service is this broad collection of assets—it is really unique in this landscape of SVOD services.

WS: Time slots, lead-in shows, demographics and on-air promotion are key when scheduling linear networks. What factors go into programming a direct-to-consumer service?

GREENBLATT: We are doing things, in some respects, in the old-fashioned way. We believe in the human touch, and whether it’s a linear network or a programming service, scheduling is meaningful. Of course, we know people watch shows when and where they want and they make their own schedules. But we have also extended the meaning of the word scheduling to how things are arranged on our service.

Things are going to change monthly and weekly, and when our new original shows come into the ecosystem, what are we going to have as companions to those new shows?

How are we going to present the library product that might serve as a companion to a new original? All of those decisions aren’t made by machines or computers. They’re made by people in a room who are clever and creative. We really like that idea, and we have great people who are doing it. You’ll feel that as you interact with our service.

WS: So in a world of data and algorithms, there is still room for gut instinct and experience!

GREENBLATT: As we look at next year when the service is up and running, we already know when all the original programs from HBO are going to premiere. So when a big show comes back on the linear service of HBO, for example, Euphoria, we are going to put shows beside it on HBO Max that feel like companions. If you’re watching Euphoria, you might also be interested in other shows—it’s not as simplistic as “if you 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 301

watched this then you’ll watch this”—but we’re doing it the old-fashioned way. I think you’ll perceive that when you’re in HBO Max. WS: You said HBO shows will be on HBO Max on the same day and date. Does that mean that some shows on HBO Max will run weekly instead of entire seasons being dropped all at once?

GREENBLATT: All of that is still to be formally announced, but we have to follow the pattern of HBO because the linear service is going to match the HBO Max service. We can’t put the first episode of Westworld out on the linear HBO and then put ten episodes of Westworld on Max on the same day. Because that is the case, we are going to mostly follow that pattern with other originals. We know our creators and the people who make the shows for us are excited about that. We love the idea of creating interest and cultural relevance with shows that run 10 or 12 weeks, or a few months, as opposed to a new show being released all on one day. After the weekend binge is over, most of the audience who is going to watch it is done, and suddenly they are on to the next show. We have shows like Big Little Lies, or Chernobyl or Game of Thrones that were exciting weekly events for people, and they talked about them in between episodes. The trade press wrote about them. The New York Times wrote about them. A lot of that goes away when you put the whole season out in one day.

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TBS has given the go-ahead to a second season of its comedy series Miracle Workers, which stars Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi, among others.

WS: And I’m sure creators like that, too.

GREENBLATT: They do, but we’re also not so myopic that we don’t realize that people like to binge programming. We understand that.

So you’ll be able to binge to your heart’s content in terms of library content, acquisitions to some degree and previous seasons of shows. But in the current run of a series—its new episodes—we are going to pretty much follow the weekly cadence. We might tease a new show with a few episodes right up front, to get people more engaged. But by and large, it’s going to be the weekly rollout.

WS: What can WarnerMedia offer talent?

GREENBLATT: I like to think we are the company talent comes to for the best experience possible. We have extraordinary executives that are smart and respectful. We have platforms and networks that are dependent on great content and therefore, we have to be a place that is very responsive to the creative process. And that means in development, in production and in marketing, in the sense that we’re not doing a thousand shows at once, we’re doing a number that is manageable. We

Friends is a key asset for the upcoming HBO Max streaming service, which launches in 2020.

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call it bespoke or hand-curated. We like volume, too, but more important is giving the artist, whether that’s a writer or producer or director or actor, a really great experience. Their shows are important to us. We want them to be culturally interesting and relevant, and we want to make [sure they] are marketed and positioned properly. HBO has stood for that for decades and still does. I’m confident that HBO Max will as well.

WS: Will co-produced or co-financed projects continue to have a place on HBO? GREENBLATT: We love co-productions. The world is international these days. We’ve been one of the leaders in this area, and some unusual and new things have come out of these co-productions that we otherwise wouldn’t have found, like the extraordinary Chernobyl or the upcoming Catherine the Great starring Helen Mirren. We’re open to these shows across HBO and HBO Max and our other networks.

WS: Do you have a message for producers or writers outside the U.S.?

GREENBLATT: We are open to all kinds of ideas. We now live in a world where international shows, even non-English-language shows, are working on some of these platforms. We have a wonderful Israeli limited series on HBO called Our Boys, which is shot all in Hebrew and Arabic—the reviews here have been ecstatic. We have My Brilliant Friend and The New Pope on HBO. We’re going to try to put some foreign-language shows on HBO Max as well. But they don’t all have to be in a foreign language either.

We’re just open to great ideas. We are wide open to co-productions.

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TVDRAMA

WWW.TVDRAMA.WS

OCTOBER 2019

MIPCOM EDITION

Book Adaptations / Crime Dramas / New Voices / Mark Gatiss / Rachel Griffiths / Ava DuVernay Andrew Davies / Jed Mercurio / TIMS&B’s Timur Savci & Burak Sağyaşar / Alexander Woo

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TV DRAMA 13

CONTENTS

Television That Transforms

FEATURES 28 READING ROOM

The importance of known IP is driving competition for book rights.

36 KILLING TIME

A look at the latest trends in crime drama.

36

We’ve seen quite a few real-life consequences from docs recently. This year, we got to see that happen in the scripted space too, in the aftermath of Netflix streaming When They See Us.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Drama ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvdrama.ws

Ava DuVernay’s moving, rage-inducing miniseries about the infamous Central Park Five case has received much critical acclaim and delivered a fair bit of backlash against some of the central figures in the incident. Elizabeth Lederer, who led the prosecution against the teenagers despite the lack of evidence against them, stepped down from her lecturer post at Columbia Law School. Linda Fairstein, who led the Manhattan District Attorney’s sex crimes unit at the time, was dropped by her publisher. Thanks to social media, Netflix’s global footprint and stunning performances, When They See Us seems to have struck much more of a chord than Ken Burns’ brilliant 2012 documentary about the case. And it’s clear that in bringing injustices to light, dramas can be as effective, if not more so, than documentaries. I got the chance to speak to DuVernay about the “truth-telling” in When They See Us and her expanding TV portfolio for this edition.

When They See Us is not the only difficult piece of television that made waves this year. Russell T Davies’ blistering Years and Years is a terrifying look at what our near future may hold.

HBO’s Chernobyl aired just a few months before stories emerged about another nuclear accident in Russia. The Terror: Infamy—whose co-creator Alexander Woo is featured in this edition—adds a genre element to the story of America’s horrific internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. There are many stories being told today that have the power to transform our views and give us insights into people and cultures we may not have thought about before. And there are also many stories that really just serve to entertain. For me, the joyful Good Omens was a revelation. I’m not the only one looking for a bit of uplift; our report on trends in crime drama features executives pointing to the demand for “blue-sky” dramas, set in lush locations, less girl-in-the-ditch and more quirky investigators. We also explore the book-adaptations space. Jane Austen’s unfinished Sanditon has been turned into a series; we hear from Andrew Davies and the team behind the production. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is getting a new take via Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, who gives us insights into resurrecting the iconic vampire. We also feature an interview with Jed Mercurio, this year’s World Screen Trendsetter Award honoree, and much more.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON TELEVISION DRAMA Photo credits: Ava DuVernay courtesy of Danielle Levitt/August Images; Mark Gatiss courtesy of Eivind Hansen.

44 NEW VOICES

The race to discover and foster new talent is on.

INTERVIEWS

48

Mark Gatiss

52

Rachel Griffiths

56

Ava DuVernay

60

Andrew Davies

62

Jed Mercurio

64

TIMS&B’s Timur Savci & Burak Sağyaşar

68

Alexander Woo

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16 TV DRAMA

A+E Networks Miss Scarlet and The Duke Set in Victorian London, A+E Networks’ Miss Scarlet and The Duke centers on Eliza Scarlet, the female heir to a detective agency, and her unlikely business partner “The Duke,” DI William Wellington of Scotland Yard. Together, Eliza and the drinker, gambler and womanizer solve crimes throughout the city, with their fiery relationship front and center in the series. Created by Rachael New, the show stars Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin. “Miss Scarlet and The Duke is in post-production, having filmed all through the summer, and it’s exciting for us to start showing buyers how it’s looking,” says Moreyba Bidessie, director of international scripted development and sales at A+E Networks.

“We are so hugely proud of the show—our first original scripted show from A+E Networks International.”

“We’re continuing to look for projects that we can launch in a co-production space that are, very simply, good stories.”

—Moreyba Bidessie

Miss Scarlet and The Duke

all3media international Blinded / Diary of an Uber Driver / Van der Valk The thriller Blinded, sold by all3media international, entwines the lives of complex characters within the backdrop of finance and journalism. “In these times of ‘fake news’ and with the international press always on the attack as well as being attacked, this is a universal story that is spectacular in its writing, acting and overall production value,” says Maria Ishak, senior VP of sales for North America.

Diary of an Uber Driver, which springs from a successful blog, features the drama of relatable passengers as well as of the beloved driver Ben. Multiple deals have already been signed for Van der Valk, and the company is looking to add to this at MIPCOM. “It’s a stylish, well-paced contemporary police procedural and has a brilliant local production in Amsterdam,” says Ishak.

“We focus on quality over quantity.”

—Maria Ishak

Blinded

ATV The Ottoman / Hercai / Love and Secrets MIPCOM will be the launchpad for ATV’s new series The Ottoman. Osman, the father of the Ottoman Empire, is portrayed in the series by Burak Özçivit, known from the International Emmy Award winner Endless Love and the hit Magnificent Century. There’s a second season of Hercai, which tells a story of love that was born from revenge.

“ATV is going to have a special showcase of Hercai on Tuesday, October 15, at MIPCOM, with the attendance of the leading talents,” says Müge Akar, content sales deputy manager. Love and Secrets was a hit this summer in Turkey, and ATV believes it will play well in other countries, too. “Even though TV consumption decreases in the summer season, Love and Secrets managed to stay on the top,” says Akar.

Love and Secrets

“The quality of the premium casts makes the drama more relatable.”

—Müge Akar 318 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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18 TV DRAMA

Banijay Rights The Gulf / The Restaurant / Occupied Banijay Rights’ drama slate features The Gulf, about the moral disintegration of Detective Jess Savage, who is investigating crimes on her home turf of Waiheke Island, New Zealand. “The way the drama explores the idea that even good people, given the wrong circumstances, are capable of committing a terrible crime is universal in its appeal,” says Caroline Torrance, head of scripted. The award-winning series The Restaurant, which follows a family-run eatery in Stockholm, is back with a third season, this one kicking off in 1968. There’s also a third season of the political thriller Occupied. The new season “promises continued international appeal in the way it depicts a near global future through an intense political thriller, which deals with themes of conflict and trust,” says Torrance.

“The third season of Occupied is concentrated on the postwar era.”

Occupied

—Caroline Torrance

Dynamic Television Deliver Us / The Sommerdahl Murders / Vagrant Queen A psychotic bully named Mike, charismatic and dangerous, tortures the residents of his small rural town in the Dynamic Television highlight Deliver Us. When a boy dies in an accident involving Mike, a group that includes the boy’s father goes down a dangerous path as they try to get rid of him.

The Sommerdahl Murders, based on Anna Grue’s novels, sees detective duo Dan Sommerdahl and Fleming Torp investigate a new murder case each episode. In Vagrant Queen, child queen Elida becomes an orphaned outcast, scavenging the galaxy as she keeps out of reach of her enemies before new information takes her back to the kingdom to face her foe. Dan March, Dynamic Television’s managing partner, says, “We couldn’t be more excited for this slate of new drama, all of which we are very passionate about.”

The Sommerdahl Murders

“Each of these new series brings masterful storytelling that is easily marketed to and accessible by a very broad audience.”

—Dan March

Honour

Eccho Rights Everywhere I Go / Heart & Soul / Honour Among the Turkish dramas Eccho Rights is bringing to MIPCOM is Everywhere I Go, which stars Furkan Andic and Aybüke Pusat, who have appeared in such series as Orphan Flowers, Meryem, The Girl Named Feriha and Medcezir. Eccho Rights has aligned with SIC in Portugal to exclusively represent the ongoing drama Heart & Soul, among other titles. Fredrik af Malmborg, Eccho Rights’ managing director, says, “Portugal is a country with huge potential for serial drama that has been gaining recognition in the international market.” The company has already concluded deals in Germany, Belgium and the U.S. for the Swedish drama series Honour. “Eccho Rights’ latest lineup reflects our ongoing commitment to representing the best drama from around the world,” says af Malmborg.

“We are proud to have the chance to work with producers from a wide range of countries.”

—Fredrik af Malmborg 320 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Electric Entertainment Almost Paradise / The Outpost / Stephen J. Cannell Library Set in the Philippines, the Electric Entertainment title Almost Paradise centers on a DEA agent whose tropical retirement is interrupted by an international drug investigation. “Almost Paradise is a throwback to the popular crime-investigative procedurals from the ’80s and ’90s,” says Sonia Mehandjiyska, head of international distribution at Electric Entertainment.

“Based on its beautiful location and genre, it has universal appeal for the entire family.” The Outpost follows a woman named Talon who needs to learn to control a newly discovered supernatural power to take down a religious dictator after her village is destroyed. Electric will also be highlighting the collection of series in its Stephen J. Cannell library, which includes 21 Jump Street, The Commish and more from the award-winning writer and producer.

The Outpost

“We continue to be creative and develop brand-new ideas for series such as Almost Paradise and The Outpost.”

—Sonia Mehandjiyska

Global Agency Daydreamer / Sisters / Evermore A romantic adventure propels the Global Agency title Daydreamer, which sees two independent souls, Sanem and Can, discover love and one another in the heart of Istanbul. Sisters Ümran and Umay are driven apart by love and betrayal, and their hostility toward one another leads to a conflict between their daughters, Hayat and Hayal, as they uncover their mothers’ secret in Sisters. Over the course of Evermore’s three seasons, a love story has played out between wealthy businessman Faruk and a poor singer named Süreyya, who is battling against deep-rooted family traditions. Along with adding premium dramas and original formats to its catalog, Global Agency “will also be focusing on our best-selling titles and entering new territories,” says Izzet Pinto, the founder and CEO.

”We are excited to share our new strong lineup with our clients during MIPCOM.” —Izzet Pinto Evermore

Rule of 3

Incendo A Brush with Love / The Lead / Rule of 3 Incendo is heading to MIPCOM with a slate of movie-ofthe-week thrillers that includes The Lead and Rule of 3.

The Lead tells the story of a reporter stuck covering local news who is kidnapped and becomes the main story herself. Rule of 3, starring Kelly Rutherford, is about a woman whose husband dies in a supposed car accident and only later finds out he was murdered and that she’s not the only one mourning him. There’s also the romantic TV movie A Brush with Love. “As Incendo looks forward to a bright future and new changes and challenges, we remain a source of the highest quality television films with 18 years of knowledge, experience and expertise in production,” says Gavin Reardon, who heads up international sales and co-productions.

“Our reputation and work speak for themselves.”

—Gavin Reardon 322 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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TV DRAMA 21

Inter Medya Bitter Lands / Tainted Love / Behzat Ç.

From TIMS&B Productions, the period drama Bitter Lands has already been sold by Inter Medya into a slew of international markets. The Turkish drama tells the story of a legendary love that begins in Istanbul during the 1970s and continues in the lands of Çukurova in southern Turkey through the trials of evil, ambition and tyranny. “Bitter Lands asks whether love is eternal against facts of life and tests the resistance of love and kindness amid a series of turbulent events,” says Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya. Also from TIMS&B, Tainted Love is about life challenges, family secrets, love and self-sacrifice. Inter Medya recently acquired the rights for the novel Behzat Ç. and produced nine new episodes for the Turkish SVOD platform BluTV.

Bitter Lands

“Inter Medya has managed to reach an important position as a distributor of Turkish series and feature films in the international market for more than 27 years.”

—Can Okan

Kanal D International

Love Trap

Ruthless City / Love Trap / Wounded Love At MIPCOM, Kanal D International is shining a light on its new drama Ruthless City and successful romantic comedy Love Trap, as well as returning series Wounded Love and Price of Passion. The company has already sold its drama series in a wide variety of markets. “Our penetration in all regions continues to grow,” says Kerim Emrah Turna, executive director of Kanal D International. He adds that Turkish dramas have made strong inroads in Central and Eastern Europe and have recently started to make their way into Western Europe, notably in Spain. Other healthy markets are the CIS territories and Latin America. Going forward, furthering the footprint of the Kanal D Drama channel is a top priority, with a European launch coming “in a very short period.”

“We plan to have Kanal D Drama in Europe, Africa and Asia shortly.”

—Kerim Emrah Turna

The Trial of Christine Keeler

Keshet International The Trial of Christine Keeler / Secret Bridesmaids’ Business / Black B*tch (Total Control) The Trial of Christine Keeler, which tells the story of the Profumo affair political sex scandal, is among Keshet International’s highlights. A wedding turns deadly when a stranger invited by a bridesmaid ends up triggering a potentially fatal chain reaction that opens a world of secrets in Secret Bridesmaids’ Business.

Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters) stars in the Australia-set political drama Black B*tch (Total Control). Rose Hughes, VP of sales at Keshet International, says: “From the richly evocative re-creation of the Swinging Sixties in The Trial of Christine Keeler to the expansive, sun-drenched Outback featured in Black B*tch and the richly decaying autumnal Australian vineyards of Secret Bridesmaids’ Business, these beautifully crafted series will take viewers on a journey with their universal stories of power, intrigue, sex, politics and revenge.”

“Keshet International has an ongoing pipeline of high-end, glossy-looking and star-studded dramas.”

—Rose Hughes

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22 TV DRAMA

Lionsgate Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist / Manhunt: Lone Wolf / Ambitions Suburgatory’s Jane Levy stars in the Lionsgate title Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, a drama about a computer coder who starts to hear the innermost thoughts of those around her through songs following an unusual event. The anthology series Manhunt: Lone Wolf chronicles the search for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bomber, Eric Rudolph, who’s played by Jack Huston. Also set in Atlanta, Georgia, Ambitions is a multigenerational family saga from Will Packer (Girls Trip, Straight Outta Compton). “It’s important to align ourselves with great content creators and understand that every buyer has different needs,” says Agapy Kapouranis, president of international television and digital distribution at Lionsgate. “Our goal is to meet and exceed those needs with quality content that connects and resonates with audiences.”

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

“Our lineup showcases our ability to collaborate with exceptional storytellers and leverage our producing partnerships to bring premium content to the market.”

—Agapy Kapouranis

A Miracle

Madd Entertainment Kuzgun / A Miracle The second season of Kuzgun leads Madd Entertainment’s MIPCOM slate. The series centers on the titular orphaned son of an honest cop who had refused to make a deal with a drug lord and was subsequently backstabbed by his best friend and colleague. Twenty years after his father’s death, Kuzgun infiltrates the gang of the man who had betrayed him—only to see his plans for revenge complicated when he runs into his childhood sweetheart Dila. Deniz Cantutan, Madd Entertainment’s senior sales manager, says, “Kuzgun’s first season was already successful in national and international markets, and we are sure that the introduction of new stars will bring bigger excitement to the viewers.” Also on the company’s slate is the Turkish adaptation of The Good Doctor, A Miracle, starring Taner Ölmez and Onur Tuna.

“Turkey has been creating powerful stories for many years.”

—Deniz Cantutan

My Champion

MISTCO Melek (A Mother’s Struggle) / My Champion / Hold My Hand Shot in Gaziantep, Turkey, the MISTCO highlight Melek (A Mother’s Struggle) centers on the plight of a woman as she sacrifices everything for her children in her fight to protect them. “We have very high expectations for it, as it has a universal story reflecting all mothers’ reactions when their children are in need,” says Aysegul Tuzun, MISTCO’s VP of sales and marketing. My Champion tells the story of a retired boxer who returns to the ring in an effort to save his sick son. Hold My Hand’s second season is also on MISTCO’s MIPCOM slate. Tuzun, who dubs Hold My Hand a modern Cinderella story, adds, “Our brand-new titles Melek and My Champion will touch people’s hearts, and everyone watching these series will see a piece of their lives and make connections with them.”

“With human stories, we are actually creating universal stories.”

—Aysegul Tuzun

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Red Arrow Studios International Dignity / The Bank Hacker / Vienna Blood The drama slate from Red Arrow Studios International features the thriller Dignity, inspired by the real-life story of a mysterious German sect established by a former Nazi soldier in Chile. In the character-driven thriller The Bank Hacker, a teenager joins a team of expert conmen and commits a daring heist. Meanwhile, the crime drama Vienna Blood is set in 1900s Austria, where cultures and ideas collide in the capital city’s cafes and opera houses.

Regarding MIPCOM, Bo Stehmeier, president of Red Arrow Studios International, says that the company is “focused on delivering an impressive and diverse slate of new shows that covers all genres and reflects the quality and ambition of our global network of in-house production companies and outstanding third-party producers.”

Dignity

“These titles reflect the trends and demands we are seeing from program buyers internationally.”

—Bo Stehmeier

Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport Ekaterina. Pretenders / Godunov / One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Sovtelexport, which distributes content from Russia Television and Radio (RTR) and other producers, has a number of historical dramas on offer, including Ekaterina. Pretenders. In the series, the rule of the mighty Ekaterina the Great is threatened as numerous pretenders appear with claims to the throne. Also in the way of historical drama, Godunov looks at the Russian statesman Boris Godunov’s rise to power after the death of Ivan the Terrible. Sovtelexport is also presenting the movie One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (working title), based on the novel by Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn about survival in a Soviet labor camp. “Every year, the RTR catalog is being replenished by the best and most successful local productions,” says Julia Matyash, director of Sovtelexport.

Ekaterina. Pretenders

“Our mission has always been to introduce the best Russian TV products to the world.”

—Julia Matyash

Series Mania

Series Mania March 20-28, 2020 / Lille, France Series Mania has now had two editions held in Lille, France, and both were met with “overwhelming success,” according to Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director. “We certainly expect even greater results in 2020.” This year, the event welcomed over 72,000 participants and 2,700 professionals from 59 countries at the Series Mania Forum. On the Forum side, key highlights of the 2019 edition included the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, where a jury of international industry executives selected the French drama Purple among the 16 projects highlighted. The 2020 Forum is slated for March 25 to 27. “From the very beginning, our aim has been to become the content development hub in Europe, covering everything related to series—from emerging talent and production companies to passionate fans,” Herszberg says.

“The move to Lille has allowed us to expand, both in terms of size and initiatives.”

—Laurence Herszberg

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The Reckless

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Star Media Under Military Law / The Reckless / Detective Anna Filming is underway for the fourth season of Star Media’s Under Military Law, which is based on events that occurred during Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. The Reckless, directed by Darya Poltoratskaya, focuses on the stories of two different young women with difficult lives. Vlad Riashyn, founder and general producer at Star Media, says the fact that the series focuses on strong women is “extremely relevant nowadays, so we could not ignore it.” The Detective Anna series sees the titular 19-year-old discover that she has supernatural powers that enable her to solve mysterious crimes in 19th-century Zatonsk, Russia. At MIPCOM, Star Media will also be shining a spotlight on The Rurik Dynasty, its production about that ruling period in Russian history, as well as the new eight-episode thriller series Cold Shores.

“We hope that these shows will be appreciated by our international colleagues and subsequently find audiences abroad.”

—Vlad Riashyn

Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution Sons of Lord Ram & Sita / The Accidental English Teacher / Web of Love Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution has launched a series of new programs this year, including Sons of Lord Ram & Sita, which unearths the virtues of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita through the lens of their sons and narrates how the children become instrumental in bringing their estranged parents together. The Accidental English Teacher is about an illiterate young army widow who is offered a job teaching English in a small village school, which gives her a chance to educate herself. Web of Love traces the journey of three individuals whose lives are entwined in one marriage. “Viacom18 has always been a pioneer in presenting strong and socially relevant concepts and has grown leaps and bounds with its engaging storylines,” says Debkumar Dasgupta, senior VP and business head, syndication.

ZDF Enterprises

The Accidental English Teacher

“While our content is symbolic of the core culture and diversity of India, our approach has always been global.”

—Debkumar Dasgupta

Ottilie von Faber-Castell

Dead Still / The Wall / Ottilie von Faber-Castell Headlining ZDF Enterprises’ drama slate is Dead Still, set in 1880s Ireland in the Victorian-era heyday of postmortem photography. It’s “a macabre comedy about the strange adventures of Blennerhasset and Molloy, Dublin’s most famed memorial photographers,” says Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama. In the miniseries The Wall, two sisters and their grown-up children find themselves on different sides of the political fence in a rapidly disintegrating East Germany.

It follows as a third sister, believed to have drowned years before, turns up in the West with a secret to tell on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Meanwhile, Ottilie von FaberCastell is set in Germany toward the end of the 19th century and is based on the true story of a young woman who inherits the famous pencil-manufacturing empire.

“We work with renowned producers and popular actors.”

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Endemol Shine’s Our Century.

Reading

Room

The importance of known IP is driving intense competition for book rights. By Steve Clarke Endemol Shine’s Our Century.

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dapting books for TV is as old as the medium itself. But in the age of peak TV, the imperative to option a title and maybe, just maybe, discover the next Game of Thrones—based of course on the fantasy novels of George R. R. Martin—has never been greater.

Crime novels by Agatha Christie or P. D. James; spy tales spun by John le Carré or Graham Greene; classic literature penned by Jane Austen or Charles Dickens; contemporary fiction like Edward St Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose quintet; or a memoir such as Howard Marks’ Mr Nice. These stories offer potentially rich pickings for producers and distributors.

“In the old days, people used to read the whole Booker shortlist, pick a couple of titles they liked and see if the rights were available,” recalls Hilary Salmon, the head of drama London at BBC Studios. “Now the rights will not be available because the books have been optioned at the proof stage.”

BOOK CLUB Such is the hunger for content that it is not only successful novels that are being snapped up. “In the last couple of years, we’ve put in bids involving large sums of money for factual books that haven’t even been written yet, based on a 15-page proposal,” adds Salmon, who in July announced that BBC Studios is developing Mr Nice in tandem with Independent; a feature film based on Marks’ career as a cannabis smuggler was released in 2010.

Lars Blomgren, Endemol Shine Group’s head of scripted for EMEA, agrees, “Nowadays a lot of book rights disappear before the book is published.”

Some of the most garlanded television of the past two years owes its origins to the printed word. A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant in a career-defining performance as disgraced British politician Jeremy Thorpe, and Ben Whishaw as his lover, Norman Scott, was based on John Preston’s account of the same name. Few TV shows capture the zeitgeist more than Killing Eve, adapted from the Codename Villanelle series of novellas written by Luke Jennings. Margaret Atwood’s classic tome formed the basis for The Handmaid’s Tale; Big Little Lies was based on Liane Moriarty’s Australian bestseller.

And don’t forget the rave reviews for Hulu’s reboot of Catch-22, starring George Clooney, a novel considered impossible to successfully adapt for television. No one needs reminding that Amazon reportedly spent $250 million alone on securing the rights to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

So what exactly is driving the rash of book adaptations? “We find known IP raises a project significantly in the eyes of potential buyers,” says Dan Cohen, president of worldwide home entertainment and television

distribution at Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Licensing and Distribution. Cohen and his team landed Channel 4 and Sky Italia as partners on Catch-22. “We have successfully licensed the series throughout the world and it has played to great success,” he adds.

“With book adaptations, you are able to build on the readers’ expectations and you already have a fan base,” says Françoise Guyonnet, the executive managing director for TV series at STUDIOCANAL. “Audiences will be familiar with the subject matter, and there is already an appetite for the story. A book adaptation will also significantly cut down the development time on a project. I think that the reality is that investors— broadcasters and platforms—are looking for security.”

“I am not sure that book adaptations are over-indexing against scripted shows based on original ideas,” suggests Richard Halliwell, the CEO of DRG. “Certainly shows based on books provide an element of security.

A lot of the work is done already. If it’s a successful book, there is potentially a proven audience.”

BBC Studios’ Salmon agrees, noting, “In terms of the story working and audiences being interested in watching it, a book adaptation is as much of a guarantee as you could ask for.”

TV’s creative ambition in the age of high-end, boxset drama is another factor driving the spate of book adaptations. Splashing the cash on an event series derived from a novel offers producers the opportunity to make TV as visually accomplished as any feature film. The Ink Factory’s 2016 adaptation of le Carré’s The Night Manager, directed by Susanne Bier, “felt like we were being given a Bond movie every week for six weeks,” opines Salmon.

As DRG’s Halliwell says, “With budgets seeming to go only one way, the ability to more fully realize ambitious books through TV adaptations is becoming easier and easier.” He adds, “If you can short-cut the connection to an audience, book sales give you not just numbers but also demographics and geography as well.”

Paramount Television boasts an eclectic mix of book-based projects, Cohen notes, including Looking for Alaska, an eight-episode limited series based on the John Green novel of the same name, and The Devil in the White City, based on the nonfiction book about an architect and a serial killer in the run-up to the 1893 World’s Fair. Both are destined for Hulu.

It is one thing to re-adapt a proven winner like Lord of the Rings or Great Expectations. A far bigger challenge is discovering new titles that can translate into compelling TV, a task that requires producers and distributors to forge relationships with agents, publishers and other third parties.

READING THE MARKET “From a distributor’s point of view, there’s been a trend of getting close to the core content,” explains Halliwell.

“Simply acquiring and selling doesn’t work anymore.

Increasingly, distributors are looking for novel ways to move up the value chain.” His company has a relationship with The Development Partnership, part of The Artists Partnership, a talent agency that represents wordsmiths, several of whom work with DRG. He adds:

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Looking for Alaska, a limited series for Hulu based on the John Green novel, is produced by Paramount Television.

“We have two or three long-standing relationships with the likes of Anthony Horowitz and Peter James [creator of fictional detective Roy Grace] who we’ve been collaborating with for some time.”

FAMILY TREE Sometimes there is a ready-made supply of new titles in house. Late last year, STUDIOCANAL’s parent company, Vivendi, entered a deal to acquire the secondlargest French publisher, Editis, an umbrella firm for 50 publishing houses. Editis publishes 4,000 new titles a year and boasts a catalog spanning 45,000 books. “This gives us a huge opportunity to delve into the Editis library and find synergies,” Guyonnet explains.

One relatively new source of stories available to producers hunting down new books is the digital phenomenon Wattpad. Netflix and Hulu have both sourced stories from the hundreds of millions posted on Wattpad. The mobile reading app has launched Wattpad Studios and has alliances with Sony Pictures Television in the U.S., Bavaria Fiction in Germany, Mediacorp in Singapore, iflix in Indonesia, Mediaset in Italy, Lagardère Studios in France, NL Film in the Netherlands, CBC in Canada and Huayi Brothers in Korea, among others.

“We can tell the screenwriters and producers, Keep chapters one, five and seven,” Allen Lau, Wattpad’s CEO and co-founder, says of how data and analytics can be used in the adaptation process. “In chapter seven, only keep the first two paragraphs because they

generated the most comments. By analyzing the 100,000 comments on a story, we can tell you, Cut out this character. We can provide data and insights that weren’t possible before. In the past, with so many movie adaptations of books, people would say, It sucks, the book is so much better! It was because the screenwriter had no idea what the audience would like and which chapters or paragraphs are the most important. It’s all based on guesswork. We take that out of the equation. We’re not replacing the job of the screenwriter; we’re not replacing the job of the editor. We’re turning humans into superheroes. We equip them with the right data and insights so they can make the best possible decisions.”

For platforms and channels that crave a younger audience, Wattpad looks like a potential gold mine.

However, it seems that multiplatform players are yet to tap into its potential.

“We’re still gravitating to known authors, but it is an amazing source for new material,” says Tanya Lopez, executive VP for movies, limited series and original movie acquisitions at A+E Networks’ Lifetime and Lifetime Movies.

At Endemol Shine, Blomgren thinks Wattpad offers great potential. “It’s interesting the way they find their stories, and we’re always desperate for distinctive stories,” he says.

“It’s a valuable way of pre-testing the popularity of an unknown book,” remarks Ruth Berry, the managing

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she says. “They are also multi-dimensional. Reading the same book at different ages, you read it differently every time. The richness of the material gives the creator broad possibilities to reinvent and interpret a wellknown story and to find new meanings in it. TV’s constant technological revolution provides new opportunities to enhance the production values and to create extraordinary and authentic worlds.”

BACK TO THE WELL

A+E Networks’ Lifetime has a series of TV movies based on V.C. Andrews novels, including Dark Angel.

director at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, highlighting Wattpad’s ability to track reader reaction to its titles.

At the other end of the literary world are classic stories that filmmakers keep returning to. ITV’s acclaimed 2018 seven-part reboot of Vanity Fair, co-produced with Amazon Studios, came 20 years after the BBC last serialized the book. Why return to William Thackeray’s magnum opus? “People love the story,” says Berry. “You know there is a ready-made audience and already a level of success. Storytelling moves on; production values have grown. There are new actors and new writers.

People always have a passion to reinvent or retell.”

Lifetime’s Lopez insists that the decision to make a new version of a book that’s already been produced for TV or film can be difficult. “We don’t do it that often,” she says. “It happens when we feel we can either make the production better or introduce it to a new audience with a more contemporary cast.”

STUDIOCANAL will launch a contemporary version of H. G. Wells’s War of the Worlds at MIPCOM, produced by Urban Myth Films in partnership with Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa and AGC Television. Starring Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern, the new version of the sci-fi classic is set in modern Europe. “We will look at the humanity in the story,” explains Guyonnet. “It examines how people react under an alien threat and how they try to survive it. The emphasis is on the characters, rather than the science fiction.”

One of the advantages of choosing classics is that the producers need not worry unduly over taking liberties with the author’s work. Adapting the work of a living author can pose challenges.

How involved in book adaptations are authors? “We take it case-by-case,” says DRG’s Halliwell. “Helen FitzGerald, who wrote The Cry, was very comfortable for Synchronicity Films and Jacquelin Perske to adapt it without too much influence.”

DRG will distribute an adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s novella The Body, reimagined as an eight-part, highconcept series and relocated from Europe to the U.S. “We want it to be a long-running, returning series,” says Halliwell. “Hanif is very comfortable with it, but he wants to be involved creatively.”

CLASSICAL FORM As Blomgren points out, everybody knows that Shakespeare’s plays have been reimagined for centuries. “One reason is that the audience wants to see these plays again,” he says. “A lot of it is down to timing. Certain stories are better at certain times.”

Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport distributes Karen Shakhnazarov’s eightpart version of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina— a classic novel that has been adapted for film and television some 20 times.

Julia Matyash, the director of Sovtelexport, explains the attraction of adapting great literature. “Great books are usually telling great stories, with strong characters and universal problems,”

STUDIOCANAL represents Sanctuary, adapted from a novel by Marie Hermanson.

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painful for any author. Besides, the director has his own vision, which is more important for the movie. In some cases, the novel can be used for creating a totally new story.”

CREATIVE LICENSE Endemol Shine’s Blomgren observes, “As far as we can, we try to stick to the characters, and then if we want to do major changes, we discuss them with the novelist.

Writing a script is very different from writing a novel.

It’s quite rare that we would reach out to an author.

We’d rather people did what they’re best at.”

Some prominent authors are working directly with platforms to develop content—of note, Neil Gaiman with Amazon Studios following the success of Good Omens, and Harlan Coben with Netflix.

Author recognition, a book’s sales figures and the continuity offered by a series of novels are all crucial to deciding which titles to adapt. Ultimately, though, for any successful book-to-TV project, a lot depends on the richness of the story’s central character. This is one reason why the BBC is developing Mr Nice. “Howard Marks is the classic eccentric British anti-hero—and that brings with it a lot of international appeal,” explains Salmon. “Marks is very appealing to young people.”

“Finding unique characters is the most important consideration when you’re considering which books to option,” emphasizes Blomgren. “It’s more important in TV than it is in feature films.”

Guyonnet agrees: “A good story requires strong characters. We look at location too. The story can be local, but it needs to have global appeal to attract an international audience.”

STICKER SHOCK

Sovtelexport has licensed the eightpart Anna Karenina into numerous markets across the globe.

At STUDIOCANAL, authors are “very involved” in the firm’s TV adaptations. “Sabri Louatah, whose novels were adapted into Savages, wrote the scripts in collaboration with Rebecca Zlotowski, [Benjamin Charbit] and David Elkaïm,” says Guyonnet. “We believe it is very important to work closely with the original writer, even if the screen version is very different. The author will help retain the essence of the book and what made it a success originally.

We never want to move too far away from that.”

At Russia Television and Radio, Matyash’s approach is different. “A popular author’s name is definitely a big marketing plus for the project. With contemporary authors, it can be a very delicate and complicated matter.

“A novel and a movie are different art objects. Starting from the script, the changes can be drastic. This can be very

This hyper-competitive market for book adaptations has inevitably resulted in hefty price inflation for the right IP–and there is no sign of this cooling. “The cost of optioning books has gone up faster than house prices,” says BBC Studios’ Salmon. “In under five years, it’s increased tenfold.”

Inevitably, bidding wars occur and publishers, agents and in-demand writers are increasingly applying pressure on producers to put substantial development muscle behind projects based on their books. “Their mantra is, ‘You’ve got to be serious about our property,’ ” Salmon explains. “‘If you’re going to pick our title, we want to know something is going to happen and we’re going to charge you for the privilege.’”

“You’re investing a huge amount of money before a word of the script is written,” echoes Halliwell. In partnership with Synchronicity Films, DRG won the auction to develop Heather Morris’s bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz, for what is believed to be close to a six-figure sum. “The fact that it was number one on The Times’s best-sellers’ list gave us a degree of comfort that those inflated prices can be worth it,” he adds. Production is expected to start in early 2020.

“Optioning book rights has become something of an arms race,” Halliwell concludes. “People are spending vulgar sums of money on securing rights. If Wattpad could give access to stories at a more commercially beneficial rate, it’s going to be worth looking at.”

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ZDF Enterprises’ Kristina Ohlsson’s Sthlm Requiem.

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Killing

Time

Andy Fry spotlights what’s new in the always popular crime-drama genre.

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rime dramas have been a staple on broadcaster schedules since the dawn of television. So it’s no wonder that when SVODs started upping their original content game, crime drama was front and center (think Narcos on Netflix, Bosch on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+’s upcoming Shantaram).

“As the genre grows, so does the range of crime drama coming to market, from one-off TV movies to long-running franchises such as Midsomer Murders, which is currently celebrating over 20 years of success,” says Maartje Horchner, the executive VP of content at all3media international.

“Procedurals, particularly those with many episodes, remain popular and provide flexibility to broadcasters who need to be innovative with scheduling,” Horchner adds.

Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama at ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE), references his company’s success with German procedurals. “German case-of-the-week crime dramas work well for us internationally. We sell hundreds of episodes to European broadcasters because they know they can schedule them in any order, which is one of the limitations of a limited series with an extended story arc.”

The classic example of this is ZDFE’s SOKO crime procedural franchise, which has spawned several popular spinoffs since it launched in 1978. “They are so popular with buyers,” says Franke. “They are entertaining and easy to digest, with a consistent formula that audiences and networks around the world trust.”

However, a fundamental shift in the market has been the growth of “bingeable” limited series, of six to ten episodes, at the expense of U.S.-originated case-of-theweek procedurals.

At The Mediapro Studio, which has 30-plus Spanish- and English-language productions on its slate, the focus in the crime-drama space is on “two trends that still have a long way to go: shorter formats and hybrids that will help renew the genre and keep audiences excited,” says Spanish writer and producer Mariano Baselga, a senior development executive at the company. “Procedurals still have the power to bring large audiences to free-to-air, and they allow for reruns.

However, our focus will be innovative, serialized dramas.”

BINGE ON Growing demand for binge-viewing opportunities has led to “serialized crime shows like Baptiste and Hidden, a serial made up of interweaving narratives linked by a single crime,” Horchner says. “Both can be broadcast weekly or enjoyed as a box set.”

In Horchner’s opinion, the evolution of crime drama also includes some increasingly innovative storytelling methods. “Liar lets the audience see the crime from the perspective of the victim. Meanwhile, Blood, a psychological thriller about family and memory, is told from the point of view of the perpetrator’s daughter.”

Carrie Stein, executive VP of global scripted series at Kew Media Group, thinks that the HBO breakout hit Big Little Lies has caused a shiver of excitement across the TV industry. “It’s a show that has a crime at the heart of its narrative, but it is so much more than a crime series. That’s how I’m looking at my development slate right now. There is crime in there, but explored from a different angle to traditional shows.”

María-Jesús Pérez, international sales director at Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, believes that characters have

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Hidden is a Welsh drama that has sold widely for all3media international.

become more critical in crime dramas, “and their personal storylines are interwoven with the cases. Crime resolution is no longer the only plot that matters; developing the real life of the characters is important because it adds authenticity.”

Horchner also stresses that “the best crime series have a relatable detective, whether that is a police officer like Inspector George Gently or the London PR whiz turned Cotswold-dwelling amateur sleuth in Agatha Raisin.”

Caroline Torrance, the head of scripted at Banijay Rights, points out that “audiences love crime dramas that have strong characters—but also a strong sense of place. In Hierro, the director’s aim was to connect the landscape of El Hierro, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, with the intensity of the storyline.”

Torrance makes a similar point about The Gulf, a six-part German-New Zealand thriller that will be launched at MIPCOM. “The Gulf is set on a beautiful island with lush vineyards, white sand beaches and olive groves—where location plays a big role in the story. It is about the moral disintegration of Detective Jess Savage as she investigates crimes in Waiheke Island, New Zealand.”

SCANDI SCANDALS It was the global success of Nordic noir crime dramas that paved the way for content creators and audiences to think differently about location, Torrance says.

ZDFE was one of the first players outside Scandinavia to recognize the potential of Nordic noir, backing series such as The Killing, Blue Eyes, Thicker Than Water and Arne Dahl.

One of its newer offerings is the book-based Kristina Ohlsson’s Sthlm Requiem.

“These days, Nordic shows remain key to our crime portfolio, although the challenge is always to move the formula on,” Franke observes. “We have a show called Before We Die, which is selling well despite not being a typical Nordic noir series. It centers on a woman in her [early 60s], which gives it a different emotional feel.”

Franke says ZDFE has another offbeat Nordic noir series, based around Jens Lapidus’s acclaimed novel Top Dog, and is also seeking to expand its portfolio into English-language crime drama.

“And as an alternative to the bleak world of Nordic noir drama, we are pushing back the boundaries of dramas from other territories,” Franke adds. “There is definitely a demand for a kind of lighter, blue-sky drama that is not all about bodies buried in snow. For example, we are talking to potential partners in South Africa, where there is a lot of creative talent.”

BLUE-SKY APPEAL With one new show set against the majestic backdrop of St. Petersburg, Kew Media’s Stein stresses that “you have to have some distinctive elements now, more than just a crime.”

However, extending the point made by ZDFE’s Franke, she says she is not so interested in relentlessly bleak dramas but “more in sexy blue-sky thrillers in exotic locations. There have been some terrific series like Trapped that transport you to an icy enclosed world, but I’m looking more along the lines of Riviera than Nordic noir.”

Stein isn’t quite ready to discuss details of her crime slate just yet, but she says one advanced concept is a whodunnit set among a quirky community on Staten Island, New York.

“There’s something unique and complicated about that community that we want to tap into. For example, it’s known as being home to a high number of 9/11 widows. And it has an interesting mix of immigrants.”

A new sense of daring in choice of location has not, however, changed the basic fact that broadcasters and platforms like to invest in known IP where it is available.

“They are keen to acquire crime dramas based on highly successful books as there is a ready-made fan base,” says Banijay’s Torrance. “Rebecka Martinsson, produced by Yellow Bird for TV4 Sweden, is a riveting drama series based on Åsa Larsson’s best-selling crime novels.”

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NTV’s Beyond Death merges the crime and supernatural genres.

There is also a lot of interest in reboot or “origin” stories, says Torrance, who points out that Netflix has ordered the six-part Young Wallander, about the early years of iconic detective Kurt Wallander.

BACK FOR MORE

[viewers] know all the particulars of the crime, and besides it helps the screenwriters to better define the characters and the situations.”

“They interest audiences, as we can all tell by the rise in true-crime documentaries,” adds Mediapro’s Baselga. “As the volume of scripted shows increases and we are bombarded by all kinds of imaginable plots and twists, to have a real story to tell makes you stand out from the rest.”

Timur Weinstein, general producer at Russia’s NTV Broadcasting Company, says viewers are “excited to watch stories that show real-life situations. So, a lot of our projects are based on true stories. The basis of the crime series Death Highway is a story about a gang attacking drivers on a highway. The Consultant is based on the biography of one of the most notorious killers of the 20th century, Andrei Chikatilo.”

Horchner at all3media international can also point to a high-profile reboot, the three-part series Van der Valk.

“There is a continuing need for 90-minute procedural crime dramas, so we are pleased to answer that demand.

The program is being shot on location in Amsterdam. It has already been presold to ITV in the U.K., France Télévisions and NPO in the Netherlands.”

There’s even scope for shows that build crime narratives around familiar characters from history, notes Torrance. “Casanova Investigates is in development at Banijay Studios Italy. Set in 18th century Venice, adventurer Giacomo Casanova is entrusted by a female secret society to investigate murders whose victims are women. Casanova’s mission to avenge female victims touches on the issue of violence against women, something that still happens everywhere today.”

And, of course, contemporary crimes are ripe for adaptation, especially following the recent success of FX in the U.S. with its O.J. Simpson and Gianni Versace limited series.

RTVE’s Pérez is relatively upbeat about the prospects for basing shows on real-life crime stories. “They can make the story more attractive for the local audience because the potential Estoy Vivo (I’m Alive) has been a strong seller for Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. 342 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Location is central to the storyline of Banijay Rights’ Spanish crime thriller Hierro.

At all3media international, meanwhile, Horchner references The Interrogation, “a verbatim drama based on the transcripts of police interviews of a suspected murderer. This authentic form of storytelling sourced every word from real interviews.”

Kew Media’s Stein, however, doesn’t show too much interest in real-life crime stories. “They tend to focus on older stories that the public has forgotten about. Possibly that’s because they present a few legal challenges, or maybe it’s because non-scripted is strong in the truecrime area. But it’s not an area that is especially prominent on our development slate right now.”

MAKING THE CUT Despite the popularity of the crime-drama genre, Stein says it is not an easy one to get right. “We get shown a lot of crime stories—and often the writing is really good. But it takes more than that to make something pop. You’re not going to have global success with a crime drama unless you have something really special.”

RTVE’s Pérez also acknowledges that it is difficult to stand out. RTVE’s response, she says, has been to innovate with hybrid shows like Estoy Vivo (I’m Alive). “It’s a perfect combination of sci-fi and authentic detective drama.”

This approach has paid off internationally, says Pérez.

“Estoy Vivo has been sold to different channels and platforms in LatAm, the U.S. and Europe, and we have agreements for the format to be adapted in the U.S., France and Italy.”

NTV’s Weinstein agrees that “viewers prefer mixed-genre stories to pure crime. For example, Shadow Behind has crime and melodrama features, and Beyond Death combines the crime and [paranormal] genres.”

“You need a distinctive voice, a personality that stands out from the rest and makes it unique,” adds Mediapro’s Baselga. “This, together with a good story, is the key for shows to cross borders.”

Getting a show greenlit internationally is only part of the challenge. Even more challenging, says Baselga, is securing a renewal. “The higher the concept, the bolder

the bet, the harder it will be to keep up with the premise,” he warns. “That is always the challenge. The best solution to that is good writing.”

Spain has become, like the Nordic territories, a hot scripted market, attracting the interest of several international distributors. Russian producers like NTV are similarly looking to raise their profile in the global drama sector. “It’s important for us to find stories that are interesting to audiences in different territories,” Weinstein says. “We are constantly looking for ideas that can be implemented in any country.” He is confident that NTV can compete effectively. “Due to the tough competition in Russia, the level of production is really high,” he explains.

As for partnering with overseas firms, Weinstein says, “We are just entering the co-pro market. A key consideration for us is that Russian viewers prefer watching projects in Russian.”

AIDING AND ABETTING As audiences have become more receptive to the use of exotic locations as backdrops for crime dramas, the potential for coproductions has increased, says Torrance at Banijay. The result has been a steady stream of fish-out-of-water detective stories, cross-border culture clashes and groups of international citizens fighting for their lives in remote locations.

As Torrance points out, Hierro, The Gulf and next year’s GR5 are all co-pros.

Horchner at all3media international adds that crime dramas “have such a broad appeal, there is a great deal of scope to coproduce and co-develop series.”

“The trend is currently to co-produce all content,” says RTVE’s Pérez. “It makes it possible to have more money and that means a better product that can reach global audiences.”

Whether or not a show is financed across borders, the end goal is the same—coming up with a concept that will travel around the globe. “The globalization of audiences is here to stay,” Mediapro’s Baselga says. “So even if one single operator finances a show completely on its own, they are looking at not one but all markets.”

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MarVista’s The Year of Spectacular Men.

New Voices The race to discover and foster fresh talent is on.

By Chelsea Regan

C

an one embark on a discussion about new voices without taking a moment to mention the stratospheric rise of Phoebe Waller-Bridge? In 2016, Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, adapted from her onewoman play, earned raves after airing on BBC Three. It found an international audience on Amazon Prime and earned a second season that dominated the Primetime Emmys this year. As for Killing Eve, the series Waller-Bridge wrote and produced for BBC America based on Luke Jennings’ Codename Villanelle, it took her profile and that of its stars to new heights.

Next for the now new-ish voice of Waller-Bridge is a writing credit on the latest addition to the James Bond franchise (No Time to Die), an overall deal at Amazon Studios and Run, a series she’s producing and starring in for HBO alongside Vicky Jones, which has Entertainment One (eOne) behind it.

Of Waller-Bridge, Polly Williams, eOne’s head of scripted drama, says: “She’s rocketed into the outer space of brilliance.” While Williams is excited about Run and the military thriller Tenacity, a show eOne is doing for ITV with Bad Wolf, the company is, as ever, on the hunt for more content from creators on the rise.

“We’re in an environment now where people are taking more risks,” says Williams. “If a younger writer has done a

stand-out spec or a fantastic short or a brilliant play, people are much more quick to get a jump on that and take that writer on.”

Following a similar trajectory to Waller-Bridge is Ambreen Razia, whose one-woman play The Diary of a Hounslow Girl became a pilot from CPL Productions for BBC Three called Hounslow Diaries, co-funded by Red Arrow Studios.

Carlo Dusi, executive VP of commercial strategy for scripted at Red Arrow Studios International, says, “Being proactive and being plugged-in is important. We try to make sure that, as a team, we keep an eye on everything that’s coming out— film, television, even stage work here in the U.K.”

TALENT, TALENT, TALENT As Red Arrow’s Dusi points out, the bigger players are scooping up top-level talent with exclusive deals, shrinking the pool for others to choose from. One way to grow the talent pool is by adding to it those who are on the rise. “Being in the medium-size range of studio level, we see it as a great opportunity to focus our energies on the younger, up-and-coming, newer and fresher talent,” says Dusi.

Keshet International (KI) is shoring up its talent reserves through a strategy that combines bidding on the right talent and being creative in sourcing it. “Thinking outside of the box

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Swedish actresses Sofia Helin, Anja Lundqvist, Alexandra Rapaport and Julia Dufvenius teamed to create Honour, which is distributed by Eccho Rights.

in how you source talent is a big challenge for us and other media companies moving forward,” says Atar Dekel, KI’s VP of global drama. For Stockholm, a drama that KI represents based on an Israeli book, the company went to the book’s author, Noa Yedlin, and brought her on board as a writer on the series. “Coming from such a small market, we know how to take chances,” says Dekel.

At MarVista Entertainment, the state of the industry is proving to be a boon for its business model. “We’re now able to connect the dots even more specifically between the talent that we want to give an opportunity to and the perfect platform for them to get their content on,” says Hannah Pillemer, head of creative affairs.

Fredrik af Malmborg, managing director at Eccho Rights, can see the bright side too. “If you are a good showrunner or writer, there are lots of new models to explore. And we are working actively to support key talent to find new business models,” he says.

AGENTS OF CHANGE Alongside the new crop of talent are agents eager to sign them. “There are a lot of younger agents now, who are going out of their way to find young talent that is just emerging out of film school and ambitious and hungry,” eOne’s Williams observes.

In addition to going through agents and managers, MarVista has another valued recruitment tactic—its reputation. “We kind of act as a farm team for new talent; we’ve given so many directors their first or second feature and the same with writers. We’ve been able to generate great word-of-mouth throughout the creative community,” says Pillemer.

She adds, “A lot of actors and actresses that we’re working with are now looking to take more creative control. We have a great opportunity in place for them to come in and say, We’ll take a chance on you; we’ll have you write and produce your first feature. We’ll have you direct your first feature.” (The company worked with actress Lea Thompson on her feature film directorial debut, The Year of Spectacular Men.) A quartet of top Swedish actresses teamed up to create Heder (Honour), a title in Eccho Rights’ catalog, serving as executive producers and starring in it. Eccho Rights has sold the Viaplay commission to RTL in Germany and VRT in Belgium, among other markets.

With Scandi drama going strong, distributors are eager to get into business with creatives across the region.

But, in this competitive climate, studios and distributors are keener than ever to source new talent from outside of the more traditional markets.

Eccho Rights has recently taken on titles from SIC in Portugal and has long been in the Russian market, distributing such titles as Trotsky and Silver Spoon. It also represents Servant of the People, a Ukrainian series about a teacher who becomes president, which stars comedian-turned-real-life-president Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We’re looking at emerging talent out of the European market,” says Williams. “I think Spain is a very exciting place right now because there’s a lot of talent coming out of there. We’re working with French showrunners on something, we’re working with an Italian production company. We’re looking at brilliant content worldwide.”

MarVista has a partnership with Hemisphere Media Group in Latin America and is having conversations with producers in France and Germany.

SUPPORT SYSTEMS When it comes to aligning with new talent, some companies, including MarVista, are eager to ink overall deals with some of their favored producers. “First-look and development is also something that we’re actively exploring now,” says Pillemer.

“It’s kind of all on the table at the moment. If you’re going to cast this wide net, you might find the next Ryan Coogler, and you better lock him in.”

At eOne, Williams says, “We have big-scale [deals], some small boutique ones, deals with actors, managers, writers.”

And once eOne signs talent, it supports them. “We have a lot of really brilliant creative executives who can do in-theweeds development and be a source of support to writers and producers,” she says. Once the project becomes more developed, the company can help with casting and finding directors as well.

Dekel sees KI as an “incubator” for new talent, where they “not only have access to our group of very seasoned executives, but we also offer a unique hands-on approach when it comes to development,” she says. “We can come in early. We can come in late. And, if it’s stories that have some relevance to Israel, there’s always our channel” as a potential commissioning broadcaster, she says.

The market, as competitive as it might be, is a breeding ground for opportunity—for the undiscovered to get their voices heard and for studios and distributors to be the ones to lift them up. Though a challenge, the downsides to it seem to pale in comparison to the upsides.

“What’s so great about the creative community right now and the time that we’re in is that people are realizing that diversity in storytelling is working,” says Pillemer. “People want to see different kinds of stories and the best way you can do that is by really nurturing talent that we haven’t yet heard from.”

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TV DRAMA 49

Mark Gatiss

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ark Gatiss is quite the renaissance man. You’ve seen him in Game of Thrones, Wolf Hall and Sherlock—the acclaimed BBC drama that he co-created with Steven Moffat—among numerous other shows. He is behind several installments of BBC Four’s Christmas ghost stories, including the upcoming M. R. James adaptation, Martin’s Close. He has starred in a slew of radio and stage plays and written Doctor Who novels and a biography of film director James Whale. This August, Gatiss wrapped filming on Dracula, his latest collaboration with Moffat, which is destined for BBC One in the U.K. and Netflix everywhere else. Gatiss speaks to TV Drama about putting a new spin on Bram Stoker’s iconic character, his long-running collaboration with Moffat and what he misses most about playing Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older, powerful brother, who may or may not actually be running the country.

By Mansha Daswani TV DRAMA: How did the idea come about for you and Steven Moffat to do a new Dracula?

GATISS: It has a strange genesis because it’s been in the works, not definitively, for quite a long time. We had just started shooting series three of Sherlock and we came back from an awards ceremony, and I had a picture on my phone of Benedict Cumberbatch’s silhouette. I showed it to Ben Stephenson, who was then the head of drama [commissioning] at the BBC, and said, “It looks like Dracula, doesn’t it?” And he said, “Do you want to do it?” That was literally the beginning of it. That’s two drama commissioners ago. It only really came to fruition when we’d finished the last series of Sherlock. We thought, maybe we should do Dracula if they still want it. And they did. That’s how it started.

TV DRAMA: What was your approach to retelling this wellknown story?

GATISS: It’s a Sherlock approach, except that it’s period, in that we wanted to look at the story, which has been told a lot, and see what it is that people love about it and still respond to. Go back to the essence of it and find out what worked and what we could do [that was] different.

TV DRAMA: How did you go about finding your lead?

GATISS: It was similar to Sherlock in that we didn’t want anyone with any baggage. Benedict kind of came out of left field for everybody. We wanted to try to do a similar thing. As with Sherlock, there was a long list of potentials but we knew the sort of thing we were after, and then Kate Rhodes James, the casting director, [asked if we had] seen the film The Square.

And we watched it and Dracula walked on! [Laughs] We wanted someone with dark good looks, a kind of leading-man presence, and not British. Claes [Bang] has a fantastically light touch. And yet, of course, he looks like three James Bonds all at the same time! He can be very scary and very brooding, but he also has a lovely twinkle to him. If someone has been around for 500 years, they’d have a detached humor about the world!

TV DRAMA: Why do you think vampires remain such an obsession for so many people?

GATISS: First, it’s a very old tradition. It’s in virtually every culture, which is interesting. Secondly, it’s the character of Dracula himself, the apotheosis of the seductive outsider.

Literally someone tapping at your window that you shouldn’t let in but you sort of want to. There’s a strange and fantastically unhealthy thing going on there about the seductive nature of death and everything that is forbidden.

There’s something really interesting about what vampires mean to different generations. We’ve been through the Twilight phase—the gentle vegetarian vampires! I think we’re trying to bring back a much more full-blooded—no pun intended—vampire. You can look back, and people have written books about what [the symbolism] means. Do they represent cataclysm? Do they represent fear of the East, of the outsider? Do they represent corruption from within? You can make it be about whatever you want it to be about! [Laughs] That might be one of the reasons it’s survived.

TV DRAMA: You used the three-episode format with great success on Sherlock. What’s appealing about this model?

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make things I’d like to watch. That’s a good yardstick to go by—something I’d watch on a bank holiday Monday.

TV DRAMA: Did knowing that Netflix would position it as a “global original” factor into how you approached telling the story?

GATISS: You must never do that because otherwise, you’re immediately self-editing. You’re trying to second-guess things. Nobody knows why something works or doesn’t.

We had no idea Sherlock would be the international sensation that it is. You couldn’t predict it. If you could, you’d bottle it and do it again! If you were to write things around, I wonder if this will be popular in the Indian subcontinent, you’d go crazy. We make what we want to make and see what happens.

TV DRAMA: You’re also working on a new ghost story for BBC Four. How did those come about?

GATISS: This is my fourth one. I’m a huge fan of Christmas ghost stories. It used to be an annual tradition on the BBC and it’s come back patchily over the years. Again, it’s what I want to watch. I did an M. R. James story in 2013, and last year I did an original story called The Dead Room with Simon Callow. This year I have another M. R. James, with Peter Capaldi, called Martin’s Close. It’s a quick shoot—it only took four days. I did it right at the end of Dracula—just because I didn’t have enough to do! [Laughs] TV DRAMA: When you’re acting in other people’s shows, do you ever find yourself wanting to rewrite the scripts?

GATISS: Yes, but I have a great deal of respect for the writer, and I know that look in someone’s eyes when you bring up something—because I have that look myself! It is very frustrating to have quibbles over a line you’ve been working on for 12 months, and which you know [the actor] read the night before! When the boot is on the other foot, I’m extremely careful and generous, as it were, about that.

Because I know what it feels like to be on the other side.

Claes Bang stars as Bram Stoker’s iconic vampire in the new Dracula for BBC One and Netflix.

GATISS: A Dracula film is usually roughly 90 minutes long.

So we have three. As with Sherlock, it’s both faithful and faithless at the same time. We’ve done a lot of stuff from the novel, and we’ve done a lot of new stuff and ignored some stuff. It’s a wonderful palette to play with because you have a lot of time to tell your story. We treat them as films. We promise, we’ll do the three best Dracula films you didn’t know you wanted! [Laughs] TV DRAMA: How did your creative collaboration with Steven Moffat start?

GATISS: We’ve been friends for 20 odd years. When we were both working on the first series of the rebooted Doctor Who in 2005, we were always traveling together to Cardiff. We were on a train and we started talking about Sherlock Holmes and how much we loved the Basil Rathbone films. The West was in the middle of a new war in Afghanistan and I said, “It’s funny that in the first story, A Study in Scarlet, Doctor Watson is invalided out of service in Afghanistan.” We looked at each other and I said, “Someone should do that again.” And that’s how that began. We’ve been doing that on and off for ten years—it’s been ten years since we made the pilot. And then Dracula is the next thing along. We have a shared worldview of storytelling and we both love things that are fun. I like to 352 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

TV DRAMA: Are there other classic characters you’d like to reboot?

GATISS: I know it looks like a reboot agenda, but it isn’t! I always want to do something new. Sometimes it’s hard. If you’re trying to get a brand-new detective off the ground or a brand-new vampire, it’s difficult. It’s not impossible, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep trying, but it is harder.

One of the reasons I did a new ghost story last year was that I don’t want it to be just M. R. James [adaptations]. I wanted to keep refreshing it. If I do more, I’d like to bring in some other stories to adapt or write some more new ones. We’re only nostalgic for these things because they were once new.

There are so many sequels and franchises dominating the film business, we need to make sure we tell some new stories. Otherwise, it’s just an exercise in recycling.

TV DRAMA: Do you miss playing Mycroft?

GATISS: I do, but what I miss at the moment is the idea that Mycroft might be running the country. I’d be really, really reassured if there was someone like Mycroft running the country. There desperately isn’t! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in this bloody mess. However, I am prepared to step in at any moment and address the nation to calm people.

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TV DRAMA 53

Rachel Griffiths

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achel Griffiths had already made a name for herself on television and in film in her native Australia before landing her breakout U.S. role as Brenda Chenowith in HBO’s Six Feet Under. She followed that up with five seasons as Sarah Walker on Greg Berlanti’s Brothers & Sisters. Griffiths continues to move seamlessly between television and film and between U.S. and Australian productions. Her latest is the ABC Australia commission Total Control (also known as Black B*tch), which she co-created, executive produces and stars in. The timely political drama focuses on an Indigenous woman thrust into the limelight and the embattled prime minister looking

By Mansha Daswani to use her as part of a power play.

TV DRAMA: I understand you had the seed of the idea for the show a long time ago.

GRIFFITHS: I had the seed of an idea, but it’s a bit like saying I have an idea for a superhero who has spider powers! I had a title and pitch, if you like, about our superheroine, an Indigenous senator who is helicoptered in and brings down the government. But the extremely complex fleshing out was not mine. In my original thinking, there was no female PM, so [my character] didn’t exist. I had 5 percent of a germination of an idea!

I pitched the title and a very brief logline to Darren [Dale, at Blackfella Films]. They had been working on their own Indigenous-led political project. Unusually, and similarly to me, they wanted to do it without satire. So many political shows in Australia are either satire or biopics. I guess not many people are interested in the drama of the political sphere. Both Miranda Dear [Blackfella’s head of drama] and Darren were committed to the idea that that could be very fertile ground. What my pitch did for them was shift it to the female and raise the relevancy for them.

In my original scheming, subconsciously there was something about that title that came out of a sense that women are so often given language and interrogated or held to standards that are about undermining their legitimacy. So Boris Johnson is the legitimate heir to the Prime Ministership but Theresa May, who had a great sense of diligence and worked very hard to bring her colleagues with her, is seen as illegitimate. Mostly because she is female and somewhat swotty. She can’t prance about with an entitled air! We’re exploring those things. I read a really good piece talking about a radical flavor of the anti-parliamentarianism that is flaring up amongst our democracies. [The show] sits in the political climate of this moment.

TV DRAMA: That’s what I loved about watching the first episode: It felt deeply rooted in Australian culture and

politics and touched on themes that I feel like we’re all dealing with in some shape or form, wherever we are.

GRIFFITHS: There are real questions about how to renew our democracies. Democracies are often weakened in the name of the people. So one must be careful that in the course of changing the mechanisms and mores you use to renew democracy, we’re not, in fact, weakening it. Brexit is an extraordinary example of a very simplistic vote that was put to the people and that very simplistic vote is now being used to hold parliamentary democracy hostage. It’s a vote that is hard to account for because there were so many lies upon which it was predicated. I think this show is quite brave in exploring the outsider in politics, the push to make our representatives more representative. I’m sure there are more Etonians in Parliament in England than there are women of color. The notion of the outsider coming in to be uncompromising is also very dangerous. I’ll bring down the government if my party votes this way on something. So the very idea of a broad church is under assault. It’s a zero-sum game moment. You’re with us or against us. It’s quite terrifying.

TV DRAMA: Deborah Mailman is great as incoming Senator Alex Irving. Was she in mind early in the process?

GRIFFITHS: It’s the kind of a show where you want to write for a talent who you know exists. Deborah has won more awards than any other Australian actress and has never been given a lead. The extraordinary thing about Deb is that she is one of those actors where the audience is prepared to walk in her shoes. You can have actors who are really spiky and controversial, and they incite a different feeling within us. We might admire their choices, but you’re not empathizing with them, if you like. And knowing we had Deb, it just gave us permission to keep stretching what we could ask of the audience because we felt she could take the audience a long way.

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participating is quite established, and for good reason. I’m very inspired by many of my colleagues like Nicole [Kidman] and Reese [Witherspoon] and others who have been doing it. It’s becoming quite normal in television.

TV DRAMA: Are you finding that there are more interesting roles in TV rather than film now, especially for women?

GRIFFITHS: That’s certainly why I made the move from primarily doing independent films to television in 2001 with Six Feet Under. At the time, that was quite radical.

But as I said at the time, the best script that arrived in my fax machine, as happened then, was the pilot episode of Six Feet Under. It was just such an extraordinary thing, one of the most extraordinary things I had ever read.

[Black B*tch] is a great example of having a very complex female character who is both flawed and strong, with six hours to pull it off. In television, a character can be developed in a way that film finds very difficult. I think there’s a great joy for an audience watching a particular actor get tortured over a series! [Laughs] There’s something hugely satisfying, whether that’s six episodes or six years. It’s quite wondrous watching people grow up and gain agency.

TV DRAMA: I still think Six Feet Under has the best series finale ever written.

GRIFFITHS: It’s inarguable that the last 15 minutes of Six Feet Under is possibly the best 15 minutes of cinema, whether that be television or film, ever.

Rachel Griffiths stars in and co-created Black B*tch (a.k.a Total Control), which is being launched at MIPCOM by Keshet International.

TV DRAMA: How did you prepare for your role as Prime Minister Rachel Anderson? Were there any real-life politicians you took inspiration from?

GRIFFITHS: I was watching Theresa May quite a lot. I was interested in how women behave under pressure. I had just watched episode six and I wanted to re-voice a few sections where I felt I was a bit weak, [but then I thought], is it just apparent that she is a dead woman walking from the start of the episode? I wondered if that came from my digesting Theresa May’s final months. She went in with confidence thinking she would create consensus and hadn’t quite factored in the recklessness of the hard-liners to have their will, whether that be of the people or not. So yes, I studied her. And [former Australian Prime Minister] Julia Gillard. But because she is a conservative and a true daughter of the party, Theresa May is the model of the centrist, good swotty girl. Brightest in class, and didn’t get there on privilege but on merit.

TV DRAMA: How did you juggle the multiple hats of cocreator, executive producer and star?

GRIFFITHS: I actually think it’s the perfect combination!

As an actor, you feel such huge pride that you’re prepared to give everything; there’s that skin in the game.

There’s nothing you wouldn’t do to keep seeing the show do well around the world. In many ways, the cocreator job is fairly much done by the time the actor work starts. To me, directing-acting is the grand riddle that makes no sense, even though many extraordinary people seem to pull it off! The history of EPing and 356 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

TV DRAMA: We have to talk about the title. ABC is billing it as Total Control.

GRIFFITHS: A national broadcaster has extra sensitivities, especially in an age when it is constantly under attack for being a competitor to for-profit networks who take umbrage about its existence. But also, we are engaging in quite a few outdoor campaigns and appreciate that that title may be difficult to contextualize in an outdoor advertising environment. There’s a lot of talk about it being a title of reclamation. For me, it’s less reclamation and really a title designed to make white people feel uncomfortable and be aware. If white people are uncomfortable with the title, imagine how women of color feel when that is what they are called.

So in no way are we trying to normalize it. And in the context of the show, it’s only hurtful.

TV DRAMA: I’ve been watching When They See Us on Netflix and wondering if that kind of show would make it on broadcast television in the U.S. today. How important is it for you that your show is airing on a national public broadcaster in Australia?

GRIFFITHS: I haven’t given up on the broadcasters. The seminal television of my life was Roots. So I don’t think mainstream network television can’t contribute in a significant way to the national conversation. I’m thrilled that this is on the national broadcaster [in Australia]. I certainly think this would not have been made by any of our free-to-air networks. We also wanted it to be seen by the world. The themes it touches on are global.

It does one of those rare things where it’s so true of place, it’s so specifically indigenous to Australia, and it has the capacity to resonate elsewhere.

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TV DRAMA: When did you decide you wanted to make a drama about the Central Park Five? What kinds of research did you have to do?

DUVERNAY: I was invited to tell the story by Raymond Santana, one of the five. He contacted me on social media and invited me to talk with him about the story. I did and fell in love with the guys and decided to take on the truthtelling involved in this story. There has been so much injustice, so many lies, so much misinformation. So over a period of four years, I went about interviewing them extensively, their families as well, researching every shred of press, also confidential materials and public court documents that I could get my hands on. I assembled a writers’ room to work off of my outline. I wrote each of the episodes in concert with a writer I selected.

TV DRAMA: It’s a lot to cover in four episodes. What was the approach to constructing each episode arc?

DUVERNAY: When writing a big story like this, it’s always a challenge to figure out what the beginning, middle and end are. I looked at it as phases of the case.

The first episode deals with police aggression, the arrest and precinct behavior. The second deals with court and bail and judges and defense attorneys and prosecutors.

The third deals with post-incarceration and juvenile detention. And the fourth deals with incarceration itself. Breaking it up through the different levers of the case gave us an outline, a structure, a guidepost, and we began telling stories within each of those buckets.

TV DRAMA: How did you go about assembling your writers’ room?

Ava DuVernay

By Mansha Daswani

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our years in the works, When They See Us earned a whopping 16 Emmy nominations, including outstanding limited series. The gut-wrenching Netflix miniseries tells the stories of Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, unjustly convicted on rape and assault charges in the notorious 1989 Central Park jogger case when they were just teenagers. When They See Us was directed and co-written by Ava DuVernay, who has emerged as one of the most important voices in Hollywood. She has a multi-million-dollar-overall deal at Warner Bros., a filmography that includes Selma (nominated for a best picture Oscar) and 13th (a documentary about mass incarceration that also earned an Oscar nomination), and an expanding slate of TV shows, including OWN’s recently renewed Queen Sugar. DuVernay talks to TV Drama about telling the Central Park Five’s harrowing stories and championing diverse voices in film and television.

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DUVERNAY: Hand-picked folks that I admired. Robin Swicord was the first person I called. She’s a writing mentor of mine. I actually wrote Selma at her house. She encouraged me early on in my career when I was just writing. I trusted her, and she eventually became a co-EP on the project. Attica Locke is a novelist-turned-screenwriter.

I loved her voice. She had a lot of experience in legal story and running through paperwork and trying to decipher cases. So she was perfect. And then Michael Starrbury is a writer I had been working with on two other scripts. We’re in total synch in what we do. With the three of them, I was able to sit down with a partner, look across the table from someone who I trusted, who was as passionate as I was, and had a lot of talent. That’s how we did it.

TV DRAMA: The entire cast is fantastic, but those young actors, in particular, are phenomenal. How did you work with them to prepare them for the roles they were playing?

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DUVERNAY: The biggest thing we had to do, beyond the usual work, was bring the boys up to speed on the case, and then go beyond the facts of the case. [We were] trying to help them get inside the case in a more intimate way. So putting it into context of some of the current cases they are familiar with. And taking them through exercises that allowed them to place themselves in [the case]. And then finally meeting their counterparts, meeting the man they’d be playing, looking in his eyes and letting him tell them stories. We did that with each boy. I felt it was very effective.

TV DRAMA: Talk about the importance of being able to tell this story on Netflix.

DUVERNAY: It’s the exposure. It’s like nothing you can get elsewhere. [I made] a $100-plus million film for Disney and it wasn’t distributed in as many places and territories and countries. It wasn’t exposed to as many people as this was, in their own language, in their own home. This is the kind of film that I don’t think people would necessarily go to the theater for. But they will definitely sit in the safety and comfort of their own home and tackle some of the tougher subject matter and cry alone and ask questions and turn off and take a break and come back. The platform allowed for the perfect confluence of circumstances for folks to really take it in and feel it deeply.

TV DRAMA: Let’s talk about Queen Sugar. How did you decide to bring the Natalie Baszile book to television?

DUVERNAY: This was another invitation, by Oprah Winfrey. There were two or three books she was thinking about. [She asked,] Do any of them interest you? Queen Sugar, the idea of images of black people

on land, dealing with ideas of property and society and culture and identity, captured my imagination.

I’d never adapted a book before; [I was attracted to] the idea you can go in and take seeds of what works in a text and then adorn it with other things to allow it to grow for years and years. It really felt like taking seeds and watering them, so it’s been a beautiful time on that show. It’s my pride and joy.

TV DRAMA: Queen Sugar has an all-female team of directors. What’s been your approach to building the team there?

DUVERNAY: The opportunity given to me by Oprah’s network and Warner Bros. was to make the show in my likeness, which is people of color, women of all kinds. Our crew is very inclusive, our directors are all women, our writers’ room looks like the United Nations. Our crew over-indexes in department heads of color and women department heads. That’s everything from the editing room to the grip to the costume design to the production design to the casting. You have black women making a show about themselves, and that is something that we don’t often get the opportunity to do. I’m honored to have been given that opportunity.

TV DRAMA: What’s it been like working with Oprah?

DUVERNAY: She gives me the freedom to create and to explore and she gives me the power to make those creations and explorations become a reality. It’s been an incredible working relationship.

TV DRAMA: You’re so engaged with your fans on Twitter, especially around Queen Sugar. Why has that been important for you?

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When They See Us on Netflix earned 16 Emmy nominations this year.

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Queen Sugar recently landed a fifth-season renewal on OWN.

DUVERNAY: Twitter is an opportunity to enter a room and talk with people. When I get on, that’s what I think about every day. It doesn’t keep me in isolation in my own world as a director going in and out of editing rooms and sets and in my own head. I force myself to get on there and read different people’s opinions, hear different people’s voices. I’ve learned so much from hearing from people other than myself. I’ve learned a lot from people like me. It allows me to remember the voices that I carry with me into boardrooms and editing rooms and sets. I’ve really embraced it in that way. I find it fascinating, and creepy, but more than anything it’s a room with a lot of conversations going on, and I like to talk, so it’s perfect for me!

TV DRAMA: In terms of your journey from publicist to director and writer, when were you confident enough in your skills to be able to say, This is what I want to do full time?

DUVERNAY: It didn’t come from confidence; it came from really being clear that it was the time to step out into the gap and take a risk. It was brave and unknowing, but not confidence. The confidence didn’t come until a long time later, and that’s always still an ongoing muscle that has to be exercised to acquire and keep confidence. But overall, when I started, it was just about giving it a try.

TV DRAMA: How are you positioning your collective, ARRAY? DUVERNAY: It’s an advocacy collective and our goal is to disrupt every system that marginalizes people out.

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We’ve distributed 28 films by hand over the last nine years, with no money, no P&A budgets, no billboards, no nothing. We are showing the work of filmmakers of color and women filmmakers all over the world, in arthouse theaters and on the sides of walls with sheets and in museums and schools and YMCAs and wherever we can get a screen. We’re saying, yes we can have a show where women direct every episode and 90 percent of these women will have never directed an episode, and we will put dozens of new women into the DGA [Directors Guild of America] and the television system. Whether it’s production, distribution, exhibition, we’re constantly thinking about and incubating and executing ways, through ARRAY, to disrupt. We’re incubating all kinds of ways to get into how film and television are made, to look at the pressure points that we feel are weak and apply pressure to try to break them.

TV DRAMA: What’s next for you?

DUVERNAY: I’m working on a number of television shows that I’m thrilled with. Right now we’re shooting a show called Cherish the Day [for OWN]. It’s an eight-episode romance anthology. Every episode is one day in the life of a black couple. There are a couple of shows that are dealing with romance in dramatic situations, like Underground, or in comedic situations, like Insecure. I love both of those shows, but for me, it’s a question of, How can you preserve love within your household when the world tells you that it doesn’t love you? So that’s the idea of getting into the nooks and crannies of the relationship. That has a lot of my focus right now.

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TV DRAMA: How did you approach taking an 11-chapter fragment and continuing the characters’ story arcs?

DAVIES: I’d read it before and never really considered it, thinking it was a shame she didn’t finish because I’d have enjoyed adapting it. Then, looking at it afresh with the idea that maybe I could be the one to finish it, it seemed like a very exciting opportunity. Largely because it seemed like Jane Austen was treating it as a new departure, with different kinds of people in it. Entrepreneurs and businessmen rather than sedate country gentlemen, an energetic heroine and her first black character in Miss Lambe, the West Indian heiress. [Austen] gave us the premise, the set-up for the story, and never really got the plot started. So it was just a big opportunity.

TV DRAMA: Tell us about the journey viewers will take over the course of the eight episodes.

DAVIES: We go into the story through Charlotte, who is in some ways a bit of an innocent. She’s lived on the family farm for all her years. She’s never been more than five or ten miles from home. On the other hand, she is the oldest of 12 children, so she’s had a lot of opportunity to look after other people. She’s had a lot of responsibility. She’s got her own opinions about life. And she is a nice character through whose eyes we can look at Sanditon and all the people in it. So it starts off as one of those “young girl goes into a strange place and has adventures” stories, which, in Jane Austen’s canon, links it up with something like Northanger Abbey. And then we get to know the other characters bit by bit. Tom Parker is a key character because he’s the one who is making all the action happen.

Andrew Davies

By Mansha Daswani

elevision and film producers the world over have been finding creative inspiration in Jane Austen novels for decades, helping to keep her legacy alive more than 100 years after her death. There is perhaps no television writer in the U.K.—or anywhere in the world, for that matter—with more experience in adapting the beloved author’s works than Andrew Davies. He gave us the classic 1995 take on Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, Northanger Abbey for ITV’s Jane Austen season in 2007 and Sense and Sensibility in 2008 (among numerous other classic book adaptations.) When Red Planet Pictures decided they wanted to take on Austen’s unfinished manuscript Sanditon as the basis for a new period drama, they knew exactly who to go to. For ITV in the U.K. and Masterpiece in the U.S., with BBC Studios handling global distribution, Sanditon follows Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) as she moves to a coastal resort and encounters the mysterious businessman Sidney Parker (Theo James), among a slew of other characters. Davies tells TV Drama about the experience of finishing Austen’s last work, which she started writing in the final year of her life.

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He’s trying to turn a tiny fishing village into a grand seaside resort with all the bells and whistles, something like a 19th-century Boardwalk Empire. And then there’s the rest of his family. Very significant is his younger brother Sidney, who is a bit of a mystery man, a wheeler and dealer, an adventurer with a dark past, who is nevertheless very loyal to Tom and very much invested in helping him bring his project to fruition. And, of course, we’re looking out for possible love matches for Charlotte. Sidney is one, Sir Edward is possibly another and, as the story develops, another one comes on the scene. So it’s about love, it’s about business, it’s about race, it’s about female emancipation, it has all those things.

TV DRAMA: Based on your research, do you have a sense of Jane Austen’s state of mind when she was writing Sanditon?

DAVIES: We all think she wrote it when she was dying, but she didn’t know she was dying. She just thought she was feeling not quite [in good health]. In fact, the spirit of the book goes completely counter to

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any idea of failing strength or spirit. It’s full of lightness and joy. There’s a key scene when Charlotte arrives at Sanditon and she looks out the window at the sunlight glittering and dancing on the waves, and I thought, what a lovely sensation. Let’s try and capture that sensation of brightness and lightness all the way through this story. And I don’t think that’s being false to Jane Austen at all. It’s one of her funniest books. She just has great fun mocking all the hypochondria and fancies of the people who come to the seaside. That’s part of it. Also, I wanted to make it into a romantic story as well.

TV DRAMA: Why do you think her work has been so incredibly well suited to TV and film adaptations, sometimes more than once for a single story?

DAVIES: Her typical story, at the heart of it, was a sort of fairy tale in which a lovely but disadvantaged heroine gets a happy ending. And within that, she always has interesting characters. She sharply satirizes a lot of them, and she writes wonderful scenes, wonderful dialogue. She gives you a kind of romantic story without ever insulting your intelligence. You always feel she’s a little bit brighter than you are when you’re reading her. She keeps you up to the mark and you can always find new things in her stories. At the heart of it, it’s the romantic story plus the intelligence and the deep insight into characters.

TV DRAMA: BBC Studios will be looking to roll this out globally this MIPCOM. Is there anything else you’d like

MAKING SANDITON Sanditon is not your mother’s Jane Austen. That’s the clear message from executive producer Belinda Campbell and director Olly Blackburn about the ITV and Masterpiece co-commission based on the author’s final, unfinished novel. “This is a different Jane Austen,” says Campbell. “What’s wonderful about Jane Austen is the characters are ripe for reinvention every generation.

That’s what we’ve done here.”

Blackburn stresses the importance of delivering a new kind of period drama. “I feel in my bones that people don’t give the past the credit it deserves. We think all people behaved a certain way and dressed in a certain way. Actually, if you dig into the past, you discover there’s a lot of surprising things there. With the Regency period, which was this really energetic, bullish moment in fashion and politics, the array of styles was extraordinary. I did a deep dive into the period and tried to tease out all the stuff that was really interesting and cool, that may surprise some fans but is not inaccurate in any way. And we’re not doing a straight Austen adaptation—we’re doing something where, by definition, we’re creating a lot of things because she left it unfinished. And within that, what she was doing was different from anything else she had written. It felt like we had permission baked into the actual material to move into a new Regency world that you haven’t seen in other Austen stuff. It was just trying to break out of that

broadcasters and platforms to know about Sanditon and how it might resonate with their audiences?

DAVIES: I want them to enjoy it. Have a good time with it. I want it to be a show that you look forward to switching on because it’s full of vibrant young characters. It’s like Love Island, I guess, only Jane Austen’s version!

straightjacket of everyone curtsying and saying the same thing and forgetting about the emotion that is going on beneath.”

Adding to the drama’s fresh feel is its relatively youthful cast—and some casting against type. “There are 17 principal characters,” Blackburn says. “That fact alone drove a lot of the casting—that we were going to have a huge number of very different people, all with dialogue, all with quite significant plotlines that develop through the season. It was all about getting some people who are what you’d expect and would be fun, and others who are brilliant actors but had never done [a show like] this before. Anne Reid has never played posh before. And then the thing I think people forget a little bit is, Jane Austen wrote about really young people. You’re on the scrap heap if you’re unmarried at 28. So a lot of them are in their early 20s. That meant there would have to be a lot of unknowns or newcomers. It’s super exciting.”

The team behind the show is confident that it will be received well by the global buying community. “It’s a romance, it’s enjoyable, it’s entertaining, it’s a Regency drama as much it is Jane Austen,” Campbell says. “We’re doing something a little different with it. And it’s enormous fun, and it has a huge heart.”

Blackburn adds that the show allows audiences to “escape into the past and have fun with people who are dressed really well, up to no good, but suffering the same shit we are—they have envy and love and all the same emotions—they’re just doing it in more fun costumes!”

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TV DRAMA: What inspired you to want to write a police drama focused on corruption?

MERCURIO: A lot of TV cop shows are what I would describe as the drama of reassurance. They are very formulaic in that they show police officers getting the job done right and catching the bad guys. And here in the U.K., rather like in the U.S., if you watch the news you’ll see that isn’t always the case. A minority of officers commit misconduct and make errors of judgment, and it felt like TV drama was lagging behind in exploring that.

TV DRAMA: The ratings have almost doubled since season one, which is quite a feat. What’s contributed to that steady build in audience numbers season after season?

MERCURIO: It’s hard to come up with an answer that fully explains it. What we do know is that when people invest in the show, they stay with it. Very few people drop out. As the show has come back season after season, word of mouth has remained strong and that triggered people to commit. That means people who’ve missed a couple of seasons, even if they missed four seasons, they’ve come to the show [in season five]. One of the features of the show that makes it accessible to a new audience is that each season can be watched as a standalone limited miniseries.

TV DRAMA: What’s your process as you embark on each new season in terms of mapping out your story arcs?

MERCURIO: Two things are really part of my process. The first one is, What is the story of the season, the defining limited story? That is something I need to figure out in regard to who the guest character is and what kind of misconduct this character is alleged to have committed. And then I also need to consider how that is going to fit with the meta-narrative, the overall arc of the series that relates to the returning characters—and possibly relates to previous seasons. That’s something we bring in once the first couple of episodes of

Jed Mercurio

By Mansha Daswani

ine of Duty wrapped its fifth season on BBC One earlier this year with more than 9 million viewers, making it one of the U.K.’s biggest shows of 2019.

The acclaimed police procedural from Jed Mercurio (also the creator of another British drama megahit, Bodyguard) about an anti-corruption unit has steadily built a loyal fan base in the U.K. since its 2012 launch, first on BBC Two and then on BBC One. Mercurio, a former Royal Air Force officer and hospital doctor turned novelist, screenwriter and showrunner, tells TV Drama about his creative process and keeping the award-winning World Productions show fresh year after year. Mercurio is being honored by World Screen and Reed MIDEM with a Trendsetter Award this year.

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the season are up and running so that the new audience can buy into it, and they don’t feel they are being bombarded with a lot of backstory that they’re not familiar with.

Season five features an organized crime group that is involved in relationships with corrupt police officers. So it’s distinctive from other seasons in that we go behind the mask of organized crime and present a story that is breaking fresh ground. With each season we have to find something new to offer our loyal viewers, but also we have to find something which in itself is an exciting proposal for new viewers.

TV DRAMA: There is so much story packed into each episode.

How do you craft how each episode will play out?

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MERCURIO: The approach to writing the series is episode by episode. It’s really important to us that we deliver an hour of TV that is really gripping and pacey and covers as much ground as possible.

What we don’t do is consider the whole arc initially and then divide and compartmentalize over the six episodes. We want each hour to be as intense a viewing experience as possible.

TV DRAMA: I remember interviewing Paul Abbott (Shameless, No Offence) a few years ago and he said he liked to write longhand. What’s your writing process like?

MERCURIO: I always write on a computer.

I’ve never handwritten or written on a typewriter. I don’t think I would have become a writer in the age before computers! I started writing on an old word processor. It’s just essential to the process. Otherwise, redrafting is so arduous. I enjoy writing in development at home or an office where it’s nice and quiet and calm. But as we move into production I don’t have that luxury, so I have to be flexible. You’ll sometimes see me writing on-set—and every now and then they tell me I’m going to be in the shot when the camera moves so I have to move. And then other times I’m in the production office and I just have to deal with the distractions and not be a prima donna and just get on with it.

TV DRAMA: How do you juggle being both sole writer and showrunner?

MERCURIO: That is manageable because we do six episodes.

Because I write all the episodes, I am knowledgable about everything we’re doing. So that gives me a shortcut into those conversations that are ongoing. And also the shoot is typically 16 weeks, so physically it’s not that demanding.

TV DRAMA: As you know, it’s super rare to have a single writer on a show in the U.S. Would you consider using a writers’ room?

MERCURIO: I would consider a writers’ room. It could be advantageous and might even be a lot of fun. It’s not something that is appropriate to the shows I’m making here in the U.K., but that’s purely because we’re able to do a six-episode season, and also we’re not under pressure to do one season a year.

TV DRAMA: Do you use consultants to offer input on the realities of police work?

MERCURIO: We’re fortunate to have a couple of police advisors. We had a police advisor who started with us at the beginning of season two who was actually someone I went to school with. I’d completely lost touch with him and he got in touch with me via social media to reintroduce himself and announce that he was a senior police officer. So he became a great asset and we’ve added other advisors as we’ve gone along who are able to give specialist advice if required.

TV DRAMA: Speaking of social media, people tweet about the show a lot. How much do you pay attention to all of that online commentary?

MERCURIO: It’s very flattering that people tweet about the show so much. It’s a bit of an asset to the series.

Because of the linear distribution here in the U.K., there’s a week between episodes, so people want to talk about the show and there’s a lot written about it in the press. We definitely see social media as an adjunct to the fan experience. Personally, I don’t track it. I do occasionally go on social media if there are specific questions or misunderstandings out there. But I never engage with people’s opinions; it’s only if there’s a factual question being asked that needs to be answered in the right way.

TV DRAMA: Tell us about your path to becoming a television writer.

MERCURIO: It was a real twist of fate. I was a hospital doctor and I responded to an advert which was put forward in connection with a medical drama that was being developed.

And that brought me into contact with a television production company and eventually, through various twists and turns, led to me becoming a scriptwriter.

TV DRAMA: I read that you were a huge Star Trek fan as a child. Is sci-fi or fantasy something you’d like to try your hand at?

MERCURIO: It is. It’s something I would certainly take on with caution though. There are a lot of great sci-fi shows out there. The bar has been set very high. It’s also something that maybe in the U.K. is a difficult proposition, so it would probably be something that would only happen if I were fortunate enough to be developing a show in the U.S. 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 365

Line of Duty, sold

by Kew Media Distribution, is set to return for a sixth season on BBC One.

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Timur Savci & Burak Sağyaşar TIMS&B Productions

n Turkey’s competitive drama sector, TIMS&B Productions has emerged as a go-to outfit for compelling, top-rated series. Among its latest hits is Bitter Lands, a lush period piece, set in Southern Turkey in the 1970s, that Inter Medya has been licensing worldwide. Made for ATV, the show is returning for a second season. TIMS&B Productions’ founders Timur Savci—who previously ran Magnificent Century producer TIMS Productions—and Burak Sağyaşar, an actor-turned-producer known for shows like Hayat, tell TV Drama about how Bitter Lands came about and weigh in on their creative alliance.

By Mansha Daswani

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TV DRAMA: Where did the idea for Bitter Lands come from?

SAĞYAŞAR: This was actually an idea and story by our writer Ayfer Tunç. After she handed us this very short story, we were struck by it as soon as we read it and we believed that it could be a success if we were to realize it.

TV DRAMA: How is it different from much of the Turkish drama on air today?

SAVCI: The most important difference is it is the only period drama right now in Turkey taking place in that specific time period; and it has a distinct look to it in terms of the production design. Looking at the other series in the Turkish TV industry at the moment, this is a project with a rich ensemble cast, where most characters’ story arcs are essential and profound storylines are delved into. I think these parameters distinguish this series from the rest of the Turkish drama on air today.

TV DRAMA: What were the benefits of taking your story and settings outside of Istanbul? And what were the biggest challenges?

SAVCI: The biggest challenge is the fact that the cost of production is much higher because, as you might know, this means increased logistics and transportation expenses.

Since most technical resources are in Istanbul, we need to ship everything to the shooting location and live there. But in essence, this has provided us with a very noticeable and distinguishing visual capability and an authentic look.

SAĞYAŞAR: This is a major plus. Another advantage is the fact that the cast and crew are 100 percent focused on their work when they are outside Istanbul.

TV DRAMA: Why do you think this story has resonated?

SAVCI: This is a project that contains a number of stories within. For starters, everyone was able to find characters that could appeal to them or they could feel empathy for. This is not only a very powerful love story. Yes, there is a powerful love at the core, but there is also the clash of rich versus poor, the sociological issues of the period, class distinctions, etc., as well as what the social life and situations were evolving into in a developing country at that time. This is all portrayed realistically as well as tapping into the idealistic nostalgia in the memories of the audience.

TV DRAMA: What are your plans for the new season?

SAVCI: We don’t look at Bitter Lands as just another work—it’s a project we personally love and dote on.

That’s why each season is like starting something new for us, as if we’re making another series; we strive to carry the work to a higher level, introduce some new aspects and upgrade the work each season, which is what we did this season as well.

SAĞYAŞAR: We have some surprises in store for the audience, both visually and musically speaking and in terms of the story, as well as the addition of some new cast members.

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Inter Medya has licensed the period drama Bitter Lands into a number of markets worldwide.

TV DRAMA: Amid a challenged economy, how did you manage the budget on this high-production-value series?

SAVCI: We and the broadcaster both had to make sacrifices, in the sense that we entered this project taking a great risk in terms of financing and investment. But our faith was so high in this project that we foresaw that we could lay this process over a period of time and reap the benefits in the long run. The current situation confirms that we were right with that forecast.

TV DRAMA: Inter Medya has made many deals on the show.

How important are these revenues for Turkish producers?

SAĞYAŞAR: It’s quite important; and especially with a project of this scale, it becomes very important. But we still cover most of the cost of production on a series from the local market in Turkey.

TV DRAMA: Has the international interest in Turkish drama led to you changing your storytelling techniques?

SAVCI: Not that much, really. And the reason is, even before the presence of the international market, we were making Turkish series with our know-how and following our own path, and I think it was this originality that generated international interest. But of course, in the aftermath, since we have seen the great value in the global market, working in that industry has affected the production quality and the sustainability of our stories in general.

TV DRAMA: How did TIMS&B Productions come about?

SAVCI: We founded TIMS&B Productions in January 2017.

I have a company called TIMS Productions, founded in 2006, which has had a number of successes, one of which was Magnificent Century, as you may know. And Burak is a producer with an acting background who managed to gain himself a place in the TV industry by producing not one but three series in the first year of his company, Bi Yapim. One of his most important successes is Hayat, distributed by Inter Medya as well.

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SAĞYAŞAR: As rival producers, we decided to join forces and established a partnership in which we aim to be bringing new visions and objectives to the table. We use the following motto to describe TIMS&B Productions: “Pure, bold, original.”

TV DRAMA: How does your creative collaboration work?

SAVCI: We have characteristics that support each other. Whenever a new idea for a project is spawned or we are in the process of realization, we escalate each other because we are not that alike, actually.

And this is a complementary aspect for us and creates a great advantage, even if we may bicker sometimes!

[Laughs] SAĞYAŞAR: We may have differing opinions at times, but we always have a consensus at the end since we trust each other completely.

TV DRAMA: What are the major trends you’re seeing in Turkish drama today? Are there new storytelling techniques emerging? New genres?

SAVCI: Sure, new trends are emerging, especially in the increasingly more male and street-oriented ensemble dramas, which may be a disadvantage for the international market, I’m not sure. But now more than ever more genres are being experimented with on TV. Yet when we assess the current market conditions, 80 percent of production is still composed of the classical Turkish “dizi,” mostly in the melodrama genre.

TV DRAMA: Are you looking at co-production opportunities in Latin America or the Middle East?

SAVCI: We are very open to such opportunities, and strategically it is of great importance to us. We are interested in co-production projects and are seeking to produce local content abroad for these regions. And we are currently in talks with a number of countries, which we are hoping to announce at this MIPCOM.

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TV DRAMA: How did you approach this part of history, which has not been explored in long-form TV drama before, while adding genre elements to the story?

WOO: The genesis came from my co-creator Max Borenstein, who years ago heard a talk that George Takei gave about his experience in the internment. Max pitched to AMC the idea of telling an internment story with this genre element. And I was the beneficiary of Max’s extremely successful screenwriting career—he wasn’t available to write the pilot or run the show, so I got to do it! The strategy from the very beginning was to use Japanese kaidan—ghost stories or folklore that is hundreds of thousands of years old. Viewers might be familiar with it from Japanese horror movies like The Ring and The Grudge, the psychologically creepy movies that use a lot of these traditional elements. The idea was to use the genre to help the viewer feel the terror of the historical experience. There’s a danger when you’re doing period [drama] where it can feel like a museum piece— you’re at a safe remove, looking at it through glass. This is something that happened 75 years ago, thank goodness it’s over, immigrants have nothing to worry about now! You don’t want that feeling. You want it to feel very present. You use the elements of horror filmmaking to make you feel what it’s like to be in the skin of these characters, the atmosphere of dread for these characters, where you are not only experiencing wartime but wartime in an internment camp.

TV DRAMA: The show marks a major milestone for Asian representation on American television.

Alexander Woo

The Terror: Infamy

By Mansha Daswani

or its second season, AMC’s critically acclaimed horror anthology series The Terror draws on one of the darkest times in modern U.S. history. The Terror: Infamy centers on members of a JapaneseAmerican community, ousted from their homes and sent to internment camps during the Second World War, being haunted by an evil spirit. The series was co-created by playwright-turned-TV-scribe Alexander Woo (True Blood, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks), who also serves as showrunner, and Max Borenstein, with Ridley Scott among its executive producers. Woo talks to TV Drama about fusing Japanese folklore with realworld history, representation on-screen—the series has an almost entirely Japanese-American cast—and working with iconic actor George Takei, a series regular and consultant on the show who was imprisoned in an internment camp as a child.

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WOO: I have to credit our network for never pushing back on the makeup of the cast, or for that matter the amount of Japanese spoken. There is a significant amount of subtitling in our show! We never got any pushback at all. We’re in an environment where there is so much attention being paid to representation. We needed people who could speak Japanese. And as we were going through the casting process, we discovered that just about everyone who was Japanese American coming to read for us had some personal family connection to the internment. Everyone who was of Japanese ancestry in the 1940s was rounded up and put in the camps. As we were telling such a personal and important story to this community, it was incumbent upon us to cast the entire show with actors of Japanese ancestry, including the little kids. This is their story, and they bring something so personal to it.

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70 TV DRAMA

the character is feeling, so we understand what it’s like to be in their skin.

The Terror: Infamy on AMC is set against the backdrop of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

And not just our cast, our crew as well. Our cast and crew had 138 immediate relatives interned in the 1940s. That elevated everyone’s work. It made everyone feel we were doing something really special and made everyone work a little bit harder.

Our first assistant director [Jason Furukawa] is Japanese Canadian. His parents were interned, and that’s why he dropped everything to work on our show. Our director [Josef Kubota Wladyka] is Japanese American, and his family was at Hiroshima. This is uncompromisingly from a Japanese-American perspective. That speaks to the climate we’re in. There’s a willingness and an openness to tell this story organically.

TV DRAMA: There can be a fine line between scary and camp in horror. As someone who has done a lot of genre pieces, how do you negotiate that?

WOO: We had a very simple guideline: we will deploy the genre toolbox to evocate the emotional experience of the characters, whether it’s fear or rage or betrayal.

We would use it if it helped the viewer gain access to the emotional experience of the characters. If it became prurient or just for the fun of it, then we would set it aside. There were times we had an idea to try an effect— we do a lot with visual effects, special effects and makeup—and they didn’t always hit the mark. And then we had to fine-tune until we got it to a point where we felt, This evokes the horror that our character is going through. We would fine-tune it until we could feel what 372 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

TV DRAMA: How did you assemble your writers’ room?

WOO: We have a very small writers’ room—it was me and four others. I’m not Japanese American, I’m Chinese American, so I fully realize that this is not the story of my family. But I realized very quickly, upon meeting with people like George Takei and other internment survivors, that although this is the story of Japanese Americans, it is not exclusively a story for Japanese Americans. It is a story for anyone whose life has been shaped or touched by the immigrant experience, which in the U.S. is just about everyone! I plugged into it as an immigrant story. And I needed some Japanese-American writers.

We had Shannon Goss, who worked on ER, Outlander, Reign and Revenge.

Her grandfather was at Pearl Harbor when the attack happened, so she has a very personal connection to [the story].

We had Naomi Iizuka, who is the greatest Japanese-American playwright of my generation. I wanted to have a playwright on staff, and I was going to reach out to Naomi to see if she had any recommendations, but it turned out she was on sabbatical and was interested! We were so lucky to have Steven Hanna, who has a Harvard Ph.D. in Japanese folklore. And we have Tony Tost, a self-described redneck from the Ozarks who loves pro-wrestling and Johnny Cash. He’s also a poet by trade and has a poet’s ear. He’s a great cinephile and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Japanese films. And to top it all off, Tony has created and run his own show. So much of the task of production is management, so it helps greatly to have someone who has also created and run his own show. It was an extraordinary team. We were really lucky to have the group we had because everyone brought completely different strengths to the story.

TV DRAMA: AMC is airing The Terror: Infamy around the world. How do you think it will resonate with international audiences?

WOO: Even though it’s an American story, it’s one that will have great appeal to a lot of people. You can approach this show wanting to see this period in history depicted on this scale. You can approach the show wanting to see Asian representation on-screen.

You can approach the show just wanting a really great scare! All are perfectly valid. But once you’re in, the goal is the same—it’s to build empathy for these characters.

The genre elements and the historical elements all work together to build a relationship and empathy between the viewer and the characters so they go on this journey together.

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IN CONVERSATION

Television’s slate includes This Is Us, Empire and hen The Walt Disney Company’s Modern Family, while Fox 21 Television Studios pro$71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century duces Homeland for Showtime, Pose for FX, Genius for Fox was completed in March, it created a National Geographic and more. media behemoth. It brings together beloved Craig Hunegs, president of Disney Television Studios, characters and franchises from Pixar, Marvel, is charged with managing collaboration between the Star Wars and Disney, and popular programming from three labels as well as growing the roster of talent availABC, FX, Freeform and National Geographic. Disney already able to them in the U.S. and owned a 30-percent stake in internationally.

Hulu; with Fox’s 30 percent, He was previously at Warner Disney now has a controlling Bros. As president of business 60-percent share of the streamDISNEY TELEVISION and strategy for its television ing service, which has some STUDIOS group, he oversaw the produc28 million subscribers in the U.S. tion of programming for U.S. outProviding content directly to lets, the acquisition of production companies around the consumers is the name of the game now in the media world and the growth of Warner Bros. Animation’s chilworld. One of the motivations for the Disney-Fox merger dren’s business. Also, as president of Warner Bros. Digital was to have a constant supply of films and TV product to Networks, he was responsible for the launch of the create a platform that can compete with Netflix.

DC Universe and Boomerang streaming services and forged Indeed, the streaming service Disney+ will launch on relationships with talent, including Ellen DeGeneres for Ellen November 12 in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands and Digital Ventures and LeBron James for Uninterrupted. on November 19 in Australia and New Zealand. Its offering Leveraging his experience running studios and starting will include new movies and original TV series, along with direct-to-consumer services, Hunegs is positioning library product from all divisions of the company.

Disney Television Studios to create a broad range of conOne of the main content engines for Disney+ will be tent. The three labels will continue to produce for third Disney Television Studios, the newly formed studio that parties, but as Hunegs tells World Screen, the top priorhouses three existing labels. ABC Studios is home to ity will be serving Disney outlets.

Grey’s Anatomy and black-ish. 20th Century Fox

CRAIG HUNEGS

By Anna Carugati

WS: What motivated the decision to keep ABC Studios, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios separate, and what are the benefits of each remaining independent?

HUNEGS: It’s a big advantage to have multiple creative filters and multiple creative teams, each with their own taste, their own talent relationships and their own relationships with agencies and with networks. Our ambition is to do a lot of programming. Right now, for the coming year, we will produce north of 70 series. Our ambition is to increase that significantly over the next few years. I think the way to do that most effectively is to have multiple studios, for the reasons I mentioned.

My concern is that if you try to do a very high volume of programming with one studio, you end up setting up an assembly line—and that’s never the best way to create TV. I also like that the three studios give us multiple entry points for talent and creators. Each studio has a somewhat different culture and leadership team. We’re finding that many creators want to be at Disney, but they like having a choice of homes here, and it’s working out very nicely. One of my jobs is to manage collaboration among the labels—we’re calling them labels as opposed to studios—and also have healthy competition.

If you look at other creative industries—music or film— it’s common for an umbrella studio to have multiple labels. It’s nothing entirely new. Netflix is doing it its own way where they have many creative teams, all of them small and focused on a smaller number of projects. But for us, this feels like the right size. It doesn’t mean we might not have two studios or four studios, but right now we came into this with three strong studios and an animation company on top of it. Each of the studios has a pretty impressive track record of success.

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produce for third parties. We have series on Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Epix and Showtime, and we even have some discussions going with HBO Max and with other cable networks outside the company as well. We have the number one series on USA, Queen of the South. We’ll continue that, and we hope to continue to be a big supplier to FOX Entertainment. There are close personal relationships that go back a long way from the legacy of the companies all being part of 21st Century Fox, and we want to maintain that. Those are people we like, and it’s been a great place for our shows and our creators. It’s a balance, but the Disney networks come first; we’re not pretending otherwise.

This Is Us, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, is one of NBC’s highest-rated dramas.

WS: These are not assembly lines manufacturing cars; these are people and talent you are managing.

HUNEGS: And each show has its creative ambitions and production requirements, and we’re trying to achieve different production values. We like to think that each of our shows is handmade or hand-built. Obviously, the creators’ vision is what we are trying to realize with them and for them. It also requires a lot of hands-on work from our creative teams, our production teams and our business affairs teams to make it all work.

WS: What have been your priorities since taking over the three labels?

HUNEGS: Number one is supplying the Disney platforms with the highest quality programming. We have four networks and two streaming services. ABC, FX, Freeform and National Geographic are the four linear networks. We now control Hulu, which is a large streaming service. Disney+ will launch in November and over time will become the home of more and more original programming from our studios as well. [Priority number two is] attracting the best creative talent.

It’s incredibly competitive right now, so making our studio the best home for people to work is important. It’s also really competitive for executive talent. It’s a very high priority for Dana [Walden, chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment] and me to make this a great culture and environment, and the best place to work for our creative talent, our executives and our staff.

WS: How are the three labels balancing serving the needs of the Disney-owned outlets and third-party clients?

HUNEGS: Serving the Disney platforms comes first, and we are very clear about that with our talent, agents, talent reps and the community.

The reason people are responding to that approach is that those six platforms I just mentioned are so varied that there is a home within Disney for almost anything a creator wants to make. But that doesn’t mean that we are living within a walled garden. We will and do

WS: Is Disney Television Studios fostering new talent through its writing programs and inclusion initiatives?

HUNEGS: Yes, it’s really important for us. It’s partly doing the right thing, but it’s also about reaching the audience with characters and stories that are authentic, accessible and relatable to our audience. It’s no secret that the population, especially the younger population, is much more diverse. We feel it’s incumbent on us to tell stories and have people behind the camera, in the writing room and in front of the camera who represent the audience that we are trying to reach. Disney has a long legacy of reaching out to new talent, and especially to diverse voices and developing writers and crew members. It’s our workforce for the future, and it is the face of the creative talent going forward.

It’s not as it used to be, nor should it be, nor do we want it to be. The reason that in the U.S. we are able to produce 400 to 500 original series

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Now in its third season on FOX, 9-1-1 is a Los Angeles–based procedural about first responders executive produced by Ryan Murphy. across all studios and networks is that we are hopefully much more open to new voices and new stories and emerging talent. We have a lot of examples of that as we are filling out our talent rosters for the upcoming years. We’re trying to find the right balance between established creators and showrunners. [We’re seeking] established showrunners who want to nurture new voices and find new talent, and we also reach out directly and bring new show creators into the studio. We’ve had a lot of success that way. Fox has been particularly effective at growing their own talent in-house across their shows and then having them emerge as show creators and showrunners.

We want to do more of that as well.

WS: Are you looking to tap into Disney’s global network to cultivate talent outside the U.S.?

HUNEGS: Yes, and there are hubs where there is a lot of creativity and established production bases: in the U.K., in Mexico, in Korea. The Netherlands has been a very prolific creator of both scripted and non-scripted programming that travels the world. Our ambition is to be in business with more global talent, and we’re in a very active discussion here about how best to do that. When I was at Warner Bros., we had a particular strategy. We had a big presence in the U.K., and we bought companies in 16 other countries. We’re thinking about it a little differently here, at least currently. As Hulu and Disney+ expand globally, I don’t want to speak

for them, but I would imagine they would want local shows as well as programming from the U.S. How we can help source and create that content is part of the strategy. But also, there are incredible creators all over the world. There are a few hubs we are focused on right now, trying to find the best way to work with the talent in those countries to create great programming. It’s something that we are very actively discussing right now.

WS: During your career, how have you seen the role of the showrunner evolve? And what do you look for when you are trying to spot the next super-talented showrunner?

HUNEGS: It’s such a rare skill. Showrunners are really like CEOs. Not everyone is cut out to be a CEO. Most people are specialists who are good at one or two things. To be a good showrunner, you have your hands in everything: hiring the crews, cast, directors and writing staff; running the business of the show; and establishing its creative vision, including the storylines for the characters and the season. If you think of people like Ryan Murphy, and Greg Berlanti from my old studio, who do that multiple times simultaneously, I don’t know how they do it.

What do we look for? We look for people who have leadership skills in addition to being great writers and creatives. I believe they have to have very creative instincts. Most of them are writers, but not all of them are. They need 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 377

to have a strong creative point of view and vision for the show they are creating. They need to be able, like any leader, to put together a really strong team, recognize the strengths of the team and delegate. There are very few showrunners who write every episode of their series, so that’s the most obvious way they delegate. Putting together a television show, like creating a movie, is an incredibly collaborative enterprise. Leading means delegating in addition to providing an overall vision.

WS: In today’s landscape, what are the challenges of finding the right home for a series?

HUNEGS: It’s the most important decision we make. It can make or break a series, honestly.

If you think of some of our current successes, This Is Us is a perfect fit for NBC. 9-1-1 is the kind of procedural that we think works perfectly for FOX. Modern Family is a classic ABC sitcom. American Horror Story fits the brand and sensibility of FX and its audience. We spend a lot of time with our creators deciding what is the best home for our shows and where we are going to develop them.

Sometimes it starts with the creative pitch.

Very often, we will pitch shows to multiple networks, and what we’re looking for is not just the best business deal. We’re looking for how passionate the leadership of the network or the streaming service is. How passionate are they about the idea of the series, and do they get it? Are they asking the right questions? Are

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ABC Studios’ hit comedy black-ish has spawned two spin-offs: grown-ish and now mixed-ish. they connected to what we want the series to be? Because very often if the network wants it to be something other than what the creators are pitching, it’s not the best way to create a successful show. Then, if it’s a linear network, we might look at the holes in the schedule and see whether a show we are pitching fits into the openings on the schedule. If it’s a streaming platform, we’ll gauge what else they have.

Is what we’re offering similar to the service’s audience profile or the taste of the audience and will our show be a good fit? Or if it’s Netflix, what they are looking for [to satisfy] different audience segments? We take that into account. It’s a very thoughtful process, and we consider it to be the first big decision we make when we’re starting to develop a show. Who are we going to develop it with?

Where will it ultimately live?

WS: Are certain shows best suited to linear channels and others to streaming services?

HUNEGS: A few years ago, we all felt that, in broad categories, procedurals and sitcoms did well on linear networks because the types of stories they told were more selfcontained. Even if there was a week between episodes, it was OK. The audience didn’t have to remember the details of the story from the previous week. On a streaming service, where they would have multiple episodes up at the same time or sometimes

the whole season, it felt like you could tell a more serialized story because the audience could watch multiple episodes at once. It was easy to track even a very intricate story. I think that has become less and less true. The only thing you might say is that shorter order series tend to live on streaming services. That has to do more with the way linear networks program and market their series and the amount of money they spend to market their series. I don’t think there is anything that makes a show inherently a streaming show or inherently a show for a linear network.

There is a difference between broadcast and cable. Broadcast networks in the U.S. have affiliate stations that are still required to have government licenses, so the programming tends to be a little bit safer and broadly appealing. But I’m not sure there is a real difference between linear and streaming services anymore.

WS: It’s been nearly two years since the beginning of the #MeToo movement. What’s being done to make sets and production environments safe and to make sure people are heard and have recourse?

HUNEGS: I’m going to speak in platitudes first, but I think they matter because the values of the company translate to the culture of the company and then to our shows, how we run our shows and the message we send to our 378 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

show creators, casts and crews. For Dana and me, personally, and for Disney, from Bob Iger [chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company] on down, it’s of paramount importance to us that our workplace, in the office, at the studio and on sets, is safe and respectful to everyone who works on our shows and everyone who comes by to visit our shows. More specifically, we are putting all of the employees at our company and on our shows through sensitivity training, sexual harassment training and workplace environment training. There are very clear instructions. We are very focused on how to report violations of conduct or anything that makes anyone feel unsafe and how that works up to HR. HR teams are very involved. All of our executives, showrunners and people on our shows, hopefully, know that at the first sign of discomfort on the part of anyone at our company, it gets escalated to HR. We quickly investigate to understand whether there is a problem—whether it’s systemic and even if it’s more personal—and how we solve it. How do we make sure everyone feels comfortable? We don’t have a perfect track record—nobody does. There have been a couple of incidents this year, and I regret that we didn’t handle them even more effectively and even more quickly. But we are learning and getting better at it. The people here, from Peter Rice [chairman of Walt Disney Television and co-chair of Disney Media Networks] to Dana and me, and same for John Landgraf [chairman and CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions] and the other leaders of our television group, have strong reputations for fostering a respectful and safe work environment.

WS: How do you feel about this new chapter in your career?

HUNEGS: I feel incredibly lucky and excited.

I’m at a company that has so many ways to touch audiences all over the world, and my ambition is that we create programming that is not just entertaining but also meaningful to people. If in some small way we can help people through their day-to-day lives, or if in some small way we can influence the culture, I’ll consider that a great success for us.

To be sitting with colleagues and incredible creative talent who can help us make that happen, how lucky am I? I feel like Disney right now is a center of gravity of television, and I feel so fortunate to be in the middle of it. I always want to be careful to say I don’t think it’s ever about me; it’s about the great creative talent we have here and the great teams of executives and staff. They will all determine our success. My job is to be like an orchestra conductor, but everyone else is making the music!

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TVFORMATS

WWW.TVFORMATS.WS

OCTOBER 2019

MIPCOM EDITION

Social Experiments / Physical Competitions / Co-Development Pacts Bertram van Munster / Bake Off ’s Richard McKerrow / Fremantle’s Rob Clark

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12 TV FORMATS

CONTENTS

Adapting to the Times

FEATURES 24 WHAT IF?

Checking in on what’s new in the high-risk game of social-experiment formats.

34

With Brexit looming in the U.K., a reality TV host presiding over the Oval Office in the U.S. and a seemingly unending stream of news headlines from all over the world with stories each more rattling than the next, these are, indeed, strange times we’re living in.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Formats ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvformats.ws

Television tastes can be a great barometer of what’s going on politically and economically in the world. When the events of real life are dark and twisty enough themselves, programming that provides optimism and escapism is often what’s in demand. Light entertainment can be the perfect antidote to the nonstop onslaught of doom-and-gloom discussions about climate change, recessions and riots. Perhaps that’s part of the reason the bizarre, wacky, laughter-inducing antics of The Masked Singer have struck a chord in so many markets around the world recently.

Also, the heartfelt contestants and slow-burn style of The Great British Bake Off have charmed viewers all over the globe, including in the U.S., where a local version returns in time for the holidays. In this issue of TV Formats, we hear from Love Productions’ Richard McKerrow about the warmth and care that have given rise to the hit show. We also hear from The Amazing Race co-creator Bertram van Munster, who talks about how the series is perfect for a whole family to watch together.

The authenticity and “real reality” of social experiments are resonating, with the current market trend being toward those that explore true-to-life societal issues. We examine what’s new in social-experiment formats in another in-depth feature. TV Formats also shines a light on the wave of physical competition formats, reflecting the zeitgeist of mindfulness surrounding health and fitness.

It’s not just viewers’ tastes that are shifting with the times; buyers’ budgets are as well. Game shows tend to see a rise in commissions when the economy is in a slump. As Fremantle’s Rob Clark tells us in this issue, the genre—lauded for being safe, cost-effective and reliable—is back in a big way.

As minimizing costs and risk, and maximizing innovation, are top of mind for many in the formats business during these challenging times, we also explore how codevelopment is becoming increasingly popular.

After a long stretch of complex dramas awash with complicated (sometimes morally compromised) characters, all hail the entertainment format.

—Kristin Brzoznowski

34 FIT FOR TV

There’s a wave of physical endurance competitions hitting the format market.

38 IT TAKES TWO

Distributors are partnering with broadcasters and producers to co-develop new concepts.

38

INTERVIEWS

42

Bertram van Munster

46

Bake Off ’s Richard McKerrow

48

Fremantle’s Rob Clark

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16 TV FORMATS

Marrying Millions

A+E Networks Generation Dating / Marrying Millions / Solo Wars Two strangers, one old and one young, attempt to fix each other’s love lives in the A+E Networks format Generation Dating. “It brings together people from completely different generations to help one another learn a new approach to finding love, and in the process, they find themselves forging unexpected friendships,” says Hayley Babcock, head of format productions and acquisitions at A+E Networks.

Marrying Millions puts couples—in which one is of considerable wealth and the other on the lower end of the financial spectrum—in focus, leaving friends, family members and the audience at home to wonder if it’s true love, money or the superficial attracting them to one another. One hundred singles compete for love and/or a cash prize in the dating game show Solo Wars.

Armoza Formats

“We are excited to continue establishing relationships with key broadcasters and producers across the globe.”

—Hayley Babcock Queens of Love

Queens of Love / Song of My Life / Single Parents Cruising The Armoza Formats-developed dating show Queens of Love follows as three drag queens come to the rescue of a hopeless single. “This unique take on dating combines the fun that the queens bring to the show with the authentic responses that they bring out in the participants, enabling truer and better decisions to be made and bringing relatable issues to viewers, all wrapped up in a fun and fabulous package of a show,” says Avi Armoza, CEO. Also in the dating arena, Single Parents Cruising watches a single mom and single dad set sail on a ten-day cruise with other single-parent suitors on board for the chance to find love. The studio-based entertainment format Song of My Life sees four famous contestants try to uncover who has a personal connection to each live song performance.

“Dating shows are very popular worldwide, and with Queens of Love, you get to tap into this genre with a completely new and glamorous take.”

—Avi Armoza

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18 TV FORMATS

Lodgers

Banijay Rights Don’t / Lodgers / It’s a Knockout Banijay Rights’ physical game show Don’t gives families the chance to win money by following one simple rule: don’t.

(Don’t blink. Don’t play with matches. Don’t get tired. Don’t play ball in the house.) “It’s a truly original, comedic and physical game show that will have global appeal for a wide range of broadcasters,” says Andrew Sime, VP of formats. In Lodgers, potential roommates, young and old, meet for the first time at a speed-dating event exclusively designed to match up wealthier old-age pensioners and hard-up millennials. The physical-entertainment show It’s a Knockout is back with a modern touch. “A part of TV history for more than half a century, this iconic format has been making viewers laugh, cheer and proudly root for their countrymen in some of the biggest TV markets in the world,” says Sime.

“Banijay Rights is one of the leading format creators and producers in the world.”

—Andrew Sime Hot Property

BBC Studios Hot Property / Late Night Guestlist / One Hot Summer: Heartbreak Holiday In the BBC Studios dating format Hot Property, one hopeful singleton has to choose a potential partner without having met them. In round one, it’s based only on a single possession owned by each suitor, then by walking around the houses of the remaining contestants and finally, by meeting the person closest to them. The company’s format catalog also features the entertainment show Late Night Guestlist and the reality series One Hot Summer: Heartbreak Holiday. “Content for youth-skewing platforms continues to grow, and our launches Hot Property and One Hot Summer: Heartbreak Holiday are both aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds on BBC Three,” says Andre Renaud, senior VP of global format sales at BBC Studios.

“Equally, a strong, fun, family-friendly format like Late Night Guestlist has the opportunity to delight a broad audience.”

“Hot Property is a dating show with a twist where you choose a potential partner without having met them.”

—Andre Renaud

Five Guys a Week

Fremantle Five Guys a Week / Epic Gameshow / The Family Brain Games Fremantle’s reality-dating series Five Guys a Week follows one woman on a quest for a new romance. She invites five potential suitors to move into her house with her for a week, all at the same time, all under one roof. Another highlight is Epic Gameshow. “Fremantle, as the home of game shows, has created a huge weekly event-viewing format for ITV in the U.K., made up of our incredible gameshow catalog,” explains Rob Clark, director of global entertainment. “We’ve taken some of our biggest game shows such as The Price Is Right, Strike It Rich and Card Sharks, added in a marquee talent presenter in Alan Carr and given each show an epic new ending.” Meanwhile, The Family Brain Games is a quiz show that sets out to uncover a country’s brainiest family.

“Five Guys a Week is the simplest new format of 2019.”

—Rob Clark 396 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Babysitter Celebrity Undercover

Global Agency Babysitter Celebrity Undercover / Golden Spoon / Sanatorium of Love Celebrities are given makeovers to transform their appearance before going incognito to take care of kids who are unaware that they are spending the day with one of their idols in the Global Agency reality-entertainment format Babysitter Celebrity Undercover. In the cookery format Golden Spoon, a mother’s homemade dish faces off against a re-creation whipped up by a professional chef, with their children serving as the judges. Six senior women and six senior men head off to a health resort in the mountains, where they get to know one another and experience new adventures in Sanatorium of Love. Izzet Pinto, the founder and CEO of Global Agency, says the company has “added successful formats from Poland, France and Japan.”

“We are excited to share our new strong lineup with our clients during MIPCOM.” —Izzet Pinto

Hunan TV Magic Chinese Characters / The Sound / The Rocking Bridge Hunan TV is bringing a brand-new format to MIPCOM, Magic Chinese Characters, a daily strip game show centered on the profoundness of Chinese words and expressions with loads of games and a special twist. “The second seasons of existing formats like Super-Vocal and The Rocking Bridge continued to perform well for the channel, while the third series of The Sound is returning in Q1 next year with overwhelming expectations across the country,” says Lester Hu, head of formats and international business. The company is introducing Hunan TV International Biu Project at MIPCOM, launching a global hunt for fresh, entertaining and innovative ideas. “Biu Project is an extremely successful content-incubation program where many of our original hits were developed, funded for pilots and then commissioned for full series,” Hu explains.

Magic Chinese Characters

“We are eager to find the next generation of entertainment hits and work with international talent to achieve success in China and the rest of the world.”

—Lester Hu

Inter Medya The Perfect Couple / Exathlon / The Box Challenge Sold by Inter Medya, The Perfect Couple is a reality format that follows as men and women try to win keys to the only house on an island. The company’s format slate also features the sports-based reality competition Exathlon and the game show The Box Challenge. “Inter Medya has already established itself as one of the leading distributors of Turkish series and films in the world, but as the visibility of the company and its various format-promotion strategies increases, buyers have started to come to us for their format needs as well,” says Can Okan, founder and CEO. “In the coming year, we will continue to invest in our format business and expand our production and sales network, as we believe that formats will become more important for our company’s future.”

The Box Challenge

“We invest a lot of time and effort in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, reality and game-show formats.”

—Can Okan 398 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Red Carpet Survival

Nippon TV Red Carpet Survival With past hits that include Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank, Silent Library and Beat the Rooms, Nippon TV has a brand-new entertainment offering for the international marketplace: Red Carpet Survival. The game-show format sees contestants act as bodyguards who must safely escort a VIP down the red carpet, even if it means suffering physical blows or surviving a series of crazy traps secretly set in their way. As soon as the red carpet is laid, whether it be at a university campus, airport or hotel, the game show begins. “It is a comical, fun format suitable for prime-time family viewing,” says Fusako Nagashima, head of formats, international business development, at Nippon TV. “It can be easily adjusted to local budgets and works with celebrities and different locations. The concept is simple but visually different and simply entertaining to watch.”

“Entertainment is in our blood, and Red Carpet Survival is created to open up a new era for entertainment.”

—Fusako Nagashima

NTV Broadcasting Company Dr. Driver / Dinosaur / Reluctant Hero NTV Broadcasting Company is looking to notch up local adaptations on some of the scripted series from the Russian broadcaster, including Dr. Driver. “The best overall prime-time event of the 2018 season, this light, engaging and universally appealing format about a former ER doctor working as an ambulance driver is going into season two,” says Timur Weinstein, NTV’s general producer. Dinosaur is a crime drama with comedic elements, built on the controversy between a father, who is a former criminal, and his newly found son, a police investigator. The story in Reluctant Hero centers on a man who harbors a deadly illness but discovers that his tumor shrinks if he does something courageous. “NTV formats have just the right mix of high-paced action, plot twists and character misfortunes to keep the audience entertained,” Weinstein says.

“These formats are like a holy grail for the TV industry; very few know about them, but if discovered, they bring viewers hours of great TV.” —Timur Weinstein

Dinosaur

The Story Lab Undercover Twins / Pulling with My Parents / I Want to Have Your Baby There are two new dating shows on The Story Lab slate for MIPCOM: Undercover Twins and Pulling with My Parents. Undercover Twins sees identical twins looking for love as one and the same person, while Pulling with My Parents follows as parents take control of their children’s love lives to help them find “the one.” Progressing on the themes of family and relationships, I Want to Have Your Baby charts the emotional journey of couples and singles as they make a final attempt to fulfill their dreams of parenthood. “All three of these new shows are incredibly engaging and hold mass appeal for a global audience, as these experiences are relatable to all,” says Fotini Paraskakis, executive VP of entertainment for The Story Lab Global.

“The Story Lab continues to push boundaries with innovative and engaging content that can be tailored for individual territories to give it real local flavor.”

—Fotini Paraskakis 400 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Undercover Twins

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A+E Networks’ Seven Year Switch.

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Joanna Stephens checks in on what’s new in the high-risk game of social-experiment formats.

T

o a degree, all reality formats seek to find the universal in the particular, but few do it with such fearlessness as social experiments, with their mission to cut through the frills of culture and conditioning to reach to the heart of the human condition.

For Michael Iskas, the president of The Story Lab Global, the best social experiments put “the real back into reality” by tackling the big things, from poverty and populism to refugees and relationships, in a responsible yet entertaining way. These shows, whose antecedents can be traced back to Big Brother and Survivor in the early 2000s, open a window on human behavior and psychology by testing people under controlled, albeit extreme, conditions.

Then there are the social experiments that trade on shock value and fly-on-the-wall voyeurism to deliver a less edifying—if no less addictive—form of entertainment. “Those are still engaging to watch,” Iskas agrees, “but I don’t think that they reflect the current market trend, which is increasingly towards formats that are hard-hitting, provocative, tackle real topics and challenges, but don’t shock for shock’s sake.” The world, in short, doesn’t need more naked celebrities on yachts. “Quite apart from taste considerations, I don’t think we can go much further down that road without alienating mass-market audiences,” Iskas says.

Hayley Babcock, the head of format production and acquisitions at A+E Networks, says that the social norms upon which the original social experiment was built must chime with the culture, standards and accepted practices of potential export territories. “If a format is meant to surprise viewers with the concept of an arranged marriage, for example, one has to know if arranged marriages are commonplace in a particular country,” she says. “If so, that format is unlikely to have the same entertainment value or the impact of a social experiment.”

Sumi Connock, BBC Studios’ creative director of formats, makes a similar point: “Many issues are universal, but certain territories place more weight on particular issues. For this reason, social-experiment formats that are issue-based don’t

travel in quite the same way, or at the same speed, as broader genre formats. And when they do travel, a detailed production bible and a specialist production consultancy are paramount.”

Finding the right local talent can also be tricky when adapting social experiments in multiple markets, adds Revital Basel, the managing director of networks at Keshet International (KI)—especially if the star is the story. She cites Koda Communications’ celebrity-led dating format Anna’s 12 Steps to Love, which follows professional dancer Anna Aronov on a 21-day quest to find the perfect partner. The format lives or dies on casting a relatable celebrity singleton who’s willing to put themselves into a hyper-emotional, revealing situation and be filmed at their most exposed and vulnerable.

“You see this woman falling in love on the TV screen before you,” Basel says. “You feel her emotional journey and it’s compelling to watch. But the challenge will be finding local ‘Annas’ in each territory that picks up the format.”

GETTING REAL The rawness and authenticity of social experiments like Anna’s 12 Steps also contrast favorably with many of today’s reality-TV offerings, which have become increasingly constructed in recent years. There’s growing evidence that viewers have had enough of contrived narratives and faux emotions; they want to see real people living through real situations that resonate with their own experiences.

If you can get viewers to ask, How would I behave in that situation?, you’re likely to have a success on your hands, Iskas at The Story Lab reflects.

KI’s Singletown, broadcast on the U.K.’s ITV2, sees five couples press pause on their relationships to spend a summer living the single life in London. “It poses the real-life question of, Is the grass greener on the other side?” Basel says. “People anywhere in the world can immediately relate to the question of whether they’d be better off staying in a relationship that isn’t working for them, or starting anew.”

Recent months have seen a spate of suspected suicides among reality-TV contestants, including two former stars of ITV2’s Love Island. Indeed, a report earlier this year in

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Keshet International’s Anna’s 12 Steps to Love offers an intimate view of one celebrity’s search for a partner.

the U.K. newspaper The Sun claimed that, since 1986, some 38 people worldwide have died in suspected suicides linked to reality TV shows. Understandably, this has sparked a conversation about the psychological pressure of instant fame; the safety, dignity and emotional stability of contestants and whether producers and broadcasters are doing enough to protect the vulnerable.

DUTY OF CARE David Williams, managing director of non-scripted at Keshet UK, says that with a show such as Singletown, the duty-ofcare process starts the moment a potential contestant walks into the production offices and extends well beyond the airing of the last episode. “From keeping all data secure to verifying identity, taking professional references and medical and psychological assessments, duty of care is a huge part of the casting process,” he says. “And if concerns arise at any point, we will always err on the side of caution.”

During filming, contestants are closely observed by professionals and have access to 24-hour support. “But the bigger challenge is to ensure they can access any support they need once filming stops and they return home,” Williams adds. “Not only does Keshet go into each production with the level of post-show support agreed with the broadcaster, but the program of care is constantly refined throughout a project’s lifespan.”

Over at A+E Networks, Babcock reports similarly stringent safety guidelines for all formats, regardless of genre.

“Each show will have its own particular and specific needs,” she says, with physically challenging formats requiring more stringent physical safety guidelines, and emotionally challenging shows requiring more psychological support. Not only should safety protocols and

practices be “baked in” from the get-go, she adds, but they should also be guided, upheld and monitored by all the production stakeholders, from IP owners and distributors to local producers and broadcasters.

OF THE MOMENT

With its Channel 4 show about living with dementia, The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes, CPL Productions went as far as obtaining consent not only from the on-camera participants but from their families—and on a daily basis.

“We also made sure there was additional and independent help for contributors and their family members, as the ongoing duty of care was of paramount importance,” says Nina Etspueler, the group creative director of Red Arrow Studios, CPL’s parent company.

With dementia currently the focus of much attention as life expectancy increases around the world, The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes is also a good example of a social experiment that, as Etspueler puts it, “captures the zeitgeist.” The best social experiments, she adds, “take a subject that is relevant and resonant, and dig deep to explore it from the inside in an innovative, empathetic and entertaining way, revealing much about the current state of our society and our values.”

Interestingly, BBC Studios has been mining similar territory with Our Dementia Choir, which explores the positive effect of music on the lives of both people living with dementia and those who care for them. “This huge social experiment helped raise awareness of the effects of music therapy, but it also contributed to scientific research that could help others in the future,” Connock says. She adds that the producer, Curve Media, partnered with a major U.K. charity to ensure that the science supporting Our

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Dementia Choir was both credible and potentially useful to future research programs.

Red Arrow has taken on another issue arising from the world’s greying population—social isolation among the elderly—in its critically acclaimed Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, also produced by CPL Productions for Channel 4.

Now licensed in more than ten territories, the format unleashes a posse of tiny children on the residents of a care home in an intergenerational experiment designed to help alleviate loneliness, anxiety and depression.

You Are Not A Loan, the first fruit of The Story Lab’s fact-ent co-creation partnership with Renowned Films, sees 30 people from a single postal code join forces to eliminate their debt. It undoubtedly ticks the entertainmentwith-a-purpose box, addressing a genuine social problem— the U.K.’s spiraling addiction to debt. But it also has all the elements of a cracking good story, complete with drama, tension, highs, lows and (one hopes) a happy ending, as a community works together to wipe out £500,000 of collective debt in just 12 months.

Echoing The Story Lab’s Iskas, Etspueler believes there is a move away from confrontational, antagonistic shows toward “gentler, more empathetic ideas” that aim to change hearts, minds and attitudes in a positive way. The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes, Our Dementia Choir and Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds fall into this category—as does arguably the most successful social-experiment format of recent years, Married at First Sight (MAFS). Created by Red Arrow-owned Snowman Productions in 2013 for Denmark’s DR, the format explores the science of romance by matching strangers and introducing them at the altar. The newlyweds then agree to live together for several weeks, before deciding whether to divorce or stay together.

WEDDING FEVER

MAFS has been formatted in some 30 territories, including the U.S., where the success of the ninth season resulted in Lifetime ordering two more seasons; and Australia, where the sixth season on Nine Network won its prime-time slot for every episode. But its success was certainly not a given, Etspueler says, with many buyers initially alarmed by its controversial premise and noisy, headline-grabbing title.

“But once broadcasters understood that, at the heart of the show, there is an authenticity and honesty about helping single people find love, and that it’s a beautifully formatted idea, any feelings of risk became a desire to do something bold and fresh,” she adds.

MAFS also epitomizes arguably the most important quality needed to make a format replicable: a challenge that resonates universally. While MAFS turns on the basic human urge to find a mate, KI’s ambitious 2025 tackles the game of life itself. The format, which rolled out on Keshet 12 in early February and has been commissioned for a second season, sees 12 contestants enter a generic “near-future” mini-city, operated by humanoid robots. The moment they enter the purpose-built community, contestants begin to play a game of strategy, where their status, options and, ultimately, fate are determined by the social currency they accrue. “The situation is not specific to any one territory and is immediately familiar to anyone living in an urban environment,” Basel says. Psychiatrists are on hand to ensure that the city’s denizens remain safe—and sane.

The scale of 2025’s set makes it a prime candidate for a production hub. “We’ve built a completely bespoke unit on a 64,000-square-foot plot, which houses the 2025 city itself, the production rooms and a set for the live show,” Basel says.

Keshet is viewing the city as a long-term investment. “When we’re not using the hub, we’ll have space for at least two or three additional countries to come on board,” Basel adds.

HUB APPROACH A+E’s Babcock is also a fan of production hubs for set- or location-dependent formats. She references Alone, which has wrapped its sixth season on HISTORY, in which contestants are dropped into the wilderness, armed only with basic survival equipment and their own cameras. Their mission is to stick it out for as long as they can handle the physical hardship and loneliness, not to mention the atavistic fear of being eaten by a bear. While in this instance nature provides the actual set, Babcock says a production hub is still invaluable in helping to keep costs affordable, with producers able to share investment in location scouting, setup, technical equipment and even below-the-line staff.

For Babcock, two of A+E’s most successful socialexperiment formats—Seven Year Switch and Bride & Prejudice—demonstrate why audiences are increasingly drawn to the genre. “First, each has a baseline DNA of good intentions,” she says. “The end goal of the created structure is to see if something happy, good or positive can occur. And second, the participants’ experiences in each show are genuine. The jumping-off points may come from a constructed setting put together by a TV production, but the personal journeys are relatable and could happen in the ‘real world’ without stretching the imagination too far.”

The sales figures support Babcock’s analysis. A+E’s Seven Year Switch has been picked up by, among others, the U.K.’s Channel 4, Australia’s Seven Network, Italy’s Fox Life, Spain’s Antena 3 and RTL4 in the Netherlands. Bride &

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The Story Lab’s No Sleep No FOMO drops celebrities into foreign cities.

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Red Arrow’s Married at First Sight has been a huge success in Australia on Nine.

Prejudice, featuring unconventional couples whose conventional families are thwarting their unions, has spawned local iterations in Australia and the U.K.

STAR POWER On the question of whether social experiments are appropriate vehicles for celebrities, Babcock believes fame and real life make uncomfortable bedfellows. “A true social experiment explores a new world and assesses how everyday people react in that new, experimental world,” Babcock maintains. The moment famous faces are involved, the show becomes a different animal—even if the celebs in question are displaying genuine emotions and living real experiences.

BBC Studios’ Connock is less hard-line, noting that star power can help bring audiences to a social experiment, especially if the star in question is passionate about the project. This was the case with Our Dementia Choir, which was presented by well-known U.K. actress Vicky McClure, who helped care for her grandmother after she was diagnosed with the disease.

“Celebrity involvement can help raise awareness of an important issue,” Connock adds.

Connock reflects the general view when she says there is a definite shift in tone from the voyeuristic reality formats of recent years to shows that are more socially conscious. “As a result, there has been an uplift in demand for factual entertainment with a purpose, which is where most of our social experiments fall,” she says. A case in point is The Week the Women Went, which first aired on BBC Three in 2005.

The format, which sees all the women walk out of a community for a week to see how the men get on without them, has recently enjoyed a surge in sales, “most likely down to the current climate and the #MeToo movement encouraging female empowerment,” Connock says.

Relevance is also a powerful factor in selling social experiments, Connock adds. She points to Filthy Rich and Homeless, in which five wealthy volunteers swap their privileged lives for a spell on the streets. SBS ordered a local version of the BBC format to help expose the myths and explore the realities of living rough. After the first season, which aired in 2017, it was reported that Australian homeless organizations saw a spike in volunteers and donations, indicating that social experiments can, as Connock puts it, “provoke thought and promote change.”

As to where social experiments will take us next, Connock tips shows that explore the generation gap à la Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds and another hot issue du jour: sustainability. “Given how conscious Generation Z is about the environment, plus the rise in veganism and plant-based lifestyles, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this also taking shape in some form of social experiment in the not-too-distant future.”

Filthy Rich Go Green, anyone?

BBC Studios’ fact-ent social experiment The Week the Women Went has sold into about a dozen markets.

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Global Agency’s Pick’n Run.

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FIT FORTV Producers and distributors weigh in on the wave of high-stakes, physical endurance competitions in the formats market.

By Kristin Brzoznowski

I

n an increasingly on-demand age, broadcasters clamoring to attract audiences to real-time TV know they can reliably bet on two things: sports and competition shows. The crop of physical endurance-style formats making their way across the globe combine these elements to create TV spectacles that showcase the impressive feats that humans are capable of.

Unlike a straightforward sporting event, these competition formats allow viewers a more intimate look at the contestants taking part, making the connection to these peak performers all the more palpable. “The audience wants to relate to emotions, characters, backgrounds and values of the cast and their surroundings,” says Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya. “With a show like Exathlon, the format brings not only these important elements but also the element of sport. And this combination has a structure that appeals to the whole family—like a new version of sports that creates local heroes who the audience connect with in their hearts and feel the competition and struggle that they are in.”

At MIPTV, Banijay Rights introduced Catch!, which puts a grueling, high-energy spin on the classic children’s game of tag. “What’s so special about Catch! is that it’s a formatted

sports event in many ways,” says Andrew Sime, the company’s VP of formats. “It’s like watching a sport that you are very familiar with; there’s no difference from watching football or tennis. It’s a fast-paced competition with rules and very fit athletes taking part, as well as some celebrities.”

SPORTS FANS

Catch! has launched in Germany on SAT.1 to much success. “It’s event television that gives people something to talk about with their colleagues when they go to work the next day,” says Sime.

Part of the draw, he adds, is the aspect of endurance. “In Catch!, it’s about physical prowess and stamina. In Survivor, you see a different type of endurance, which is people who are stuck in one inhospitable landscape for weeks on end.” Both have audience appeal, Sime says. “To watch people who are doing such physically intense feats with such skill is particularly compelling.”

Spurring the trend is the fact that health and physical well-being are, by and large, a greater focus in the overall cultural consciousness these days. “People have more awareness about exercise and different ways of approaching physical activities,” says Andrew Zein, senior VP of creative, format development and sales at Warner Bros. International

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on their butt; they want to see topflight contenders who all have a fair shot at winning.

ARE YOU READY?

With its acquisition of Castaway Productions, Banijay Group landed the rights to the lucrative Survivor brand.

Endemol Shine’s The Bridge is an adventure-reality format that originated in Spain.

TV Production. “There are more 5K events, 10K events, Tough Mudders. Health and exercise are societal topics.”

He adds: “Previously, where there were physical endurance-style competitions like World’s Strongest Man, the general public could never quite understand the levels of fitness or how people attained it. The new breed of shows, in some ways, is slightly closer to what people can understand or aspire to, plus the general public’s understanding of what it takes to climb something or carry something or pull yourself up something means that they can [grasp] the show better.”

Warner Bros.’ Million Dollar Mile, which aired in the U.S. on CBS, is set in a real-world urban environment and competitors are meant to represent a broad cross section.

“What we are striving for is authenticity,” Zein says.

To achieve that authenticity and relatability, casting is a crucial element. And, unlike with some of the physical competition series that were popular in the past, today’s audiences aren’t tuning in to laugh at someone getting knocked

“Having equality in their health status is a must and a serious point to pay attention to,” says Umay Ayaz, head of acquisitions at Global Agency, which represents formats such as Pick’n Run, Battle of the Couples and Tahiti Quest.

For Endemol Shine Group, home to competitions such as The Island, The Bridge and Big Bounce Battle, establishing a basis of care for the contestants is standard practice, says Lisa Perrin, CEO of creative networks. “We look very carefully at whether someone could complete the task, mentally and physically. Nobody is going to get [cast] if they can’t survive on an island, if they are physically or mentally not able to cope with the reality of what that brings. All of our teams cast with really rigorous checklists in mind. We make sure that people can stand up to the task ahead of them.”

As the parkour courses in Inter Medya’s Exathlon are designed to test all aspects of an athlete’s abilities, “our contestants should have a combination of speed, swimming, jumping, balance, flexibility, strength, dexterity, coordination, muscle memory and sporting intelligence,” says Okan. “They have to perform at their highest level consistently, as this is the only way to be the champion.”

For a format as advanced as Survivor, which is going to have its 40th season in the U.S. in 2020, the casting has had to evolve along with the show. “The contestants are now so well-versed in Survivor gameplay and history, they know every trick in the book,” says Sime. “So, as producers, you’re constantly trying to stay one step ahead of them. That informs your casting. You want a mix of people who are slightly more naïve, slightly wilier and some more experienced.”

The casting target differs for a show like SAS: Who Dares Wins, in which ex-Special Forces soldiers put recruits through a re-creation of the SAS selection process. “The mix you’re looking for there is about different backgrounds, different physical abilities and challenging preconceptions so that the people you meet in episode one change in front of your eyes as the series goes on,” Sime explains.

With most of these physical-style competitions, location is key. Some are played out on large-scale sets strewn with obstacles, while others send contestants to far-flung locales with challenging elements all their own. As both of those possibilities can be costly, producers often look to the productionhub model to amortize the expenses.

“We have one production set up in Fiji for Survivor, and over the course of the year, that plays home to the French production, German production, Swedish production—the top-tier productions that can afford to go there, film one series at a time and then move on to the next

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one,” Sime explains. “We have a second hub in the Philippines, and what they do there is much more about trying to find economies of scale. There are three productions normally running in parallel. For example, they’ll set up the games in the morning, and one country will go play those games, then in the afternoon, a second country will play those games. There are economies of scale that you can find.”

Banijay Rights is evaluating the potential of a centralized production for Catch!, as it’s still early days on the format. “A hub needs to follow the demand; it can’t create the demand,” cautions Sime. “You want to make sure that it solves problems and doesn’t cause them.”

The key, he says, is to help producers at any budget be able to make versions of the show, “as long as the end product is at the quality that we and the viewers expect it to be.”

LEARNING TO SHARE Perrin says that Endemol Shine has been “forward-thinking” in its hub initiatives, going back to the days of Fear Factor and Wipeout. With The Island, for example, “We were aware that not every country has a Channel 4 budget to play with, so we scouted a number of islands where we could film back-toback without exhausting one island’s resources. As you can imagine, there are only so many coconuts and they take a long time to grow! So, we managed to get a couple of islands nearby each other, and that meant that we could film back-to-back and bring the price down for some countries.”

Exathlon is produced at a hub, which currently extends over 350,000 square meters in the Dominican Republic. “It is essential to produce a show like Exathlon at a specific location where we have the ability to improve and innovate new parkours as well as form an international competition platform for multiple territories,” says Inter Medya’s Okan. “This means that players from one particular country not only

compete with each other, but they also get to compete with those from other territories. These international competitions add another dynamic to the format.”

LOCAL FLAVORS Global Agency’s Ayaz says that hubs can be helpful in making the production process easier as well, since mistakes can be avoided by using an established framework already in place.

“On the other hand, it reduces the authenticity and localization,” she adds.

Warner Bros.’ Zein also expresses some concerns about using a hub model. “Hubs are really tough to pull off! If you have a big entertainment show, [a live] audience is a crucial factor. No one yet has really been able to nail the multipleversion hub in front of an entertainment audience.

“The next route, which we went for Game of Games and Million Dollar Mile, is to create the big-ticket items, which in this case are the obstacles,” he continues. “We built those centrally and we then make those available to the local versions around the world. That then means that you can offer broadcasters a competitive price, it’s got the production values that they would want and that you would want, and you also get some certainty on the execution. From there, finding a good physical location is relatively straightforward.”

A challenge, Zein says, is to ensure that there’s enough variety in the gameplay that it doesn’t become repetitive.

Looking ahead, he believes that the physical-style formats that can balance humor, entertainment and proper competition are the ones that will rise to the top.

“We all want entertainment to work in prime time, especially up against drama,” he says. “These shows have an immediacy to them. It’s in everybody’s interest that we find shows that work for the audience in the entertainment genre and in an affordable price bracket.”

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Inter Medya’s Exathlon is produced out of a hub in the Dominican Republic.

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Dori Media’s Power Couple.

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It Takes

TWO

In the quest for the next big thing, format distributors are partnering up with broadcasters and producers to co-develop titles that will have global appeal. By Kristin Brzoznowski

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he word “co-development” has been popping up quite a bit in the format business, as distributors are increasingly looking to alliances with producers and broadcasters in the hopes of coming up with a global hit. More than just a buzzword, this collaborative format strategy can help with costs, risk and getting concepts off the ground. It also puts to the test the age-old adage of “two heads are better than one” with regard to creativity.

“The business has become tougher—tougher in its demands and tougher on the budgets that networks can allocate to new shows,” says Avi Armoza, founder and CEO of Armoza Formats, which recently joined the ITV Studios group.

“Development, by nature, is the most expensive and riskiest part of the business. So, wherever broadcasters or partners can reduce risk and make a more costeffective cooperation, this is the major [motivation] for co-development.”

“In Israel, we are very creative to find a solution of how to do things without a lot of money, to be attractive and catch the eyes of the people,” says Nadav Palti, the president and CEO of Dori Media Group, which has co-developed a slew of formats with various partners around the world.

Sophie Ferron, founder, president and executive producer at Media Ranch, highlights the creative benefits that codevelopment with international partners can bring about.

“The world is more and more global, so it makes sense to partner with others to create something that has wider appeal,” she says. “Also, not all partners—networks, creators, producers, distributors—come with the same approach, so it gives the project a broader audience.”

WORKING TOGETHER Earlier this year, RTL Group established its own Format Creation Group (FC Group), dedicated to the development of factual-entertainment formats and reality shows. The group will be working closely with RTL broadcasters in different countries “to reflect their needs in the local markets,” says Matthias Scholten, managing director of FC Group.

“Successful programs in the Netherlands also often work well in Germany, France or Spain, and conversely, a format that flopped in one country is generally also likely to flop in another European country,” Scholten adds. “At FC Group, we can learn from the different experiences within the RTL Group broadcasters to become ever more innovative.”

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Armoza Formats co-developed the entertainment show The People’s Choice with France’s TF1.

RTL Nederland, serving as an add-on to the development teams of the respective networks, Scholten explains. “The development teams within the broadcasters are close to their own ‘daily fires’ and rightly have their focus on the time slots of their own channels; we will bear this in mind.”

There are advantages to working directly with broadcasters, says Armoza. “When a broadcaster is involved, you can already look into the possibility of having a season produced.

Or, if you need to produce a pilot and invest in building a set.”

CASTING A WIDE NET In addition to working with networks, Media Ranch is codeveloping projects with format creators, brands, producers and distributors. “We have many types of co-development partnerships,” says Ferron. “It’s very important to us to start with a strong relationship with creators, so that they trust us with their ideas—to come to us first, knowing that we will make their idea shine and collaborate as partners. The same can be said with networks that need content partners to help them with their programming needs; we can’t collaborate without the other.”

Media Ranch aligned with Quebecor Content to launch Horsepower, a six-month incubator initiative aimed at creating exportable TV formats from Quebec.

Dori Media Group has around 25 titles that have come out of co-developments, among them Power Couple. Developed in partnership with Abot Hameiri, it has been adapted in markets such as Germany, Mexico and Brazil. “Abot Hameiri was responsible for the production, we did the development together, but we’re responsible for the distribution worldwide.

We split the revenue,” Palti explains.

Armoza Formats previously aligned in a development deal with France’s TF1. “There are at least two big formats that we are very proud of that came out of this co-development, but they [aired] elsewhere,” Armoza explains. “It was successful from the perspective of development and our ability to sell the formats worldwide, but it was not successful from the point of view of [broadcasting] within France.”

The studio game show Babushka was developed in partnership with TF1 but was commissioned in Turkey, Spain and

the U.K. Similarly, Armoza Formats worked with the French broadcaster on the entertainment show The People’s Choice, which was ultimately commissioned in Turkey, Brazil and India. “Although we did the development in France, we kept our independence and flexibility to market those shows internationally,” Armoza explains.

TAKING THE LEAD Despite all of the apparent benefits that co-development can bring, the arrangement is not without its challenges. To avoid some of the pitfalls, Armoza suggests that creatively, there needs to be one clear leader. Then it’s about assessing complementary strengths, such as if one partner has production capabilities or if one has direct ties to a broadcaster or platform.

“There is creative collaboration, but I don’t think it’s the essential part,” says Armoza. “The commercial perspective is more of a key element in the agenda. When you create, you need to have as few people [as possible] who have a clear vision to execute the show. Keeping it too wide can create conflict and doesn’t push the format forward.”

Media Ranch’s Ferron has a different stance: “There is the financial risk that is shared, but truly, we really value the creative process,” she says. “That is our main focus—a freshness and different point of view offer different strengths.”

For Ferron, the main challenges in co-development are working with different personalities, countries’ cultures and levels of expertise. “We need to quickly come to an understanding of exact roles in the development process,” she says.

“Another key challenge is to remind ourselves that we’re creating a format,” Ferron continues. “So, the idea needs to be developed accordingly, and we need to make sure we are developing something that the market is actually looking for— hopefully creating a format that the market wants and needs but doesn’t know it yet.”

With its positive view on co-developing formats, the company is aiming to enter more alliances in the future. “Codevelopment is a strong and desirable focus for Media Ranch,” says Ferron. “We want to join forces with the most brilliant, creative international creators, producers and networks from around the world to develop the best format to come.”

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Bertram van Munster

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ince its premiere on CBS in 2001, The Amazing Race has dominated the outstanding reality-competition category at the Primetime Emmys, winning a total of ten times. Created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, the show has become a valuable format brand with hit versions in Canada, Vietnam and China, among other markets. The Amazing Race returns to Australia this year after a five-year gap on a new home, Network Ten. Eureka is making the new Australian version in association with van Munster and Doganieri’s production company, Profiles Television. Ahead of jetting off to a “very remote place” as he plots his new National Geographic series Race to the Center of the Earth, van Munster spoke to TV Formats about his long-running franchise and its enduring appeal in the U.S. and across the globe.

By Mansha Daswani

TV FORMATS: How has The Amazing Race been able to endure as long as it has and remain beloved by audiences worldwide?

VAN MUNSTER: It’s relatable, and it’s great for an entire family to watch together. You see how successful it is around the world—that tells you something. We’re in 130-plus countries. We have formats going around the world. It keeps going and going! Of course, the creative that surrounds it and the concepts are very strong. We have a great army of people working on the show. Around the globe, we have well over 3,000 people that have worked on the show or still work on the show. We’ve gone through generations of cameramen. People get old on the show! It’s unbelievable.

TV FORMATS: How long does it take you to map out a route for each season?

VAN MUNSTER: To come up with the idea for the route, I look at what we’ve done in the past. I can do it in a couple of hours, on the back of a newspaper. The actual creative layout, how they’re going to travel, takes three or four months. Once I lay it out, I go to the network and say, What do you think? If they approve it, then I’ll go out with my producers and challenge producers and we lay out the course and the route. There has to be a flow to it, a logic to it; it has to go from A to B to C to D. You look on the map and see where the logic lies. It feels random, but it’s not random at all.

TV FORMATS: How have you been able to innovate every season?

VAN MUNSTER: Imagination. I’m never running short on imagination and creativity. As I travel around the world with my team—I write the outline for the show every season—there is so much to see and so much that gives you ideas. It’s so broad. I can’t sit in a room and do it. I go around the world and whatever I see, whenever I see an opportunity to get something out of it that is unusual and creative and fun and dramatic, I jump on it. As a result, I’ve gone around the world 92 times!

TV FORMATS: What’s the approach to casting?

VAN MUNSTER: Casting is the backbone of the show. We have fantastic casting people who have been working with us for many, many years. We do this together with the network. We present the network a wide array of people—before it was people from all walks of life, but the last two seasons were themed [such as reality TV or social media personalities]—and if we all agree, then we move forward on getting the contestants in place.

TV FORMATS: Do you have any favorite cities? Are there some that are particularly good to film in?

VAN MUNSTER: The world is very small! My favorite places depend on the mood I’m in. You want to go to Sicily? Let’s go to Sicily, that’s a great idea! There always has to be a logic to how we lay out the route. It has to make perfect sense logistically because it deals with finances and creativity. Logistics, finances and creativity belong together; they all have to be on the same page. If something is not working, we take it out. And there has to be a flow in how you race around the world.

TV FORMATS: Twitter didn’t exist when the series premiered in 2001. How has social media changed how you make the show?

VAN MUNSTER: When we started, we wanted to keep everything a secret. That turned out to be impossible! You can’t yell at people in an airport and say, don’t take a picture of my cast! My lightbulb went on and [I realized], we have a diamond in the attic and nobody gets to see it. Why don’t we let it all out in the open? Then we can take advantage of social media. [In season 25] we started in Times Square in New York—you can’t be more in the center of the universe than in Times Square. There were hundreds 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 421

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The Amazing Race Canada wrapped its seventh season this year as one of CTV’s top-rated shows.

and hundreds of people taking pictures, which were all over social media. It worked! We went from keeping things a major secret to putting things out in the open, and it’s just been much more effective. We take full advantage of social media wherever possible. And they take advantage of us. It’s a good marriage.

TV FORMATS: The Australian version of The Amazing Race is coming back this year, with a new home on Ten. What can you tell us about the new adaptation?

VAN MUNSTER: It’s in full swing. Australians have a great sense of humor. It’s going to be a fantastic show. We have a great team there.

TV FORMATS: What advice can you give to international producers on casting and plotting out the routes for their own versions of the format?

VAN MUNSTER: That’s why our guys are there. And we are welcomed everywhere. Where we were not welcomed, [the local version] didn’t work! It is a collaborative effort, where we can transfer our experience of many, many years doing this—and we got a bunch of Emmys in the meantime—and our connections around the globe. Whatever they need, we’re only a phone call away. That saves a lot of time, money and aggravation. We let them do their own creative. We’ll say, This works great or, This wouldn’t work for this reason.

TV FORMATS: Do any of the international versions feel substantially different from the original on CBS? VAN MUNSTER: Canada is doing a fantastic job. China did a great job. Singapore did a great job [with a regional version]. We’re pleased. The Israeli version is stretched quite a bit with interviews. But that’s their decision; we’re fine with that.

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TV FORMATS: How did Race to the Center of the Earth come about?

VAN MUNSTER: I was approached by Courteney Monroe [president of National Geographic Global Television Networks]. They had a concept from a company in England [Plum Pictures], and they liked it and asked if I would be willing to produce. We looked at it and said, Absolutely, it sounds like a fantastic idea, let’s do it. This is super exciting.

It’s new and fresh. It’s very different from The Amazing Race. It’s a completely different animal.

TV FORMATS: The TV industry has changed so much since we last spoke five years ago. What new opportunities do you see now that perhaps didn’t exist then?

VAN MUNSTER: There are a lot of opportunities. We are lucky—we get calls regularly to produce shows because people want to make sure they get done right and their money doesn’t get wasted. The deal-making has changed quite a bit. I have said to my team, Let’s be adaptive and make sure we’re not just working for hire.

I think work for hire is great for people just stepping into the business. As people develop and get skills, they can make better deals for themselves.

TV FORMATS: Is it more difficult to get genuine reactions out of contestants today, given that people have become so accustomed to filming themselves and posting on social media?

VAN MUNSTER: Our stuff happens so hardcore in the moment, you have to be yourself. You have no choice but to be yourself. You’re standing in the middle of an intersection in India with thousands of people and cars and mopeds cruising around you. That aspect can be there a little bit when you interview them, they can fake it, but in the reality of doing the show and being in the heat of the battle, you better be yourself!

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show in the U.K., and yet baking is incredibly popular; there is a real culture of country fêtes, where people set out their home baking. We thought, What if we were to do a very simple, amateur baking competition—looking for the best British home baker? It was a simple idea that had never been done before. Then we found out that there was a reason it hadn’t been done before, and that’s because every single broadcaster in the U.K. thought that it would be incredibly dull and boring, like watching paint dry. [Laughs] So they all said, Absolutely not, no way. The funny thing when I look back now is that all of the reasons they said “no” are probably all the reasons that it’s so successful.

We were passionate about it, and it never left our top five ideas that we hadn’t got commissioned. We pitched it to anybody and everybody! Finally, the then-controller of BBC Three thought it was a good idea, but not right for BBC Three. He passed it over to BBC Two. TV FORMATS: Did you anticipate that it would achieve the level of success it has?

MCKERROW: We never anticipated that it would grow in the way that it did. We just set out to make an original program with the best production values we possibly could. The show has been described as a sleeper hit. The first [season] did quite well, but I remember being slightly disappointed in the figures of the first episode. Anna Beattie, who is the co-creator of the show, said to me, “Don’t worry Rich, it’ll grow.” In a funny way, it’s a bit like baking: it takes time!

Everyone said, Baking is going to be boring, it’s not dramatic enough. But actually, baking is much more dramatic

Richard McKerrow The Great British Bake Off

By Kristin Brzoznowski

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hat began as a simple idea to showcase Britain’s best amateur bakers has become a full-blown TV phenomenon: The Great British Bake Off. The hit show, created by Love Productions, has charmed viewers the world over with its heartfelt contestants putting their all into every last bundt cake, blueberry tart and baguette. The series returned in late August for its tenth season in the U.K., marking its third on Channel 4 after a move from the BBC. Its success has spawned a juniors spin-off and a slew of international iterations, including a U.S. version on ABC. Richard McKerrow, co-creator of Bake Off and creative director at Love Productions, shares with TV Formats the ingredients to the series’ success.

TV FORMATS: Where did the concept for Bake Off originate?

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but in a slow, deep way rather than a superficial, television way. When cooking goes wrong, you can add salt and pepper and race around to fix it. With baking, it’s about how you put it together before—that’s why [the bakers] kneel down and stare at it through the oven. In the end, the drama is less superficial, far deeper and more profound.

TV FORMATS: What do you look for in casting?

MCKERROW: The simple answer is brilliant bakers.

That is the one total rule; we want the best possible bakers. As a documentary maker, you’re trying to create an environment where people forget that the cameras are there, which is incredibly hard to do in constructed television. I look back to the first time that we brought the first group of bakers together, and we were watching them being watched by the two judges—I was in awe because they didn’t care that we were filming!

They were more obsessed with what the judges

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thought of their eclair, scone or loaf of bread than the camera. That’s the secret: when people are more passionate about the real thing that is going on than about being on television.

TV FORMATS: How do you keep it fresh and innovative, while still remaining true to the heart of the format?

MCKERROW: Fortunately, every year, 12 or 13 new bakers come along, with new stories and histories that are unique and individual. When we moved from BBC to Channel 4, the [hosting and judging] talent changed. But it didn’t make a difference to the show, because the true talents are the bakers—the ordinary people, not the celebrities. It doesn’t diminish the incredibly important role that the hosts and judges play; they are a vital and prominent part of it. But we have a mantra: Love the bakers, love the baking.

Every season, we try to make sure that we find the best possible bakers, that we find a broad range and also that the challenges are distinct and different. That’s not to say we wouldn’t do something that we’ve done before. There is the broad format of having the signature challenge, the technical challenge and the show-stopper, but I can’t begin to tell you the incredible amount of effort that goes into designing the various challenges. There’s a tremendous amount of work behind it and a team of people who really care about the show.

BBC Studios distributes the format globally. The format, like the original show, has grown slowly.

Denmark’s version is extraordinarily successful, with its latest series attracting over half of the viewing audience. Argentina did the first Spanish-language version in the [LatAm] region, ranking number one in its time slot with more than twice the share of the closest competition. There’s a version in Brazil.

We produce the American version, for ABC, in the U.K. The first-ever version we did was for CBS, The American Baking Competition, and it was shot in America. It didn’t do too badly, but one of the problems was that CBS didn’t promote it off-network.

When FOX put Gordon Ramsay against it with MasterChef, CBS didn’t move it. Therefore, it didn’t get picked up. We sold the finished programs of The Great British Bake Off to PBS, where it aired under the title The Great British Baking Show. Rob Mills [senior VP of alternative series, specials and latenight programming] at ABC Entertainment saw the British version on PBS and thought, Why don’t we let Love produce an American version in the same way they produce the British version? They let us do it the way we always wanted to do it.

TV FORMATS: How do you plot and test the challenges?

MCKERROW: We have an extraordinarily experienced, accomplished team that researches all the possible challenges. Then we try them out. We see how long it takes to do. That’s why Bake Off is really a 365days-a-year operation. Our contributor care almost reaches its most important period over the ten weeks [after the premiere].

Although it’s obviously vital during the preproduction casting and during the weeks that we film, now we’re in the time when we can’t control the public reaction. [Duty of care] is something that I am very passionate about. Television is pretty well regulated and yet social media is utterly unregulated, and therefore, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen next. All we can do is look after the bakers to the best of our ability during that period of time.

TV FORMATS: Was the plan from the beginning to format it for international markets?

MCKERROW: We’re always driven by the creative. If you’ve designed something original, there’s always a chance that it could travel internationally. If you make it to the best of your ability, certainly with an English-language program, there’s a good chance you can have program sales. To then sell the format, that’s a whole different bar that you’ve got to hit, which is mostly judged by audience figures.

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Love Productions makes The Great American Baking Show for ABC in the U.S., one of numerous adaptations of the hit BBC Studios format.

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Rob Clark

Fremantle rom Got Talent to Idols, Family Feud to The Price is Right, Fremantle is home to some of the biggest format brands in the business. Rob Clark, director of global entertainment, has been encouraging the teams at the company’s vast network of production partners to keep a close eye on their local markets for innovative ideas that could become international hits. A champion of risk-taking, Clark tells TV Formats how these efforts have been paying off, putting Fremantle in peak-performance mode creatively. By Kristin Brzoznowski

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TV FORMATS: Do you think that scripted “peak TV” has peaked and the pendulum is swinging back the other way toward unscripted entertainment?

CLARK: Television is quite cyclical; people will commission more dramas, then get bored with that and commission more entertainment. If you look at major broadcasters, their entertainment commissioning is on the rise.

When you can spot a trend, it’s no longer worth spotting; it’s a fact. It was a trend a few years ago, and now it’s a fact: there are more people commissioning entertainment than there has been for a while.

Also, for a lot of younger people who are in the key demo that’s so sought-after by broadcasters, they have never seen game shows! They’re new to them. What is a heritage show for me is brand new for a 19-year-old; they don’t know that it preexisted or who the old host was.

This is good news for us because Fremantle is the home of the game show. We have a big catalog of game shows, and we have more game shows being made at the moment than we have for many years. We have 40 different brands of game shows being produced this year so far.

TV FORMATS: What types of entertainment are most in demand?

CLARK: One genre that has really gone into overdrive and is performing way above its normal benchmark is game shows. Looking at America, it’s gone from being a game show-free zone five years ago to having prime-time schedules that have been dominated by game shows. ABC went from being a second [place] network to being the major network over the summer period, and they’ve done that on the back of scheduling game shows on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Among big commercial networks, game shows are certainly the genre that is attracting a lot of attention at the moment. After the success that ABC had in the States, we have been talking to all the major networks about other game shows that are available. ITV [in the U.K.] is commissioning game shows left, right and center. There seems to be a trend throughout Europe whereby networks are coming back to game shows.

Again, it’s cyclical. You often see increases in game-show commissions when the global economy is tanking. In 2007–08, that was the last spike in game-show commissions. Why? Because they’re relatively economical, safe and they attract a broad family audience for co-viewing.

TV FORMATS: What’s your view on the quest for “the next big thing”?

CLARK: The idea that there’s never going to be another global hit is utter nonsense. [Laughs] The networks are desperate for global hits. If it’s a hit that’s traveled, it proves that the format works and can attract an audience.

There’s an argument that there hasn’t been space for new global formats because the old global formats are still doing rather well. This year is the wrong year to put that argument forward. There is a huge format that is traveling around the world at a rate of knots: The Masked Singer. It is the breakout hit this year. It took a long time to come outside of its homeland of Korea, but it was a big hit in America. It has sold in nearly every European territory, as well as in Australia and Mexico. We have rights [for The Masked Singer] in many European territories, and we’ve sold it in an awful lot of them. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, another global behemoth.

It has been a long time coming, though. We haven’t really had something of that scale since The Voice. Before that, they were sort of like busses all arriving: The X Factor, Idols, Got Talent. Then we had to wait a while before we got The Voice, and now we’ve got The Masked Singer.

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ITV2 airs a rebooted version of Fremantle’s Supermarket Sweep format, which is also headed to the U.S.

TV FORMATS: How are you tapping into the creative minds of Fremantle’s network of production companies for new format concepts?

CLARK: Fremantle is set up like a federal system in a way.

Each territory has its own production company, and the bigger territories have their own development team. Centrally, that development is monitored, and we’ll back it with money, our knowledge and passion, and we will work with our broadcast partners to get it on air. We do that not just within the network of companies like Fremantle France or Fremantle Spain; we also do it with the companies that we’ve invested in, as part of our strategy where we’ve made minority investments that will build to overall ownership in the long run. We have a vast network mainly centered around Europe and America, but not exclusively there. As a creative entity, at the moment, we’re probably at peak performance for the time that I’ve been here, which is 16 years.

We’re in good shape creatively, in terms of idea-generation and commissions for new shows.

That is not to say that we will not work with third-party producers. It’s always been my belief that a good idea can come from anywhere; that’s not just anywhere geographically, it’s anywhere within our industry or outside of our industry. Vasha Wallace [Fremantle’s executive VP of global acquisitions and development] and I meet people on a very regular basis, sometimes from big companies, sometimes from tiny companies, sometimes people who are just idea machines themselves. We’re always happy to meet people with good ideas and support them, whether they’re part of an internal company, a partly-owned company or a completely third-party individual.

TV FORMATS: What’s your view on the future of the format business with regard to the streaming players?

CLARK: People are platform-agnostic. From a Fremantle point of view, we want our programs, our formats, our IP and the stars who we work with to be on the most appropriate platform. What is great at the moment is that that 428 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

platform could be a streamer, a traditional broadcaster, a global network, a national SVOD. These are markets that didn’t exist five years ago. For a company the size of Fremantle, with our creative output and depth of catalog, this is a fantastic time to be a producer.

What streamers want are brands. When you have a back catalog like ours, with names that people recognize, those big global platforms are often perfect for us. We’re willing to do work-for-hire like with Confetti [on Facebook Watch], as long as it’s a global deal. We don’t have to be the IP owner. We have to be nimble and find different ways of working, and in doing that, we can work for everybody.

TV FORMATS: When you’re assessing the future of the format business, where do you see the greatest opportunities?

CLARK: I’ve learned that it’s really important to listen to your gut and to take risks. I sometimes worry that some of our broadcasters are too risk-averse—not all of them and not every time. To really create magnetic brands—that literally draw an audience in and won’t let them go—it has to be something new. It’s not just a twist of the dial; it’s quite a big turn of the dial. It needs to look fresh, feel fresh; it needs to be different!

That’s why The Masked Singer works. I have so much admiration for Rob Wade [president of alternative entertainment and specials] and his team at FOX who made the decision to go with The Masked Singer. It had been around for quite a long time, and nobody could see its potential; they could. The minute it was a hit in America, then, of course, everybody could see its potential. I admire broadcasters that take those sorts of risks. I’d like to see more risk-taking and more believing in gut [instinct] instead of always wanting to have everything proven before it goes on air.

We would never have been able to launch Idols or Got Talent if we’d have been in that situation. You couldn’t prove them; they were too big! You just have to take a deep breath, say yes, and then wait and see what the audience wants and hope they like it.

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EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

ot long after the Australian government axed cross-media ownership laws in late 2017, Peter Costello, the chairman of Nine, placed a phone call to Nick Falloon at the historic newspaper publishing group Fairfax Media. The two businesses had collaborated in the past, teaming to launch the SVOD service Stan. Costello proposed a deeper alliance, one that would create Australia’s largest locally owned media company. Announced in late July 2018, the A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) merger was a done deal by the end of the year. Hugh Marks, who had served as CEO of Nine since 2015, was tapped to lead the newly combined company. The new Nine is already seeing the benefits, reporting improved fiscal 2019 revenues of A$1.8 billion ($1.2 billion), with a net profit after tax that was up 19 percent to A$187 million ($127 million).

The company’s operations span television, video on demand, print, digital, radio and real-estate classified ads. Its assets include the Nine Network, which has been driving ratings with its mix of news and current affairs, including the flagship 60 Minutes; coverage of marquee sporting events; format-based entertainment shows like Love Island Australia, Married at First Sight and LEGO Masters; and domestic and imported drama series. Nine’s channel portfolio also includes 9Go!, targeted at viewers

16 to 39; 9Gem, for women 35-plus; and the lifestyle and reality channel 9Life. Content from all of those channels is made available on the AVOD streaming service 9Now. The SVOD platform Stan caters to its discerning customer base— which stands at about 1.7 million subscribers—with high-end originals like Bloom and a broad array of imports. The publishing division, meanwhile, is home to the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review, while the digital portfolio includes 9Honey and CarAdvice, among others.

Across its bouquet of adsupported platforms, Nine is offering brand partners 360-degree campaigns, with an emphasis on delivering high-end, impactful ad formats backed by data and insights. Indeed, as Marks tells World Screen, one of the key benefits of the merger has been the integration of data from across Nine’s portfolio of touchpoints. Marks has worked across the broadcast, production and distribution sides of the business—he previously served as director of Nine Films & Television and as CEO of Southern Star Group. Now, he is tapping into his two decades of experience in the media industry to make sure that Nine continues to reimagine how Australians access entertainment, news and information. He tells World Screen about his priorities for the group in the years ahead.

HUGH MARKS NINE

By Mansha Daswani

WS: What was the rationale behind the Fairfax Media and Nine merger?

MARKS: For us as a business, we need to recognize that media is changing, television is changing, how people define television is changing. Netflix is television to me.

We need to take advantage of the assets we have—broad reach, audience scale, the ability to market. But we also need to continue to drive the business to have a greater proportion of its earnings exposed to where audiences are, with higher growth, as opposed to where audiences are slowly fragmenting. [Before the merger] 85 percent of our earnings were from broadcast and 15 percent from digital. By next year 50 percent of our earnings will be from broadcast. That’s not because broadcast will decline in earnings, but because we’ll have these other growth assets: long-form video, subscription video, digital subscriptions for publishing and classified sites. That mix looks a lot better, and that enables us to have the confidence to continue to invest in whatever new [businesses] we’ll add to that mix.

WS: Do Australian shows continue to drive your broadcast television ratings? What role do acquisitions play for Nine?

MARKS: What’s changed in the way we look at our business is, we’re a content business. We have all these platforms, broadcast and digital video, but we’re essentially a content business. If I go back to my old days at Southern Star, how a distributor worked was, you created some IP, and you sold it to a broadcaster, but the money was in the distribution of other rights.

In those days it was international and windowing, and now digital video is another extension of that. That was the business model. As a broadcaster, you made money by building a schedule where you basically 10/19 WORLD SCREEN 431

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Entertainment forms a major part of Nine’s prime-time schedule, with key ratings drivers including the competition series LEGO Masters. moved audiences early in the evening through to later in the evening. You might spend more money earlier in the evening, but you might make it later in the evening through a lowpriced acquisition. That’s how you made money. That part of the business is getting tougher. We do still get audience flow from one show to the next, but audiences are a lot more mobile. While they might love Married at First Sight, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to retain 70 percent of that audience through whatever follows. You spend A$500,000 an hour here and A$5,000 an hour here. It’s a change in mentality, right? With local content, we can own the rights. As a broadcaster 20 years ago, I could only make

money out of linear television. On a show like Married at First Sight, you make money out of linear television, but then it has a huge audience on-demand; it translates into a digital publishing environment and drives audiences there, and we can also put it up on social and make some incremental revenue there. So the revenue you can get from a local program, by virtue of controlling the rights, is much greater in today’s environment than it was ten years ago. It’s just changing your business model to reflect where audiences are. Overseas acquisitions still work for us; there’s still an audience for them, and the price of those rights in Australia has decreased over the years. We’ve also been able to decrease the volume we have

Nine’s slate of local drama includes Seachange, a reboot of a series that ran on ABC from 1998 to 2000.

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to acquire, which is where we were really getting hit in the past. So you spend less [on acquisitions] and spend more on local, and everything you spend on local means you have that revenue opportunity that broadcasters didn’t have ten years ago.

WS: What about sports rights acquisitions?

MARKS: We’ve been very focused, in all of our sports deals, on ensuring that we have multiple window rights. In the Rugby League, we have the digital rights to the games that we hold. With tennis, we have all rights—free, pay, digital video, even social media for a certain period of time. So it’s the same theory: local content, audiences want to engage. There’s a higher percentage of your audience on freeto-air linear, but there are still incremental audiences watching on streaming, catch-up, clips, whatever it may be. If we can monetize that, then again it’s the same experience as other local content. News is the same. It’s harder to do, but if we can find a way to negotiate an outcome with platforms like Facebook and even Google, where we embrace the platform in return for a fair revenue proposition, then we can make more money out of news content. So don’t limit your thinking to your linear broadcaster. You have to change your thinking to [be focused on] the distribution of content.

WS: What’s working for Stan, especially against stiff competition from the global streaming giants?

MARKS: It has a differentiated content offering.

If audiences are starting to love the on-demand nature of the viewing experience, and you can offer them a sufficiently good value proposition in terms of the content they can access, then you can build a service. We have the

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ability to market through our assets. That’s a huge advantage. And again, using the relationships we’ve had with international content supply partners for many years, we’re just repackaging what we used to buy for free to air on SVOD, marketed well with a clear proposition and never discounted. It’s a good value proposition. And it’s been successful. Stan went into profitability in March. So, from this point on, we will see that business continue to grow.

We have a lot of long-term content relationships; we have some short-term ones. There is a lot of content available on the market.

WS: The Hollywood studios are all preparing their own direct-to-consumer services. As a broadcast and digital platform operator, are you concerned about how much content will be available for you to acquire?

MARKS: We’ve built an asset in Stan that is a good point of access to the Australian market for companies like Disney. Disney in and of itself is great family entertainment. Hulu in the States is the general-entertainment proposition. If you take that to the Australian marketplace, there’s a great family audience there that will be very interested in Disney and Disney+, but actually the scale of the market is challenged—there are only 24 million people. How do you turn that into not just a family proposition but a broader entertainment

proposition, so you can access a wider audience as part of the service? If you just access the family, you only get so far. We’ll discuss with all of those players what their best options are in the Australian marketplace. And because we have a good broadcast business, a good AVOD business and a good SVOD business, we’re in a position to be able to do that.

We don’t do this with every advertiser, and we don’t do this in every situation, but we’re able to go to market and say, here’s how we can build a marketing platform for you across all of our assets. And hopefully, we can get a greater share of wallet as a result. There are plenty of examples post-merger where that is absolutely happening.

WS: How has the advertising market been?

MARKS: The free-to-air market has been soft in the last 12 months. There are a range of factors behind that. The housing decline dented consumer confidence—that hits a lot of consumer businesses that are generally big advertisers on free to air. Through the success of our programming, we have been able to acquire share through this period. The market is changing, and the share dynamics are changing. That might be a long-term shift. We’ve been able to hold our revenue position by growing share.

The rest of the economy is going OK. There’s no great recessionary environment. There is a lot of cyclical stuff in the market at the moment. How much is structural? There is always going to be a structural impact through audience fragmentation. That just means your cost per thousand to the advertiser is going up. We’ve changed our model so we’re pitching much more of a return on investment model than a CPM sales model.

WS: What ad formats do you see working well for your advertising partners? Is the 30-second spot still viable?

MARKS: The 30-second spots still work, and in digital video, they are brilliant. We’ve seen some great executions this year. That’s one of the things we’re pushing as well.

We’ve had to up our game creatively to attract audiences, and marketing is the same—up your game on the creative, and make sure you get it right, because that’s a very important part of the dynamic. We’ve seen more interest in integration and brands in context in the programs we create. So you’re buying spots, you’re buying integration, you’re buying some other content. That association with our content has really grown over the last few years. And we’ve focused a lot on that.

WS: On the programming side, what have been some of the key ratings drivers?

60 Minutes, based on the iconic CBS newsmagazine, is Nine’s flagship current-affairs show, having won numerous awards over its four decades on the air.

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In a deal with Tennis Australia, Nine landed the rights to the Australian Open for broadcast, streaming, mobile, digital and social platforms.

MARKS: News and current affairs is always very important; it’s the backbone of our schedule and often still the number one show on any given night. That’s probably a third [of our content budget]. Sports is still incredibly important for free-to-air television. Again, probably a third of our expenditure, maybe it’s a bit less. That enables you to have those big advertiser relationships and consistent delivery of audiences. And then there’s entertainment. The model is changing a bit, depending on the nature of the show. Reality television is very much a here-and-now advertiser proposition. Scripted has had more of a challenge in the Australian marketplace, part creatively and part platform-wise. But if I look at scripted going forward, and I look at our results, probably a third of the audience is now on-demand.

That audience will be there for five, six, seven years, so you have to change the way you think about how you fund different sorts of programming to reflect that different revenue model. The audience still wants local scripted programming. We just have to change the way we think about the sorts of shows we commission, recognizing that audiences consume them differently, so how do you finance that? We’ve got some good models coming up. We have a remake, Halifax: Retribution, with a much bigger budget; it will be over A$2 million an hour, which is big for an Australian production.

Again, we’re able to attract money from the international market now because there are

more buyers internationally. Every little bit is changing, but the mix probably won’t change: news, sports and entertainment.

WS: Where do local companies fit into a landscape that is increasingly dominated by the FAANGs and the global majors?

MARKS: There is still a role for the aggregator.

We have guaranteed revenue streams from multiple platforms—how do we take advantage of that to build long-term relationships with big suppliers? We can say, Don’t worry about Australia—here’s a big check. It’s a long-term check, because you can see that we’re changing our business so it is sustainable. How else do we build on that partnership? What else can we provide to you as part of that partnership? We made the decision long ago with our digital assets that you had to sign in to watch anything on Nine’s sites—that means we have a growing user database. And now, with the Fairfax merger, we have a database through Domain, through Stan, through Nine. We’re going through a big data unification project. The way distribution has changed means that as a small player, you can access a niche audience. We have to be able to show suppliers that we’re a better route to market than you necessarily trying to do that yourself.

WS: Are you happy with the audience measurement systems in use in Australia?

MARKS: There’s a new ratings system being released by OzTAM, Virtual Australia (VOZ), 434 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

that will combine linear viewing with digital viewing of television shows. You’ll be able to receive one audience number. That will be revolutionary in how we deal with advertisers.

WS: How is your own data integration process going? And how will you be using that data?

MARKS: To be able to say, We used to sell you people 25 to 54, and now we’re going to sell you auto intenders—that’s a pretty powerful shift in your advertising relationship. We’ll have a lot of places where we have digital audiences and can identify that targeting outcome. And with the VOZ panel, we’ll be able to know, for all of our shows, a demographic. If Married at First Sight is watched a lot on-demand, the composition of that [digital] audience is relatively reflective of what your linear audience is. So we’ll be able to sell Married at First Sight as high-performing with home renovators or auto intenders, fastmoving-consumer-goods intenders, whatever it may be. As an advertiser, you get a better, more efficient outcome.

WS: What are your other major priorities in the year ahead?

MARKS: The other thing we have to do is dispose of some non-core assets. We are in the process of doing that. And we’re focusing on who our strategic partners will be. We’re naïve to think we can do it by ourselves in this changing market. Those are two big priorities.

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OCTOBER 2019

MIPCOM EDITION

Doc Distribution Trends / Travel Series / Damian Lewis / Smithsonian’s Tom Hayden Homicide Hunter’s Joe Kenda / World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey

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CONTENTS

Reality Bites At a price tag of about $400 million, Discovery, Inc.’s ten-year deal for the exclusive SVOD rights to BBC Studios’ naturalhistory slate (outside of the U.K., Ireland and Greater China) marked a defining moment in the doc streaming wars.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Real ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvreal.ws

BBC Studios’ largest ever content deal will power Discovery’s upcoming streamer, which is set for launch in 2020. Subscribers will be able to access iconic shows like Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Life; future landmark series; Discovery’s own deep library and original content.

It’s a compelling offer for natural-history buffs and a much-needed differentiator in what is becoming a very crowded space. To gain the attention of doc lovers, Discovery’s streamer will not only be competing with the likes of Netflix—whose One Planet landed ten Emmy nominations this year—and Disney+, the SVOD home of National Geographic, but also CuriosityStream, Smithsonian Channel Plus, Love Nature and more.

All this competition is fantastic for consumers and even better for producers, who now have many more places to pitch. For distributors, the streaming space presents loads of opportunities—and complications, per the executives I surveyed for a piece in this edition about the state of the factual-content-sales business. More clients—great. Pressures on traditional broadcast clients— not so great. Complex windowing strategies—worth it if the deals are lucrative; less so if it’s a rev-share pact with a platform that has yet to reach scale. Layer on top rapidfire consolidation that is locking up a lot of talent, and it’s clear that the doc-distribution game is not what it used to be. Whereas you could in the past pick up a fully funded completed show and take it worldwide, these days you generally need a seat at the table with producers and you have to be smart about how you slice and dice the rights you have to offer.

You also need to be able to deliver compelling access, a point that is stressed in our report on trends in travel docs.

And it really helps to have an engaging personality front your show. Like award-winning actor Damian Lewis, who Alaska TV and HISTORY enlisted for the new series Damian Lewis: Spy Wars. You can read an interview with Lewis in this edition. We also hear from Joe Kenda, the star of ID’s fanfavorite Homicide Hunter. Fenton Bailey, producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race, talks about fan engagement. And Smithsonian Networks’ Tom Hayden discusses the importance of having an iconic, recognizable brand in today’s fragmented landscape.

—Mansha Daswani

FEATURES 18 SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Amid market shifts, factual distributors are redefining how they do business.

18

28 A WORLD AWAY

Spotlighting innovation in travel docs.

28 INTERVIEWS

36 Damian Lewis

40 Smithsonian Networks’ Tom Hayden

44 Homicide Hunter’s Joe Kenda

46 World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey

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A+E Networks The UnXplained with William Shatner / Damian Lewis: Spy Wars / JFK Jr.—The Final Year The A+E Networks anthology series The UnXplained with William Shatner, hosted by the world-renowned Star Trek actor, explores mysteries of the world with the help of top scientists, historians, engineers and researchers. Damian Lewis: Spy Wars features the Homeland star delving into covert missions in modern-day history aided by recently declassified information, experts and intelligence officers who were on the ground. Marking 20 years since the tragic death, JFK Jr.—The Final Year, based on a new book by Steven M. Gillon, unpacks evidence of the political aspirations of the 35th president’s son before his fatal plane crash. “A+E Networks offers some of the most groundbreaking and buzziest series in the media landscape, and we are building on that success,” says Robyn Hurd, the company’s VP of content sales for EMEA.

“The very foundation of our programming pedigree is truth, which is the primary strand of our storytelling DNA.”

JFK Jr.—The Final Year

—Robyn Hurd

ABC Commercial Wild Wars Australia / Wild Australians / Searching for Superhuman Leading ABC Commercial’s factual slate at MIPCOM is the four-parter Wild Wars Australia, which highlights the killing strategies that are used by the creatures that have been shaped by the island continent’s challenging environment. Over the course of six episodes, Wild Australians travels across the continent to explore some of its most fascinating animals that have evolved to survive within its ancient landscape. Searching for Superhuman provides a deep dive into recent scientific discoveries about how humans can be smarter and stronger and live longer and healthier lives. Josie Mason-Campbell, head of factual and entertainment for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, says, “All of these series are perfect for subprime-time viewing, have broad international audience appeal and are perfect for multichannel platforms.”

Searching for Superhuman

“We have a fabulous new slate of factual programs from our major new commission with WildBear Entertainment.”

—Josie Mason-Campbell

Albatross World Sales Beasts and Witches / Out of Europe: A New Story of Human Evolution? / Cruising the Baltic Sea: A Summer on the Water Mixing animation and wildlife images, the Albatross World Sales title Beasts and Witches debunks long-held beliefs about animals, exploring the fairytales about their magical abilities that have frightened people for centuries. Anne Olzmann, managing director at Albatross, says, “The superb artwork by John Howe, who is one of the most acknowledged fantasy artists in the world and famous for his works on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, will capture young and old audiences alike.” Fossil findings from Europe and Asia are used to challenge the “Out of Africa” theory of human evolution that has been accepted for the last hundred years in Out of Europe: A New Story of Human Evolution?

Meanwhile, Cruising the Baltic Sea: A Summer on the Water follows the paths of ancient Vikings.

Beasts and Witches

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“With the help of our international partnerships, we look forward to introducing our carefully handpicked content to worldwide audiences.”

—Anne Olzmann

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Betty Boop Forever

CLPB Rights History's Greatest Lies / Big Pharma, Gaming the System / Betty Boop Forever CLPB Rights is launching at MIPCOM the sales for History’s Greatest Lies’ third season as well as presales for its fourth installment. The ongoing history series uncovers the falsehoods of former heads of state, politicians and military leaders. Big Pharma, Gaming the System follows an investigation into the pharmaceutical industry and its lobbying practices that can lead to potentially troubling government health policies. In celebration of Betty Boop’s 90th anniversary, CLPB Rights puts the spotlight on the famous female cartoon character in the event production Betty Boop Forever. Julie Tolza, head of sales and international development, says, “We think that the film will interest a large audience as she’s worldrenowned. She is a feminist icon reference and more than linked to the #MeToo phenomenon.”

“We have a rich and diverse lineup, covering all genres.”

—Julie Tolza

Encore International The Last Night / But Why? / Distortion An investigative journalist spent two years researching to uncover the truth of a 45-year-old cold case involving two slain children for the Encore International title The Last Night. In But Why?, a media celebrity delves into matters of money, nudity, religion and parenthood as she tries to learn more about her curiosities, her discomforts and that which she fails to understand. Distortion, a TV adaptation of a podcast, explores strange stories of the digital age— from the dark web and conspiracy theories to the paranormal. Chrystine Girard, head of international distribution at Encore International, says, “Although different, each of our featured series at MIPCOM share one common denominator: they show the best and worst in human nature, and there is nothing more universal than that.”

Distortion

“We have an impressive slate of six new documentaries and factual series that are sure to fit what audiences are looking for.”

—Chrystine Girard

Speed Freaks

Keshet International Dom Does America / Speed Freaks / Animal Ambulance Dominic Littlewood immerses himself in dangerous U.S. institutions for 24 hours to find out what it takes to be one of America’s unsung heroes in the Keshet International highlight Dom Does America. In Speed Freaks, the legendary daredevil Zef Eisenberg pushes cars to their limits and attempts to break and set a new record. From the initial call into the animal emergency room to the reactions of grateful pet owners whose unwell companions needed urgent care, the documentary-reality series Animal Ambulance follows the hard work of emergency veterinary doctors and nurses.

“All three of these are high-octane, broad-appeal factualentertainment shows with heart alongside genuine jeopardy and drama,” says Rose Hughes, VP of sales for Keshet International.

“Keshet International has a guaranteed pipeline of fresh, diverse and highquality English-language factual finished tape and formats.”

—Rose Hughes 444 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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LGI Media Cosmic Futurist / Irish Gangsters / Eye in the Sky NASA chief engineer and futurist Jon Cowart takes viewers into the future in Cosmic Futurist from the catalog of LGI Media, which has rebranded from Looking Glass International. The company is also highlighting Irish Gangsters, a one-hour doc led by true-crime author and former Essex gang member Bernard O’Mahoney that focuses on Ireland’s toughest criminals. The two-parter Eye in the Sky glides over Australia’s diverse landscapes— from the coasts to the outback to the cities and beyond.

“Each of the three programs mentioned reflects the continuing demand internationally for the core genres of science, natural history and true crime,” says Nha-Uyen Chau, founder and CEO of LGI Media. “They all carry high production values with great storytelling.”

“We’re moving into content creation and looking to partner with producers to develop and finance projects that LGI Media will take to the international market.”

—Nha-Uyen Chau

NHK Enterprises

Irish Gangsters

Amazing Dinoworld

An Artist of the Floating World / Amazing Dinoworld / Dynamic Genomes Starring Oscar-nominated actor Ken Watanabe and based on the novel of the same name by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World explores an aging painter’s ephemeral memories and the journey he must go on to face his past. It will be screened at MIPCOM in 8K as part of NHK Enterprises’ showcase.

Amazing Dinoworld, meanwhile, brings the world of dinosaurs to life. “This two-part series re-creates in gorgeous CGI not only what these creatures looked like, but also how they lived, fought and died,” says Fumina Koike, deputy manager. Lastly, Dynamic Genomes features cutting-edge research that takes viewers on a journey inside the human body to discover the genes that make us who we are.

“NHK will launch an 8K catalog, and we look forward to introducing more of our 4K and 8K titles.”

—Fumina Koike

Orange Smarty The Real Prime Suspect / The Great Hotel Escape / Stacey Meets the IS Brides The Real Prime Suspect—which is available at MIPCOM from Orange Smarty—reexamines some of the most intriguing British and American murder cases. It’s helmed by Jackie Malton, the inspiration behind the multi-award-winning drama Prime Suspect. Whether it’s a country manor, a 16th-century castle or a Jacobean farmhouse, The Great Hotel Escape unveils the people juggling renovation plans, inspections and interior facelifts before finally opening the doors to the public.

Meanwhile, Stacey Meets the IS Brides investigates a subject that has dominated headlines: how the West should respond when women run away to become the wives of terrorists. “With U.K. broadcasters attached, these exciting titles offer an opportunity for international engagement via co-production or presales,” says Karen Young, the company’s founder and CEO.

“Orange Smarty is a specialist in factual distribution; while remaining boutique, we offer an Aladdin’s cave of quality content.”

—Karen Young

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The Real Prime Suspect

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PBS International Country Music / The Serengeti Rules / The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia PBS International is highlighting Ken Burns’ nine-hour aptlytitled documentary Country Music, which tells the story of the genre from its beginnings to now, showcasing musicians such as the Carter Family, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and many more. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, profiles the titular royal, including his vision for the future, his handling of dissent and his ties to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The company is also highlighting The Serengeti Rules, an award-winning film about the profound implications for the fate of life on our planet. It is produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, “a mission-driven production company dedicated to crafting compelling, immersive films about science and scientists,” says Tom Koch, VP of PBS International.

The Serengeti Rules

“For over 20 years, the company has extended the reach of programming beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system, stations and producers.”

—Tom Koch

Don’t Sleep

Rive Gauche Television Very Scary People / I Saw the Unknown / Don’t Sleep Very Scary People, on offer from Rive Gauche Television (RGTV) at MIPCOM, follows the twisted lives of some of the most frightening criminals in recent history. Each individual is chronicled in two hour-long episodes that trace their criminal acts and the eventual road to justice. The paranormal series I Saw the Unknown features everyday people recounting terrifying experiences. Don’t Sleep, meanwhile, is a competition format that tests participants’ abilities to stay awake.

Each season starts with 16 contestants, who are eliminated one by one until only a winner remains. “Sleeping is part of everyone’s DNA,” says Jon Kramer, RGTV’s CEO. “Don’t Sleep is a fun, intriguing format that tests the limits of your ability to stay awake while having fun and adding an element of entertainment that is bound to attract mass audiences.”

“RGTV’s goal is to make sure our product is of the highest quality, simply explainable and appealing to a defined audience.”

—Jon Kramer

TCB Media Rights How Did They Build That? / How I Created a Cult / Shipwreck Secrets How Did They Build That?, one of TCB Media Rights’ slate highlights for MIPCOM, introduces viewers not only to some of the world’s most audacious engineering projects—from an underground luxury hotel in China to a 500-meter sky garden in Singapore—but also to the designers and architects who dreamt up these visions and the builders who translated their dreams into reality. How I Created a Cult, meanwhile, features an architect of a different kind: Andrew Cohen built a worldwide spiritual empire only to see it crumble amid claims of control, extortion and psychological abuse. “The access is incredible, mixing jaw-dropping interviews with cult members with astonishing archive footage,” says Simona Argenti, TCB’s senior sales manager. Lastly, the six-part Shipwreck Secrets uses cutting-edge technology to explore lost vessels.

How I Created a Cult

“TCB has been focusing on broadening its portfolio of genres and formats to reflect the broader needs of its broadcast and platform partners.”

—Simona Argenti 448 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Terra Mater Factual Studios Escobar’s Hippos / The Alps: Wild Mountains, Extreme Lives / Panda Goes Wild Terra Mater Factual Studios is showcasing Escobar’s Hippos, about the nearly 100 offspring of the hippos that the drug kingpin imported in the ’80s—which are currently occupying Colombia—and the ecological timebomb they’ve created. It follows vets and other officials on their mission to find a solution to the unusual problem. Meanwhile, the two-parter The Alps: Wild Mountains, Extreme Lives features footage of the mountain range’s majesty. “Unique animal behavior, breathtaking action and sunrises over world-famed peaks combine to [create] an ultimate portrait of the wild side of Europe’s Alps,” says Sabine Holzer, the company’s head of specialist factual. Rounding out Terra Mater’s slate highlights is Panda Goes Wild, which sees a panda born and raised in captivity get released into the wild of the Qin Mountains.

Panda Goes Wild

“Who doesn’t love pandas? Now, we’ll encounter how they actually behave in the wild, which, according to stories, is very different than in zoos.”

—Sabine Holzer

TVF International Night Force / Gauguin: A Dangerous Life / Ocean Wild The first slate highlight that TVF International is bringing to MIPCOM is Night Force, a BBC series that reveals the secret lives of night-shift workers and lifts the lid on what really happens in factories, bakeries, printers and warehouses while the rest of us are asleep. Also on offer is Gauguin: A Dangerous Life, which shows the famous painter in a different light. “This is the first film to view the artist in the light of feminist, colonial and indigenous studies and ask the essential and fundamental questions about Gauguin’s role in perpetuating the prejudices and myths that have tainted our lives,” says Harriet Armston-Clarke, the company’s director of distribution. The company worked closely with Tokyovision to produce the blue-chip 4K wildlife series Ocean Wild.

Ocean Wild

“We are continuing to grow while holding fast to our niche in the high end of specialist factual programming.”

—Harriet Armston-Clarke

Great Inventions

ZDF Enterprises Ancient Skies / Lost Kings of Bioko / Great Inventions Ancient Skies, on offer from ZDF Enterprises at MIPCOM, takes a look at the cosmos through the eyes of our forefathers. “We take a journey through past visions of the heavens from all over the world, from those of our earliest ancestors to the recent past,” says Ralf Rückauer, VP of ZDFE.unscripted. Lost Kings of Bioko explores an isolated island off the coast of Central Africa that’s covered in ancient rainforest ruled by one of the world’s least-known primate species, the drill. Meanwhile, Great Inventions celebrates the ways that innovative devices and technology have transformed society—from space travel to medical advancements. “In this series, we look at the successes and the failures, the brilliant ideas and some, well, not-so-brilliant,” says Rückauer.

“This series celebrates the million ways our great inventions have transformed our world.”

—Ralf Rückauer

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ZDF Enterprises’ Lost Kings of Bioko

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Survival of the

Fittest

Amid the emergence of a raft of SVOD buyers and rapid-fire consolidation among production companies, factual distributors are redefining how they do business. By Mansha Daswani

I

n some respects, there has never been a better time to be a documentary distributor. Channels, free and pay, remain committed to the genre. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and others have all dedicated significant budgets to acquiring and commissioning documentary and factual series and specials. John Hendricks’ CuriosityStream is among a crop of dedicated nonfiction SVOD platforms operating worldwide, alongside upstarts like DocuBay and local and regional players like iwonder in the Asia Pacific. Discovery is gearing up for the launch of its global factual streamer in 2020, powered in part by content from BBC Studios. Even content about queens and princes has its own on-demand service (True Royalty TV). But just as the market is awash with new buyers clamoring for great shows, getting access to content is that much harder for indies as talent gets swallowed up into larger groups.

So what’s an indie distributor supposed to do? In a word, evolve. The journey of TCB Media Rights, founded as a boutique distributor by Paul Heaney seven years ago and now part of the Kew Media Group, speaks to the broader trends in the market.

“Before we were a straightforward distributor with presales, then a straightforward distributor with presales that could act as an agent in terms of introductions” between producers and broadcasters, says Heaney, CEO of TCB. “And then we started

working with producers at an earlier stage to develop content.

And you add on to that not just developing but actually commissioning, sometimes from scratch with no broadcaster attached. What else could we do? We had no alternative. We had to go this way. Each year it’s gotten harder and harder to find third-party.”

LAND GRAB Emmanuelle Namiech, the CEO of Passion Distribution, agrees, observing, “Very few producers are not affiliated with a group or broadcaster today. And those that are available may or may not have content that we might deem suitable for our brand.”

Nonetheless, for Passion—which is part of the Tinopolis Group, and therefore has several sister production outfits to tap into—third-party still accounts for the majority of the company’s catalog. Namiech says 70 percent to 75 percent of Passion’s slate comes from companies outside of the group.

Blue Ant International, similarly, features a slate that hails from sister production companies and external creators. “There is a ton of consolidation, and that does impact who your partners are,” says EVP Solange Attwood. “Equally, it’s really important for the entire content business to be investing in incumbent and new talent. We’re working with a lot of new production partners. Even in the world of consolidation, there continue to be highly successful, creative people that are spinning off from those larger consolidated groups.”

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ORF-Enterprise has found strong interest from both linear and digital buyers for its highend blue-chip titles like Africa's Wild West: Stallions of the Namib Desert.

The consolidation in the industry was among the factors that led ZDF Enterprises to acquire Off the Fence, says Ralf Rückauer, the VP of ZDFE.unscripted. “But on the other side,” he says, “most of the independent production companies, as well as companies that are part of broader networks, are still open for us to invest in their programs and work together with them to develop their ideas and projects.”

Sarah Coursey, GRB Studios’ new senior VP of international, agrees: “There are more independent producers than ever, worldwide, producing for the myriad of digital buyers as well as linear, and it is this renaissance that is creating more product.”

Since access to that product is becoming all the more competitive, providing top-notch service to your production partners is paramount.

“The producers who work with us can testify to the fact that we leave no stones unturned and are entrepreneurial when it comes to generating opportunities for their projects,” says Namiech. “That is a key differentiator. There is no low-hangingfruit strategy here! We work long term with some of our producers because they recognize we always go the extra mile.”

For LGI Media (formerly Looking Glass International), which is not part of a broader production group, building long-term relationships has been critical. Says Nha-Uyen Chau, founder and CEO of the boutique specialist-factual distributor: “There are relationships we have where producers will always come to us with their projects. They’ve trusted us in terms of maximizing revenues. We take on a handful of projects where we know we can give all of our resources to them, from development through to the marketing campaign through to distribution. It’s a turnkey approach that we’re able to offer these specific projects that we take on.”

WORKING PARTNERSHIPS Like many of its competitors, LGI Media is also boarding projects early, rather than just taking on a title after it’s been commissioned and is ready for rollout around the world. “We’re becoming more strategic and working to the broadcaster’s brief,” Chau says. “We will partner with production companies and work on developing projects in-house to produce for

broadcasters. It’s not so much entering the commissioning space, but it will be a hybrid model. We will work with both a broadcaster and a producer as well as source other alternative funding opportunities. It’s about how we cleverly punch above our weight when it comes to developing and producing programs for broadcast clients, while not being solely dependent on getting commissions from them, knowing their budgets are decreasing as well. In this way, we can retain more of the backend rights, which we will then share with producers.”

As an example, Chau references Spiky Gold Hunters, from Pango Productions. “LGI has raised the budget, besides the TVNZ license deal that Pango got, elsewhere. We presold it to BLAZE in the U.K., Viasat and Foxtel. This is an example where we see the commercial opportunity and we’ll jump on board and help them pretty much find 95 percent of the financing.”

MONEY ON THE TABLE ZDF Enterprises has been actively involved in partnering with producers early in order to help them secure financing, Rückauer says. “This year, we’ve gone a step further: we’ve commissioned a series called Great Inventions with World Media Rights, Off the Fence, doc.station and k22film on board.”

Being involved in projects early is based partly on necessity, Blue Ant’s Attwood suggests. “You need to be in earlier to secure rights. You also need to be in earlier to take advantage of sharing any market intelligence you have to help facilitate the best return for your production partners.”

As for how to best work with producers, TCB’s Heaney says it’s a balancing act between having a “shopping list,” of sorts, without putting restrictions on their creativity. “If you’re too prescriptive, you end up getting something that is made by numbers,” Heaney explains. “We’ve got to allow the producers to have their natural creative bent. We try to work with producers who we know are well recognized and have integrity with the broadcasters and the SVOD platforms. We brief the hell out of the producers and bug the hell out of the broadcasters to make sure we’re getting a detailed brief. We’re very close to the channels. We’re always reiterating and rechecking and reaching a level of trust and trying to work with them as closely as we can to make sure that when we’re handing out a brief, it’s not

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Passion Distribution’s catalog includes Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over from Firecracker Films, a sister production company.

competitors at times. However, we are thoughtful in our approach, looking to add independent content to our catalog that we know has a unique selling point and that we will be able to monetize globally.”

There are indeed many factors to take into account when determining if a title should be taken on for international representation.

“It’s not a question of just adding hours to a growing catalog for volume’s sake,” says Namiech at Passion. As for what she looks for, Namiech notes that her brief has evolved over the years. “A few years back, I probably would have said we were looking for long-shelf-life, evergreen, universal shows that would be set to continue to do well. Now, because the market is so polarized, I would say what we look for is primarily a show that proudly stands out in a crowded market. It needs to be something that gets the conversation started.”

Coursey says that she and the GRB team ask questions like, “Is the execution remarkable? Is it fantastic storyGRB Studios offers its production partners a “bespoke” telling that will cut across cultural lines? Does it hit at service, according to Coursey. “We don’t acquire anysomething that is a prime human emotion or instinct, and thing without giving it a fine-tooth comb analysis, to explore that in an interesting or new way?” make sure it is highly salable in the most territories pos“It’s always easy to find content,” says Heaney at TCB. “It’s sible. This might mean that we pick up less than our getting harder to find good content that will sell.

I made the mistake many times of picking up content just because it was available.”

And as for what will sell, Heaney points to market polarization as being a significant new factor to consider. Broadcasters and platforms “want big noisy and then want volume at a lower cost,” he says. “The middle ground area is getting harder and harder to fund. So we have to make sure we’re doing both premium and higher volume that has to look good onscreen even if it is low cost.”

A significant factor driving this market polarization is, of course, SVOD. While complicating windowing and financing strategies, the entry of the global streamers into the factual space and the launch of new dedicated platforms has been a boon to the industry.

“The growing VOD market allows us to expand our customer base,” says Armin GRB Studios has the distribution rights to Man at Arms: Art of War.

too detailed and it’s going to work not just for one channel but for a few of them.”

Passion’s Namiech stresses the importance of being flexible with financing models: “We finance projects through a range of different scenarios, whether it’s an advance, deficit funding, raising presale funding, brokering co-productions or more recently fully funding some of the shows we felt had really good international potential. And then beyond the financial aspect, we also provide them with feedback on a project’s commercial viability, the international potential. We sometimes introduce them to commissioning platforms that are based overseas that might be open to working with some of our production partners. And then, by marketing their content and showcasing them as creatives, we help increase their visibility on the global scene.”

VOLUME BUSINESS

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Blue Ant is looking for slots for Big Cat Country outside of the markets covered by commissioning platform Love Nature.

Luttenberger, the head of international content sales at ORF-Enterprise. “CuriosityStream, amongst other platforms, has been acquiring from ORF-Enterprise the rights for wildlife and nature packages, including programs from ORF’s renowned UNIVERSUM strand, since their establishment in 2015.”

Rückauer says that ZDF Enterprises has been working with on-demand platforms for years, both with acquired content and co-pros. “So we are happy to have more players in the market and more competition. I see them more as an add-on to the existing partnerships; as an expansion with a lot of fantastic and new opportunities,” he says.

“The impact has been positive on balance,” says Passion’s Namiech of the emergence of a factual on-demand segment.

“There’s a dynamic linked to the recent market disruption that is overall quite stimulating since it creates additional competition. The disruption impacts both commercial and editorial discussions. Whether it is how viewers consume the content, how a show is financed or even how it can spark editorial trends like how true crime came back in a serialized form with Making a Murderer.”

DIGITAL GAINS Passion now makes about 30 percent of its revenues from nonlinear platforms, Namiech states. “That’s not insignificant.

And it’s been increasing—last year it was closer to 25 percent.

There’s definitely a change and this is set to continue for some time, given the number of new services being launched.”

“There are far more prospective buyers than there ever have been before,” adds Blue Ant’s Attwood. “That has increased the demand for original first-run programming in the factual space.

That’s great for everybody. Some people will benefit a great deal, and some may not be able to. Having a whole new set of buyers that are very well capitalized is going to have positive benefits for the vibrancy of the market itself. There’s far more competition. That has also opened a lot more possibilities from an editorial perspective. So different types of stories are now finding homes that may not necessarily have had that opportunity in the past.”

LGI’s Chau agrees that SVODs have created platforms for shows that may not have been able to find homes on linear.

“Broadcasters’ slots are quite rigid,” Chau notes. “It’s either a science program, a wildlife program or a lifestyle program and of course, they only have so many slots per year they acquire for.”

Heaney says that TCB has broadened its acquisitions remit in response to increasing demand from SVOD platforms, recently moving into theatrical docs and premium factual. “Those 1x90-minute, 3x60-minute formats wouldn’t have been looked at a few years ago,” Heaney says.

DEMANDING TIMES Dealing with streaming services does require a new set of skills, Attwood says. “If you’re looking to tap into these new buyers, you need to understand how to sell at a commissioning level, understand how to structure co-production models and be able to capitalize on effective sales-deal flows. And then, of course, exploring alternatives for the funding models as well as the traditional licensing business, which remains important.”

ORF-Enterprise’s Luttenberger says that streamers are increasingly looking for worldwide rights, “raising the complexity of licensing as well as the commercial potential.”

As such, having smart, strategic windowing strategies is critical. “It’s increasingly important for us, as well as our competitors surely, to retain global SVOD rights, or hold them back for shorter and shorter windows, to better serve these emerging platforms,” says GRB’s Coursey. “This is not always an easy endeavor, but worth fighting for.”

“The key factors that are relevant to worldwide licensing include complex management of distribution rights, holdbacks and territorial overlaps,” Luttenberger adds. “The exploitation strategy also has to be examined globally and extensively with regard to brand awareness, placing our blue-chip lineup on premium platforms first.”

LGI’s Chau says that Netflix remains the “first port of call when it comes to any global deal that you would consider for an SVOD window. It does complicate the mix in terms of windowing, and linear broadcasters still want their premieres. That takes SVOD out. But you can negotiate up, depending on how much they want your programming. You’ll know how much they want your program when they choose to either shorten that SVOD window or extend that SVOD window. They will have to

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LGI Media raised a large portion of the financing on Spiky Gold Hunters, which was commissioned by TVNZ and has been presold to the U.K. and Australia, among other markets.

pay a higher license fee if they do want a longer exclusive period.”

When weighing up a global SVOD opportunity versus a territory-by-territory rollout, Heaney at TCB cites “exposure” as a significant consideration. “Is this show going to get returned?

There’s no point going for the big deal if season two doesn’t happen. Recently, we went for a slightly lower offer from a channel, knowing they’ll probably come in on season two.

There’s no point going for flights of fancy. Are they going to nurture that show?”

“The allure of an Amazon or Netflix sale cannot be denied, both in terms of prestige and also in terms of global coverage,” notes GRB’s Coursey. “A show gets an automatic international footprint and is localized into different languages, giving more people access to the content and providing instant impact for our homegrown productions as well as third-party programs.

However, our distribution team’s main focus is monetizing

TCB Media worked with Curve Media on How Did They Build That?, a new engineering series.

[titles] at the highest possible price point, and country-bycountry sales often bear more fruit over the long run, adding up to bigger license fees per episode. The bottom line is if the global SVOD license is big and attractive enough, and we can put limits on exclusivity in key territories, then it becomes an interesting proposition.”

“We simply have to recoup and earn back the money that we have invested at a very early stage,” says Rückauer at ZDF Enterprises. “We have more than 25 years of market expertise, so we can exactly calculate which sales in which territories are realistic or not. We’ve had some experiences with [revenue] share models in the past. You automatically stop selling this way on the day you get a statement for $24 on a one-year exploitation of a 500-hour package.”

SWITCHED ON Navigating this changing landscape, TCB’s Heaney says one key to success is simply keeping up. “We all have to move faster. There’s no room for anything that doesn’t move the dial or grab you editorially. It’s never easy. You have to work harder on the relationships. So ‘super-serving’ is the word I always use about us. We have to super-serve those producer relationships and broadcast relationships; otherwise, we won’t get good content.”

And there is plenty of good content being made, says Blue Ant’s Attwood. “It does feel like there’s a real renaissance in the factual space and people are willing to take big swings. It’s a really exciting time. You have to continue to be pretty diverse in terms of the offering that you’re presenting. You have to make sure you’re taking care of everybody’s needs, and you’re tailoring your business to make sure you satisfy those needs.”

ZDF Enterprises’ Rückauer anticipates a rush to access “prestigious programs, especially feature-length and awardwinning titles. The swamp men will disappear and people will be interested again in the big questions of mankind: Where do we come from? What can we learn from history? How can we save our planet? Will we ever be able to live on other planets? There is so much to be explored and to be told in beautiful pictures. So much time to watch and learn!”

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TVF International’s Brilliant Corners.

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The strong demand for travel docs is being fueled by innovative concepts, technological advancements and some compelling personalities. By Neil Crossley ew genres instill a sense of aspiration and wonder quite as successfully as the travel documentary. From breathtaking cinematography to ever more innovative concepts, travel documentaries continue to attract audiences across the globe. Research released by Parrot Analytics in August 2019 shows that travel is among the top genres within the documentary market. While science and nature documentaries still dominate, Parrot Analytics’ research concluded that travel docs experienced sustained growth from Q1 to Q2 in 2019. These findings are supported by producers and distributors, who report that demand for travel documentaries remains strong.

“There will always be a need for travel documentaries because we all want to be taken places and see locations we dream of visiting,” says Holly Hodges, Twofour Rights’ head of sales operations and a VP of sales. “What to eat, where to drink and knowing the inside scoop on secret spots to explore are all part of a person’s travel experience. This genre has something for everyone.”

It’s a view echoed by Harriet Armston-Clarke, director of distribution at TVF International, who says that travel is one of the company’s most requested genres. In particular, aerial travel documentaries continue to perform well, says Armston-Clarke, who cites “ever-popular” series The World from Above as well as Aerial Asia, Thailand from Above and Vietnam from Above.

F

These series appeal because they give audiences the chance to see places “from a perspective they would not usually be able to access,” says Armston-Clarke. She also highlights the importance of standing out in what has become an increasingly crowded space.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH “In a world where travel is easier and cheaper than ever before, and most people have a camera on their phone, viewers can feel they have seen it all before,” she observes. “So we are looking for shows that take viewers off the beaten track and that offer a reason to travel that isn’t just to take another photo for Instagram.”

Such shows include Special Delivery, in which six adventurers travel on a mission to bring aid to people living in some of the most remote places on earth, and Brilliant Corners, in which pro surfer Sam Bleakley travels the globe exploring emerging surf cultures.

This drive to expose viewers to ever-broader cultural experiences is also reflected in the current slate of travel documentaries offered by German distribution company Albatross World Sales, as Polina Axenova, senior sales manager, explains.

“We believe that a travel show needs to explore something new and unseen,” Axenova says. “Great cinematography combined with strong characters giving a feeling of diversity and a multi-faceted exploration of a given place, culture or society are important. It’s always good to let the locals talk and get that behind-the-scenes feeling.”

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Si King and Dave Myers take an iconic road trip in Twofour Rights’ Hairy Bikers: Route 66.

She cites as examples Greece! The Islands and its sequel, Greece! From the Mountains to the Shoreline, which feature stunning aerial images and “lovable, if sometimes quirky, protagonists.”

REGIONAL TRENDS Axenova believes that travel docs are less “universal” when compared to nature or science documentaries. She says that distributors need to be aware of each region’s specifics with regard to culture, religion and traditions—food, alcohol and clothing, for example—while at the same time, not forgetting about the current trends.

“A wine-tasting travelogue won’t be a bestseller in Muslim countries,” she says, “but there are also less obvious cases, as travel trends are very different across the globe.”

One example is hiking tourism, says Axenova, which is big in Europe. The trick, she says, is to know the broadcasters’ and platforms’ needs and restrictions, and to offer the right title to the right buyers and their audiences.

“There are a lot of travel programs out there, so we try to focus on those that are special in some way: a fresh concept, a charismatic host, a powerful story. Travel docs encompassing more than just travel-guide or travelogue types of content—especially if they are visually powerful— are generally more successful with international broadcasters and platforms. When talking about travel programs, it’s also important to mention airlines, which are naturally interested in travel content; our inflight sales have increased in the last few years.”

Distributors and producers report that demand for travel shows is coming from specialist channels as well as free-to-air and OTT services. “The demand is seen across the landscape,” says Amy Kemp, head of sales at Orange Smarty. “Some free-to-air broadcasters have regular lifestyle/travel slots to fill, but there are also volume deals to be made with the specialist channels and some OTT services.”

Armston-Clarke at TVF International also says demand is coming from all areas: “Linear and VOD, traditional

free to air and OTT.” She adds that such broad audience reach highlights the distinct appeal of the travel doc across the market.

“Travel is easy to watch, inoffensive and can appeal to a broad range and all gender identities, where other genres perhaps can’t,” she says. “We recently licensed Fabulocity, a series from OUTtv that sends vibrant hosts to cities all over the world, to Journy, Ovation’s VOD platform in the U.S.” With demand for travel series remaining strong, there is rich potential for ancillary content to help promote and grow the brands. While some producers report limited demand for supporting content from broadcasters, others are proactively pursuing this option.

MILEAGE PERKS Twofour adopts a very honed process for maximizing its productions with value-added content to make them stand out.

The company has a dedicated team to build a social media presence for its brands. “We now consider what we can offer by way of additional assets: interviews, promos, recipes,” says Hodges. “This is an area we are focused on developing, and we are starting to see viewers finding our branded YouTube channels.”

Orange Smarty’s main priority is to localize any ancillary content to make it relevant to audiences. The company offers broadcasters supporting interviews and Q&As with the main presenters for some of its travel shows. In some instances, it will provide cut-down versions of the program that can be used for online promotion.

As audiences seek unique and aspirational experiences, the pressure is on producers to deliver a fresh spin on welltrodden locations. One of the most effective ways of doing this is via hybrid productions, which are documentaries that combine travel with other subgenres such as food, property, lifestyle, science, adventure and history.

“Hybrids provide an opportunity to put a different spin on the travel show format, so there is a desire for these types of shows,” says Orange Smarty’s Kemp. Strong

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Albatross World Sales’ The Borderless Sky is part science doc, part travel series.

sellers include long-running property series A Place in the Sun, which Kemp says continues to generate ongoing and new sales. “Combining both travel and property, the series follows house-hunters finding their dream homes in the sun. This returnable series allows the broadcasters and platforms more opportunities to promote the series and invest in the brand.”

By combining two genres, travel hybrid shows broaden audience reach and attract different demographics. “The hybrid travel shows have the potential to attract a younger audience,” observes Hodges. “Channels want to satisfy as many viewers as possible, and combining travel with other elements will likely bring more viewers and different demographics. I think the combination of genres helps create a story arc that wouldn’t exist in a pure travel show, and this lures people in to stay tuned.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Travel and food is a potent hybrid, a fact borne out by Hairy Bikers: Route 66. The Twofour series, commissioned by BBC Two, will see Si King and Dave Myers riding along the iconic U.S. road through spectacular scenery, sampling the diverse range of regional cuisine across eight states.

Weird Food Diaries, Vanishing Foods and Big Food are among the series being distributed by TVF International, while long-running series At Our Neighbour’s Table has proven to be a strong seller for the German factual outfit Autentic Distribution.

“If you look at At Our Neighbour’s Table, which travels around Europe and meets locals that cook regional dishes, you can experience how food adds so much passion and emotion to a travel show,” explains Patrick Hörl, the managing

director of Autentic. “Involving the viewer is key. That’s why mixing travel and adventure is also a good idea.”

When it comes to creating travel documentaries, the role of presenters can be paramount. Albatross’ Axenova says that “open and funny” presenters work best for travel and lifestyle hybrids, while experts well versed in their fields are best suited for travel series with a scientific or educational slant. For travel documentaries focusing on a specific place or culture, meanwhile, local protagonists with interesting and unusual location-specific occupations or hobbies work well, she says.

Armston-Clarke at TVF International believes established, well-known presenters resonate best in the English-speaking international market, such as Penelope Keith in Hidden Villages and John Torode in John Torode’s Asia. But elsewhere, TVF has found a real appetite for young presenters with an international background, a neutral accent and ideally some social media following, such as Sharda Harrison and Adrian Jalaludin, presenters of the new series Walk This Way.

TOUR GUIDES Twofour’s Hodges cites the “honest chemistry” of the Hairy Bikers, which is built on over 25 years of friendship and shared passions. She also praises hotelier and presenter Alex Polizzi, hugely popular around the world because she offers a wealth of experience in travel and business—and is a reputable, strong character loved by global viewers.

“Recognizable hosts can be the real selling point in the international market,” she says.

Hörl at Autentic says there is a stable and extensive market for hosted shows. These are mostly fueled by commercial broadcasters, specialist factual channels

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Orange Smarty’s Michael Palin In North Korea was produced by ITN for Channel 5 and National Geographic.

and SVOD services, he says. Clients who opt for hosted shows demand credible, authentic hosts with personality, he adds, although not every market appreciates hosted travel shows.

“There is still a distinct, affluent market segment that generally rejects hosts,” he says. “These are often non-Englishspeaking markets and, most frequently, public broadcasters.”

The evolution of travel shows in recent years has been driven by one defining factor—technology. 4K productions have emerged as the new gold standard for travel shows, resulting in high production values and allowing viewers to immerse themselves in beautiful landscapes and locations.

Drones, too, have transformed the space, offering stunning panoramic views, while VR is also making its mark, helping to instill new clarity and color into vibrant destinations.

“In the digital age, there’s absolutely no mercy for badly produced shows,” says Hörl. “Production values are absolutely

key. If you can combine those with a particular perspective on the destination you’re covering, you can stand out.”

“Travel is increasingly being produced in stunning 4K, which allows viewers to experience exotic locations from the comfort of their living room,” says Armston-Clarke.

While technology enables viewers to see well-trodden locations through dynamic new perspectives, shifts in traditional storytelling techniques also play a significant part.

TRAVEL BUDDIES

There is now increasing interest in strong characters within travel documentaries. These characters are generally on a mission, and they experience interesting people along the way.

Such characters are crucial to the story arc of good travel shows today, says Hörl at Autentic, as travel becomes a much more specific expression of one’s interests and personality. “As a consequence, we can see a long-lasting trend toward specialization in travel programs. Traveling to dangerous places, dark tourism (to places where dark moments in history took place), visiting spectacular architecture—all kinds of journeys become topics of travel shows that resonate with modern viewing habits.”

Such encounters will become increasingly important in travel documentaries, concludes Hörl.

“What we find is that new trends in real-life traveling are reflected in new travel formats. It’s no longer just about distraction, escapism and lying on the beach.”

Secrets of Arabia is among the travel doc offerings from Autentic Distribution.

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Damian Lewis D

amian Lewis already knew a fair bit about espionage before signing on to executive produce and present the A+E Networks U.K.–comissioned series Spy Wars. He did, after all, play an MI6 agent in Our Kind of Traitor, based on the John le Carré novel, and a U.S. prisoner of war who returns home and is hailed as a hero as he secretly plots a terrorist attack in Showtime’s Homeland. Damian Lewis: Spy Wars sees the British actor recounting notable stories of espionage from the last four decades, spanning from the Cold War all the way through to the contemporary war on terror. The eight-part series produced

by Alaska TV in association with Lewis’s own Rookery Productions sees him speaking directly to camera and features expert interviews and dramatic reenactments. Lewis tells TV Real about what appealed to him about the docudrama, which A+E Networks is rolling out this MIPCOM.

By Mansha Daswani

TV REAL: Tell us about the genesis of Spy Wars. How did you come to be involved in the show?

LEWIS: My brother [executive producer Gareth Lewis] was already involved, he was going to be directing parts of it. He said, Do you want to do this? I said, I don’t really do factual, I’m not a presenter. But I got sucked into these eight spy stories. I came on as a co-producer and tried to get to the bottom of what makes a man or woman do heroic or traitorous things on behalf of their country. That was it really. It came to me by invitation and my curiosity was tickled.

TV REAL: As you got into the details of these stories, what were some of the things that surprised you?

LEWIS: To be honest, a lot of what happens in the spy world is pretty unscientific. There’s still quite a lot of buccaneering and derring-do, if you like. It’s not riskaverse. It’s pro-risk, and often it can seem a bit chaotic, a bit ramshackle, and even at times a bit amateurish.

Exotic words like “dead-drop” and “brush past” and things like that can simply be someone walking into a supermarket with the same plastic bag and putting it down and then each leaving with each other’s bag. It’s not exactly high-tech. While you’re looking for a slightly more sci-fi, James Bond aspect to these stories, they don’t exist. So the challenge for us was how to make the stories gripping and suspenseful. We tried to get into the minds of the individuals and what was at stake for them. What are the documents in that bag?

What happens if that individual is caught? Why is the individual doing it? If the individual is a KGB officer and he’s caught, he’s going to be executed. If he’s a Western intelligence officer, he’s going to be imprisoned

for life. We were trying to find out why these men and women are motivated to do these things. The motivation is often grubby and personal. It can be for simple revenge, a need to be heard, a need to belong to something, to be loved. People turn traitor for all these different reasons. So the surprise was constantly the grubbiness! And the desperation that’s there. And the extreme risk that these people are prepared to take in order to keep going.

TV REAL: How did the team decide on which events to focus on?

LEWIS: It was Cold War and post-Cold War spy stories.

A lot of the success of an episode depends on who you can get access to. We had to drop two episodes because we realized we weren’t going to get the access that we needed. We had to move pretty quickly to find other storylines. Accessing the right people for interviews is essential. And the irony is of course that whilst it’s exciting that you can get to Robert Gates [former U.S. Secretary of Defense] or Leon Panetta [former director of the CIA] or Charles Powell, who was an advisor to Margaret Thatcher, a lot of these guys are still bound by official secrets acts, and they can’t often talk in a lot of detail. So you have the wow factor of people who were actually there. [Mossad agent] Danny Limor, for example, extracting thousands of [Ethiopian Jews] to a fake scuba-diving school on the coast of Sudan. We had access to Danny Limor. He was there—actually an operative in the field. And he was able to talk about it.

But often they’re not allowed to talk about it. So you never quite know what you’re going to get. And there’s a budget for all these things. You can’t keep flying

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Commissioned by HISTORY in the U.K., Damian Lewis: Spy Wars is being distributed worldwide

by A+E Networks.

around the world to find people to talk to. You have a finite amount of time in which to get the interview. You don’t know until all the component parts are assembled.

It’s like a big pile of washing. It’s all thrown in a basket, stuck in the middle of the production office, and then you pick through it. And you slowly start to realize whether you have a compelling [episode]. You know the story is good because you did your research, but you don’t know if you have a compelling way of telling that story until you’ve sorted through all the washing!

TV REAL: I’ve heard that so much of the craft of acting is about the interactions with your co-stars. What was it like for you spending so much time talking directly to the camera?

LEWIS: It was interesting. We were trying to find ways to take off that presenter style that journalists all seem to have. Like a journalist standing outside the White House or a reporter standing outside the Houses of Parliament. Our sets, in a soft way, were designed to reflect the world we were in for each particular story. I wasn’t in full costume. Just because we were in the Sudanese desert, I wasn’t in full combat desert gear! But nevertheless, I wore tones that spoke to that sort of landscape. And we tried to dress up the set a little bit so it would integrate seamlessly into the real landscape. And then in terms of presenting style, we talked about the camera work.

Should we have matching cuts? So if you’ve just cut away from Danny Limor or one of the agents who was an operative in Sudan and you were in close-up, then come in close-up to me, so the audience feels the presenter

is integrated into the action a little bit. We tried to make it a bit more immediate that way, so the action doesn’t get hacked off every time you come to me. At the same time, there is an element of handholding in my role in this. Summing up at the end of episodes, end of episode parts, before and after commercial breaks, that’s the format we’re working in. I’m reminding the audience of what the story is, I do a little summing up. It was an interesting experience! I don’t think I will become a factual presenter. I don’t think that’s what I want to do. I want to remain an actor. But it was part of me being involved in the series and being part of telling these stories. I think it would not have been the smartest use of my time just to ask me on as a producer and not put me in front of the camera! [Laughs] I say that in all modesty. I think it was clear that it was going to be useful.

TV REAL: Do you have a favorite episode?

LEWIS: From a journalistic point of view, I really like the episode “Spies Next Door.” It runs directly in an interesting way to recent events here with Sergei Skripal [a Russian intelligence officer recruited as a spy by British officials] and Putin. For just a really fun story and the sheer incredibility of what they achieved, I would say “Exodus” is a big story [about the rescue of Ethiopian Jews by Israel in 1977].

And in terms of the disintegration of an individual through the pressures of spying, you couldn’t do better than “Trojan Horse,” which is the story of Vladimir Vetrov [a KGB officer and secret operative for the French Intelligence Service during the Cold War].

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TV REAL: How did you set about bringing the values of the Smithsonian Institution to television?

HAYDEN: Matt Blank, Showtime’s CEO at the time, asked me if I would lead an effort to translate the Smithsonian Institution brand to television. I jumped at the chance.

What an iconic brand! Here in the United States, in particular, everybody has a profound emotional connection to it.

The brand umbrella encompasses so many different subject areas. And that was the opportunity and the challenge. The Smithsonian Institution has been affectionally known as “America’s Attic.” But the last thing we wanted to do was to create “Museum TV,” so to speak. So, we knew what we didn’t want to do—sometimes that’s a good place to start.

We needed to take this museum brand and make it a highquality video-entertainment brand. Initially, the business plan was to be a 40-hour VOD service targeted to cable operators.

We had visions, down the road, of linear channels and possible international growth, but that wasn’t front and center. So we started the process of developing a compelling value proposition for consumers and distributors. In 2006, cable and satellite operators were looking to have fewer linear channels, not more, and here we were, some would say late to the game. But when you bring a brand like this to the table, you get people’s attention. We also planted a flag by committing that all of our programming would be produced in high definition. In 2006 there wasn’t anybody doing that to the extent we were, and DIRECTV was interested, but in a linear channel first. So, we launched the linear channel in September 2007 and the VOD service followed in March 2008.

By Mansha Daswani

ounded in 1846 with a mission to promote “diffusion of knowledge,” the Smithsonian Institution is today the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. Among its iconic centers, primarily located in Washington D.C., are the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History and the National Zoo. In 2006, the Smithsonian sealed a deal with Showtime Networks to bring its brand values to the cable TV space.

Tom Hayden was tasked with leading that initiative, with Smithsonian Channel making its debut in 2007 as a service focused on key categories like history, space and wildlife. Hayden, who serves as president of Smithsonian Networks and executive VP of Showtime Networks, talks to TV Real about the channel’s growth, international expansion and the launch of a direct-to-consumer SVOD service.

F

TV REAL: I imagine the iconic nature of the Smithsonian brand is even more important in the fragmented media landscape today.

HAYDEN: Absolutely. Our programming is entertaining documentary and nonfiction, and there haven’t been a lot of channels in that space over the last decade. Some of the more traditional nonfiction brands moved more into realitybased programming. That wasn’t something that our brand gave us permission to do. But we’re happy to be in the lane of high-quality nonfiction, documentary-style programming. It’s on-brand, and viewers have responded.

TV REAL: Tell us about how the relationship works with the Institution. What resources can you tap into with them?

HAYDEN: We have a content access agreement, which gives us unique, preferential access to the research and the

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Epic Yellowstone, narrated by Bill Pullman, is a Smithsonian Channel original that rolled out earlier this year.

artifacts of the Institution. We also have access to what is, in effect, the world’s largest fact-checking organization.

They review every one of our programs. That sounds daunting, but they do it incredibly well and incredibly quickly. They’ll raise an issue if something is inaccurate.

They are also there to make sure we don’t do anything that jeopardizes the integrity of the brand.

TV REAL: What’s driving the success of your programming strategy in the U.S.?

HAYDEN: History performs very well for us. David Royle, [executive VP and chief programming officer] does a great job of plumbing history as a category and making it relevant. America in Color is a great example of how we utilized advanced colorization technologies to bring historical stories to a new audience, a younger audience, in color for the first time. Color makes it all that more personal, more emotional, more vibrant. The air and space genre is probably our most popular. The National Air and Space Museum is the world’s foremost expert on all things aerial. They help us out a lot in vetting those shows. High-quality nature and wildlife programming is also very popular with our viewers. We had a four-part series called Epic Yellowstone, which did exceptionally well, earlier this year. Bill Pullman narrated it. And then we have a very popular programming strand that feeds our seemingly endless fascination with the British royal family, with shows like Million Dollar American Princesses and Inside Windsor Castle.

TV REAL: What led to the launch of your direct-to-consumer OTT offering?

HAYDEN: We started thinking about going direct to consumer in 2014. Our linear channel footprint in the U.S. has been about 40 million subscribers, not 50 million, 60 million or 80 million. We had to find a way to create a product that we could get out to households that didn’t have access to the linear channel.

We launched a beta service called Smithsonian Earth in 2015. This service had different programming from our linear channel—that was a contractual requirement we had

with our traditional distributors. We committed to delivering an all 4K subscription video-on-demand service. We worked with our Canadian channel partners, Blue Ant Media, to develop and acquire high-end 4K nature and wildlife programming. Our objective with the service was to learn what it takes to establish directto-consumer relationships and to understand the technical challenges of filming and distributing in 4K. At the end of last year, once we were contractually able to launch a direct-to-consumer service that takes advantage of the vast array of Smithsonian Channel programming, we transitioned the service to Smithsonian Channel Plus. We still have the commitment to an expanding library of 4K programming as part of it, but we have been able to add our full complement of Smithsonian Channel programs as well.

TV REAL: What’s the international strategy? Are you focusing on a linear channel rollout or are you taking the direct-toconsumer route?

HAYDEN: We’re doing both. Our first international channel launch was in 2013 with Blue Ant Media, our partners in Canada. We just signed a deal with them to extend our relationship—they are representing us in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. This year we launched our linear channel in the U.K. and Brazil, the year before with DIRECTV Latin America. This year we also launched Smithsonian Channel Plus, our SVOD product, with Apple TV, which is expected to be in [100-plus] countries by year-end.

As a joint venture, we have to fund our strategic growth initiatives within our own P&L, so we had to do it intelligently and in a financially affordable way. In the beginning, we didn’t know how the brand would resonate in different parts of the world. But in traveling around different film and television markets, you find out that in places like Western Europe and Southeast Asia, the Smithsonian brand resonates quite well. But even in other parts of the world, our brand is valued because of the quality of our programming catalog. People were encouraging us to take the brand and try to go global with it, and we’ve been able to do that. The challenge, of course, is getting enough programming with a full complement of international rights to sustain a really strong consumer value proposition. That, in part, is what has taken us a little time.

TV REAL: What are your overall goals for Smithsonian Networks in the 12 to 18 months ahead?

HAYDEN: We’re focused on trying to expand our footprint here in the U.S. We’re in around 40 million households; we hope to get to 55 million to 60 million. That continues to be our primary focus. We want to continue to expand internationally as well. Currently, we are in discussions with operators in Argentina, Peru and Mexico, to name a few. And our third priority is to expand the distribution of our direct-to-consumer SVOD product, here and overseas.

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J

oe Kenda spent more than two decades in law enforcement. As a detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department, Kenda solved 356 homicide cases out of 387 investigated—a solve rate of 92 percent. He left the force in 1996, but being a retired detective was not to be his final act. In 2011, Investigation Discovery (ID) premiered Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda, featuring the detective recounting some of his most infamous cases. Produced by Jupiter Entertainment and sold by Rive Gauche Television, Homicide Hunter has been one of the network’s biggest successes. Kenda announced this summer, at the network’s annual IDCon fan event, that season nine would be his last. He sat down with TV Real to weigh in on his television career and the universal appeal of true-crime shows.

By Mansha Daswani TV REAL: How did your association with ID come about?

KENDA: A producer saw a news tape of me being interviewed

by Diane Sawyer on a program called Turning Point. He was impressed with it. He thought he could make a TV show out of it. He came to me. I wasn’t interested. My wife pressured me into calling him back for three days. I called him back. We created a pitch reel for the show, and ID was interested. That’s how it started.

TV REAL: As you reflect on nine seasons of this show, what’s this journey been like for you?

KENDA: It’s been remarkable. I never thought it would be successful. I never thought it would be on television! I didn’t. I told my wife, This is just murder, no one is going to be interested. She said, You don’t understand. Well, apparently I don’t. Because it’s been absolutely crazy. It’s all over the world. It’s well thought of everywhere. The real point of it is, it’s true. There are no Hollywood conventions, no gun battles, no chases, none of that. It’s investigative work, one foot in front of the other. Why do people do what they do? That’s what people find most interesting.

TV REAL: What led you into law enforcement?

KENDA: I was 9 years old and my parents took me to the zoo.

That’s a big deal in a kid’s world, going to the zoo! We go there and there’s a sign in front of the primate house that said, Around this corner is the most dangerous animal on Earth.

Everyone ran around the corner and it was a mirror from the ceiling to the floor. Everybody was disappointed—everybody but me! It struck me. You’re looking at humans. And you realize it’s true. We have eliminated entire species. We now have the ability to eliminate life on Earth. We are the most dangerous animal on this planet. Murder must be the worst crime because we’ll do the worst to you for doing it. We’ll kill you or put you away for forever. That’s what I wanted to do. I

focused my work on getting to that point. I got there and it turned out I was pretty good at it!

TV REAL: You’re also good on television! How has that transition been, from full-time detective to being on screen?

KENDA: It’s very easy. I spent a whole career in front of cameras, constantly in front of the press. So they turn on this camera—it’s just another camera. OK, I’m used to standing in front of nine cameras, this is only one? This will be easy! There’s no script. I say whatever I want to say. They eliminate the profanity. I don’t know why they do that—it’s the language of the street!

TV REAL: Is it difficult to relive your cases?

KENDA: It’s been therapeutic for me, which is why I wanted to do it. I don’t care about the money. It doesn’t interest me. I have a policy: if I have it, I spend it, and I don’t spend it if I don’t have it. So it wasn’t that. It was, maybe if I talk about the cases I’ll feel better. And I do. For me, that’s the value of it. It’s therapy to discuss these things that I never discussed in detail before.

TV REAL: As you mentioned, it has sold well around the world.

Why do you think it has resonated in so many territories?

KENDA: This is human behavior. And humans behave badly.

When your emotion overcomes your judgment, you do something incredibly violent because it is human nature to be violent. Picture yourself in the Serengeti Plain in Africa, millions of years ago. And you notice a creature 4-feet tall, covered in hair, and he grunts to other creatures like him and they seem to be able to communicate. You’re looking at early man.

And you admire this clever little creature for a while and you realize he makes weapons and he’s able to kill animals three and four times his size. But it’s not in your best interest to try to pet him, and it still isn’t. Nothing has changed. Clothing is more sophisticated, better lying, better willingness to go along, but ultimately that button is still there.

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technology too; we’re able to film things so much more easily than we were able to. You can almost do anything now at the touch of a button! One of the great things about that is all of these opportunities for telling stories in a different way.

That’s all unscripted is, telling stories in a different way. It’s a golden age of documentaries and unscripted series.

TV REAL: What do you think took Drag Race from a niche proposition to a global phenomenon?

BAILEY: To Randy [Barbato, World of Wonder co-founder] and I, it always felt like this art form of drag was potentially mainstream and does have appeal to a broad audience. It took many years to find a home for the show. Something I’ve noticed more recently, as I spend more time going overseas and talking to production executives in other countries, is that they will say, We’ve never heard of the show, but our kids love it! It speaks to the fact that drag does appeal to kids; kids don’t bring to it the generational baggage and prejudices that perhaps, unfortunately, people have grown up with. Drag is nothing new. Societally it was seen as some outer limit, beyond the pale, ultra-avant-garde thing. That’s not what the nature of drag is. It’s this creative form of expression that hasn’t been recognized. RuPaul wanting to do this show is such a generous thing on his part, to give this platform to everyone else and share it with the world.

TV REAL: What types of stories are you trying to tell at WOW? BAILEY: Randy and I are always moved and inspired by people who live their lives out loud, people who don’t edit

By Kristin Brzoznowski

D

ocumenting the search for the next drag superstar, the Emmy-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race is heading into a 12th season in the U.S. The show, which began airing in 2009 on Logo TV and moved to VH1 in season nine, has become something of a phenomenon. World of Wonder (WOW) Productions is behind Drag Race, among a slew of other unscripted successes. Cofounder Fenton Bailey talks to TV Real about the company’s mission to tell authentic stories of people who “live their lives out loud.”

TV REAL: How have you seen the factual genre evolve?

BAILEY: Whether it gets called documentary or reality—I quite like the word “unscripted” because that explains its appeal as well—audiences love something that feels real. There’s nothing wrong with scripted, but I think viewers like the feel of something that hasn’t been created by a writer or willed into existence by a creative force. It’s just people as they are and as they find themselves. This is a genre that has literally exploded, in many different ways, across all aspects of culture over the last 20 or 25 years. It goes hand in hand with

themselves, who don’t try to fit in with everybody else.

That’s always inspired us. Drag queens tick that box for sure. We are drawn to stories about people who, in some respects, are under-revealed—even if they may seem overexposed. It’s about telling the truth. We’re in such an age of all-out lying about everything, especially in politics. It gets us excited to tell the truth about people and things.

TV REAL: What led to the creation of the SVOD service WOW Presents Plus?

BAILEY: Ru often talks about “finding your tribe.” World of Wonder really is a tribe, a family. Everyone who enjoys Drag Race may also enjoy other things that we create, that don’t necessarily fit what cable or network TV is looking for. That’s where WOW Presents Plus came along. It’s $3.99 per month, which is less than the price of a latte, and you get all this content! It’s a way for people who enjoy Drag Race and the programs we make to enjoy them all in one place. There’s a sense of membership, of an extended family or a club.

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TVASIA

WWW.TVASIA.WS

OCTOBER 2019

MIPCOM & ASIA VIDEO SUMMIT EDITION

OTT Content / Asian Formats PCCW’s Janice Lee / iflix’s Mark Britt

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CONTENTS

Redefining Disruption

FEATURES 10 MAKING WAVES

Leading OTT platforms are betting big on local originals and distinctive imports to win the battle for a share of viewing time.

Speaking at the Series Mania conference earlier this year, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos rejected the “disruptor” label that has been put on the platform since it went from being a repository for library series and movies to a deep-pocketed investor in content.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Asia ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvasia.ws

“I’m not a fan of the word ‘disruption,’ because it has such negative connotations,” Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, said. “It gets hung on my head a lot. It’s like burning things down and seeing what happens. That’s not what we’re up to. We’re trying to preserve and improve upon the formats and grow storytelling.”

Online platforms have certainly upended business models and put severe pressures on traditional pay-TV channels. But they are also investing heavily in the content ecosystem, everywhere, making it a particularly great time to be a producer. Netflix has productions across the region.

Amazon is focusing its efforts on Japan and India. In Southeast Asia, HOOQ, iflix and Viu are all aligning with leading creatives. Hulu Japan has a number of partnerships for originals, including with Spain’s The Mediapro Studio and HBO Asia on the upcoming The Head. This edition of TV Asia takes a deep dive into the programming strategies of some of the region’s leading platforms.

We also hear from iflix’s Mark Britt and PCCW’s Janice Lee on how they are positioning their platforms in Asia’s fast-moving OTT sector. Per new research from Media Partners Asia, the online video market in AsiaPac will generate revenues of $50 billion by 2024, up from $27 billion this year. Being agile, open to changing course and deploying smart business models that meet the needs of local markets will be key for companies angling for a slice of Asia’s growing online video revenues. As will having the best content possible, especially local fare. In that arena, existing IP is proving to be a valuable tool. Of note, Viu has high-profile remakes like The Bridge and Pretty Little Liars. But the format business can go both ways these days—a number of Asian-originated concepts are finding success internationally, from The Good Doctor in the U.S. to The Masked Singer everywhere to Mother in Turkey. This edition includes a special report on how content rights holders across Asia are stepping up their efforts to bring format concepts to the global market.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON THE ASIAN REGION

10 18 SEEING DOUBLE

A look at the rising trade in Asian-originated formats.

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INTERVIEWS

24 PCCW Media’s Janice Lee

28 iflix’s Mark Britt

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Bomanbridge Media Paul Goes to Hollywood / Walking the Yangtze with Ash Dykes / Shane the Chef A new food-travel hybrid series, Paul Goes to Hollywood is among the lead offerings from Bomanbridge Media. The show follows as Paul Hollywood heads off on an epic transcontinental adventure riding a customized HarleyDavidson as he explores the connection between films and food. “In this series, he is able to indulge in three of his greatest passions: bikes, movies and baking,” says Sonia Fleck, CEO of Bomanbridge. British adventurer Ash Dykes sets out to break a new record by traversing the length of the longest river in Asia in Walking the Yangtze with Ash Dykes. Meanwhile, the animated preschool series Shane the Chef is a celebration of food that seeks to inspire young audiences to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Walking the Yangtze with Ash Dykes

“Bomanbridge Media has always been known to sit squarely on the center stage as a reliable and trusted distribution entity within Asia that truly understands international market needs.”

—Sonia Fleck

My Crown Princess

GMA Worldwide Beautiful Justice / The Gift / My Crown Princess GMA Worldwide is aiming to deliver Filipino dramas such as Beautiful Justice and The Gift to viewers across Asia.

Beautiful Justice is an action/crime series featuring three women who team up to form a vigilante group to uncover the truth behind the deaths of their loved ones in a suspicious buy-and-bust operation. The Gift tells the story of a man who lost his sense of sight after being hit by a stray bullet but begins to have visions about past and future events. Another highlight is My Crown Princess, a romantic comedy about a man-hater who wants to succeed in a male-dominated field as a ship captain. “These titles will appeal to viewers in Asia who are looking for themes that revolve around modern-day issues that affect society,” says Roxanne J. Barcelona, VP of GMA Worldwide.

“GMA remains committed to providing premium Filipino content to its customers.”

—Roxanne J. Barcelona

The Urban Vegetarian

Gusto TV DNA Dinners / Spencer’s BIG 30 / The Urban Vegetarian Gusto TV recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in Singapore, and “we’ve developed a deep connection with our viewers,” says Chris Knight, president and CEO of Gusto Worldwide Media. “Viewer engagement online is high, Gusto’s lineup has been refreshed regularly, and our Singapore partner is very happy with the response they’ve received from their customers.” Coming soon to Gusto TV is the popular series DNA Dinners, which explores the diverse heritage of 16 individuals as they discover their roots through cuisine. There’s a third season of Spencer’s BIG 30 with Spencer Watts. “Our Asian viewers gravitate to Spencer’s electrifying energy,” says Knight.

He calls The Urban Vegetarian “a fan favorite in Singapore.”

Knight adds, “Our Asian viewers appreciate Gusto TV’s global sensibility, and we offer the complete foodie experience.”

“We’re proud to say that we now have 150 hours of food programming with Mandarin subtitling and will have an additional 150 hours by next year.”

—Chris Knight

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HBO Asia HBO GO / HBO Asia Original Productions / HBO Original Content HBO GO, an internet-based streaming service, continues to expand its footprint across Asia. Vietnam and Malaysia joined markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia this year. “HBO GO will roll out in more territories soon,” says Magdalene Ew, head of marketing, creative and content at HBO Asia. Ew says that ramping up HBO Asia original productions has been a priority. “As a testament to our growing quality of Asian originals, The World Between Us recently made headlines for receiving the greatest number of nominations at the 54th Annual Golden Bell Awards in Taiwan,” she notes. There’s also a second season of the award-winning HBO Asia original The Teenage Psychic.

Original programming from HBO’s U.S. slate features on the HBO Asia channel as well.

“Besides U.S. productions, two new HBO Asia original productions are available on HBO GO and HBO this year.”

—Magdalene Ew

The Teenage Psychic

Mediacorp All Is Well / Wild City / India on Film Mediacorp is presenting to the marketplace All Is Well, a highconcept Chinese-language drama series co-produced with a Taiwanese production house. “The series combines an A-list assembly of acclaimed artists from Singapore and Taiwan and parallel storytelling through two interwoven plots, unlike anything in the market at the moment,” says Doreen Neo, Mediacorp’s chief content officer. There’s a fourth installment of the documentary series Wild City, which explores rarely seen wildlife teeming in Singapore’s forests. “The series reveals plenty of never-before-seen footage of wildlife, which urban Singapore is not commonly known for,” Neo says. India on Film is an informational, educational program documenting India’s history, with footage dating back to 1899. “History buffs will be enthralled by India on Film,” says Neo.

“Mediacorp is looking for partners in the creative ecosystem, and we’re open for business.”

All Is Well

—Doreen Neo

Your Turn to Kill

Nippon TV Your Turn to Kill Nippon TV’s crime and mystery series Your Turn to Kill was created with international adaptations in mind, having 20 episodes, which is double the number for traditional drama series in Japan. “It is a format that viewers simply cannot stop watching episode after episode, with a flurry of social media debates to find out who the killer is,” says Keisuke Miyata, who handles sales and licensing, international business development, at Nippon TV. In the series, a newly married couple who just bought their first home is convinced that their happy and peaceful life together is about to begin. Little did they expect that the house would set the stage for a string of bizarre deaths. When a threatening note reading “Your turn to kill” arrives, a dangerous game is set into motion.

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“Your Turn to Kill evokes the addictive nature of the viewers with its powerfully mysterious and frightening storyline.”

—Keisuke Miyata

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Rewind Networks HITS / HITS Movies From the Rewind Networks bouquet, HITS has a presence in 11 markets across Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Brunei, the Maldives, Myanmar, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Recent highlights on HITS include the original Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, “which have attracted a younger audience to our channel who may have heard about these franchises through their current reboots that piqued their interest in the originals,” says CEO Avi Himatsinghani. A newer entrant to the marketplace, HITS Movies celebrated its first anniversary on October 1. The channel is available in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Upcoming highlights include Sissy Spacek in Carrie on Halloween, as well as Alicia Silverstone in Clueless and Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf in November.

“Rewind Networks will continue to progressively launch HITS and HITS Movies in other markets across Asia.”

Clueless

—Avi Himatsinghani

TV5MONDE Asia-Pacific TV5MONDE Asie / TV5MONDE Pacifique / TV5MONDE Style HD While TV5MONDE has a wide global footprint, the Asia-Pacific region has been a strong part of its growth in the last few years.

“We offer a total of three channels in the region, all in high definition, with as many as eight subtitling languages across the offering,” says Alexandre Muller, managing director of TV5MONDE Asia-Pacific. The general-entertainment channels TV5MONDE Asie and TV5MONDE Pacifique have been “our showpieces, respectively, since 1996 and 2009,” he says. They reach more than 110 million households across the region, with the exceptions of Malaysia and North Korea. “Since 2015, TV5MONDE has made countless efforts to strengthen and extend its scope by offering additional content through its TV5MONDE Style HD channel, a lifestyle-dedicated linear channel designed for top-tier local audiences,” Muller adds.

La Baule-les-Pins on TV5MONDE

“Our message is clear and straightforward: TV5MONDE is an excellent and unique addition to any network.”

—Alexandre Muller

WarnerMedia Asia Pacific Cartoon Network / Boomerang / POGO There’s a slew of new highlights coming to the Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO channels across the Asia-Pacific region. “New to Cartoon Network is a great mix of the unusual, the surprising and the ridiculous,” says Leslie Lee, VP of Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO for the Asia Pacific. New series include Victor and Valentino, DC Super Hero Girls and Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart. “On Boomerang, coinciding with Scooby’s 50th birthday, we’ll welcome the guest-star-laden Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, featuring Ricky Gervais, Sia and even Batman,” says Lee. POGO has had a big year with the launch of Kalari Kids. “Now, we are also working on a new pipeline of original productions for the next two years,” Lee says.

DC Super Hero Girls on Cartoon Network

“Aside from plenty of content coming through the Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network pipelines from Burbank, we’re also busy commissioning originals and working on our own co-productions in the Asia Pacific.”

—Leslie Lee

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Netflix’s The Forest of Love.

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Making

waves

Leading OTT platforms are betting big on local originals and distinctive imports to win the battle for a share of viewing time. By Mansha Daswani

V

ideo content budgets in India, Southeast Asia and Korea rose by 12 percent last year to reach about $10 billion, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA). Digital, while a small percentage at the moment, is on the rise, with online video content investments in the surveyed markets up by 60 percent to $858 million in 2018, MPA reports, driven by Amazon, Hotstar and Netflix in India.

While Netflix’s Indian originals have generated the most headlines—notably the big-budget Sacred Games— the platform is deploying original spend across the region. Erika North, director of original content for Netflix in Asia, says the streamer has 30-plus new Asian originals from Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, India and South Korea. “We announced a total of 17 new commissions at the first See What’s Next Asia slate event in Q4 last year, and this year we have announced six Korean originals, three Chinese-language originals, ten Indian films and we will also be launching our first Thai original, The Stranded, later this year.”

For North, who led HBO Asia’s original programming efforts before joining the streaming giant, the broad remit is for “great stories told with a unique vision. The AsiaPac region is rich with creative talent, mythology, history and culture. Our goal is to find authentic stories that can resonate in the home market but with universal elements that allow that story to transcend borders. Asia is a hotbed for creative talent, both behind and in front of the

camera. Ultimately, we’re looking for creative teams who have bold and ambitious ideas, a clear vision for creating characters who can connect emotionally with our audience and a strong sense of openness as to how we can help them to bring that vision to life.”

GETTING HOOKED At HOOQ, where the footprint covers Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India, the focus is on local content—acquired and original—in Southeast Asia, while the service in India is positioned as the “home for Hollywood,” says Jennifer Batty, the chief content officer at the platform. “Local does drive more viewing minutes and consumption for us, but easy-viewing Hollywood content still has a following,” Batty reports.

In terms of originals, Indonesia has seen the most activity, Batty notes, given HOOQ’s position in the market and the sheer size of the country.

“We’ve had several series in Indonesia, with different models. We’ve done two seasons of a short-form series, Keluarga Badak (Rhino Family), which came from a YouTube channel. It’s very Indonesian—it’s not something that crosses borders, but that’s OK because people in Indonesia love it. We’ve done a series called Cek Toko Sebelah: The Series, from a very popular existing IP. It was one of the biggest movies in Indonesia and it has performed incredibly well as a movie on HOOQ. We adapted it into a series. We’ve also taken brand-new IPs. We have a crime series, Brata. It stars very popular Indonesian actors. Just like the phenomenon you’re finding in North America and Europe, some big theatrical

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produced a show called Rewrite and it’s one of the most successful originals we’ve done in Indonesia.”

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are the priority markets for iflix’s original content efforts, according to Mark Britt, CEO and co-founder. “We give the people we work with an enormous amount of creative freedom,” he says on fostering ties with the production community. “There are no constraints on episode lengths or number of episodes. We don’t dictate the format. We try to let them push the boundaries as much as possible….

On mass-market free-to-air TV, you want to create something that interests everyone and offends nobody. You don’t want that in the digital world. You want shows that people are passionate about.”

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

Hulu Japan’s acquired slate includes One Life Studios’ historical epic Porus.

actors are excited about doing series on OTT. They’re looking to do something a little bit different than what is found on free-to-air. We look to push the boundaries a bit. Our production values are slightly different. We work closely with our production companies on character development. These are all things that the big theatrical actors are saying they want to be involved with.”

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, HOOQ has a series in development in Thailand, a successful short-form production in the Philippines called Sex Talks with Dr. Holmes and a theatrical film in Singapore, Wet Season, from filmmaker Anthony Chen. “His last movie, Ilo Ilo, was a huge success,” Batty says. “Singapore is a market where we’re looking to do more from an original production point of view. It’s exciting for us to have our first partnership be with somebody with the reputation and vision Anthony has.”

A DIFFERENT VIU Viu is also commissioning originals across its footprint in both unscripted and scripted. “We have learned about our users’ behaviors and consumption preferences,” says Janice Lee, managing director of PCCW Media Group, on the platform’s local-content journey thus far.

“For example, in Malaysia, we’re in season two of The Bridge, which is more of an action, thriller type of story, and we announced Keluarga Baha Don, which is a bit of a dark comedy. In Malaysia, action and dark comedies work. In Indonesia, romantic dramas and romantic comedies do well, and some thriller types of stories. We

And in order to discover what people are passionate about, local intel is crucial.

“We have very strong local content teams in every one of our territories,” says HOOQ’s Batty. “That’s incredibly important because we need to be tuned in to the local production industry. We need to be the first platform that production companies think of when they’re producing a new show.”

North at Netflix points to the creative support the platform can offer producers and writers. “Our goal when we work with creative talent is to support them and give them the platform to tell stories that they have not had an opportunity to tell elsewhere,” she says. “For our owned originals, Netflix works with creators from script to screen, that is from initial concept to final delivery. We are with our creative partners all the way. We are there to support the execution of their vision. We spend a lot of time listening to them to build the trust that we are as invested in the success of their shows as they are. Creators have the artistic freedom to bring their vision to life. From what we have observed and learned in the past, authenticity is what makes content travel, so staying true to this authenticity in creative intent—the story, the characters, the local culture, in short, the world that these creators are building—is very important to us.”

As for what she looks for, North mentions the “strength and originality of the story and executional capabilities of the creative team,” all of which she found in the creatives behind her first slate of Chinese-language originals: DJ Chen for Nowhere Man, Neal Wu for Triad Princess and Ho Yu-Hang and Quek Shio-Chuan for The Ghost Bride.

“These are familiar genres but told with a twist, like very long movies shot in a multi-episodic format,” she says. They are all “infused with universal themes—from gangster-brotherhood to romance to the supernatural— which we believe will resonate with audiences around the world.”

HOOQ’s Batty is also looking out for content that can cross borders. “Ideally, whenever we’re acquiring content, we would like it for all of our territories, including

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DocuBay is looking for one-off docs for its new SVOD platform, which features titles like Airships: Back to the Future.

India. We see Thai content resonating well with our Indonesian audience. We also find that there is high consumption of Filipino content in Singapore.”

While discovering content that can travel is a crucial concern for the multi-market operators, local market leaders like Hulu Japan have other considerations. For the platform, which is a division of Japan’s leading broadcaster, Nippon TV, acquired content is a vital part of the lineup. “Besides the major [Hollywood] studios, we source our content from around the globe,” says Kazufumi Nagasawa, chief content officer. And Nagasawa has an eclectic acquisitions remit: recent pickups include the Spanish prison drama Locked Up and the Indian historical epic Porus. “We are keen to acquire representative and distinctive content from each territory,” he says.

The platform is forecast to become profitable this fiscal year, Nagasawa reports, a milestone given what he refers to as an OTT market in Japan that is “too crowded.

Consolidation will proceed in the meantime.”

For its originals strategy, co-productions have been essential, with Hulu Japan partnering with HBO Asia on a number of projects.

Most recently, the two companies announced a deal for The Head with The Mediapro Studio.

“This is the first case of us participating in an English-language drama with Japanese talent,” Nagasawa says.

Even with its international alliances and acquisitions, “domestic content accounts for the vast majority in terms of volume and consumption,” Nagasawa observes.

this year, a direct-to-consumer SVOD proposition rolled out in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. This September, iwonder launched in a slew of other Southeast Asian markets.

One of iwonder’s key differentiators is a news feed on the home page that highlights doc titles exploring related themes. “We don’t see anyone doing this anywhere else,” says James Bridges, iwonder’s co-founder and CEO. “The philosophy came out of this idea that there has to be pretty close overlap between people who are interested in what’s going on in the world and people who are interested in high-quality documentaries. So we thought, let’s have a curated newsfeed— not an open firehose—that comes across your home page presenting you with [documentaries] that are related to or adjacent to what is going on in the news, just to give you deeper context. For example, Trump and Kim meet in Vietnam and the associated docs are on Vietnam’s tech boom, Trump’s relationships in Indonesia and the assassination of Kim Jong-un’s halfbrother in Kuala Lumpur. A Harvey Weinstein story can be associated with a documentary about the underrepresentation of women in positions of power. You can do it with climate change, gun control, Russia.

These are ongoing themes that we license and curate

NICHE APPEAL General-entertainment platforms are leading much of the OTT activity in Asia, but niche services are emerging, among them iwonder.

Unveiled at the APOS Summit in Bali in April 2018, the documentary and current-affairs content platform went live as a branded destination across the iflix footprint last summer and then launched on TVNZ’s on-demand offering in New Zealand in December. Earlier

Ulan, a romantic drama, is part of HOOQ’s original slate from the Philippines.

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our movies. And everything is in English. We will go ahead and customize and localize as demand requires.”

Tripathi is confident that DocuBay’s unique perspective will be a draw for telco operators across Asia hungry for content partnerships.

“They want something that has a differentiated proposition. There’s a lot of content floating around and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for newer players to be able to find a distinct positioning. I think DocuBay is in a very cozy nook that way. With our concentrated approach to the content we are acquiring, we [expect to be a differentiator] for telco operators and other business partners that we are dealing with, and also for consumers.”

Among DocuBay’s unique propositions, Tripathi explains, is DocuBytes. “It’s short snackable content, usually around 20 seconds, which you can consume on the go. It is great for being able to explore and discover new content. At the same time, it gives you an idea of what it is that you would like to sit down and watch. So within the product, within the kind of content we are rolling out, there is a strong emphasis on mobile consumption. That is not at the expense of a more lean-forward viewing experience on larger screens.”

BOOM TIME

First broadcast on Colors in India, Viacom18’s Silsila Badalte Rishton Ka moved to the digital platform Voot for its second season.

content around. There are not many household-name documentaries out there, but there are thousands of great, quality documentaries. So [the newsfeed] helps give people a way into discovery of the catalog.”

The platform currently has about 1,000 programs from across the documentary spectrum. “iwonder matches trending news with real-life stories about the people and events shaping current affairs, music, pop culture, religion, sports, nature, war, history, politics, science, technology and much more,” Bridges says. “Our key focus is on quality, so a majority of our feature docs are festival selections or award winners.” Bridges hopes to get the slate up to more than 2,000 titles by the end of 2019.

JUST THE FACTS Also operating in the factual SVOD space is DocuBay, a service headquartered in India but with global aspirations. “We are looking for one-offs and one-off docufeatures,” says COO Akul Tripathi on the content strategy.

“We are staying true to [our tagline] of ‘OneTribe’— experiences that unite people from around the world as one tribe in this incredibly connected world. People living in different parts of the world are no longer as different as they perhaps once were. We’re looking for stories with very specific viewpoints or opinions. That is the broad way in which we are looking at picking and curating

With the OTT players injecting money into the ecosystem, “the outlook remains healthy across much of Asia for the video content industry,” says Stephen Laslocky, a VP at MPA and principal author of the Asia Video Content Dynamics 2019 report. Budgets across TV, film and online video are scaling up in Southeast Asia, India and Korea, but “there are pockets of pressure in other markets,” Laslocky adds, “especially for incumbent free-to-air broadcasters in Malaysia and the Philippines, where TV budgets were reined in. Falls in TV viewership have been especially pronounced in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, largely precipitated by digital competition as viewers flee marginal TV channels. Viewing data suggests that popular TV channels are relatively well insulated from online video competition, at least for now.”

TV viewership is being driven by drama and variety, Laslocky notes. “In growing or capacity-constrained markets, variety can be the easier genre to scale, with international format houses playing a key role. Movies, both Hollywood and domestic, are good audience pulls.”

Netflix, for its part, is looking to invest across all genres.

“We’re looking for stories that haven’t had the chance yet to be told in the long-form format—and even then we are open as to how this format works to support the story,” North says. “We’re at the start of our journey producing original content in Asia, and there is much to learn.

Ultimately, we want our catalog to have something for everyone, so the breadth and diversity of stories and formats is important to us.”

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GMA Worldwide’s The Half Sisters.

Mansha Daswani explores the rising trade in Asianoriginated formats.

Seeing Double T

hat rapper T-Pain beat out soul icon Gladys Knight on The Masked Singer in the U.S. isn’t actually the weirdest thing about the show. Neither is the lineup of utterly insane costumes that the participating celebrities don to mask their identities. Arguably the strangest thing about The Masked Singer is its slow march from obscure Korean entertainment show to the format landscape’s obsession of the moment.

Launched in 2015 on MBC Korea as King of Mask Singer, the show was a modest hit in the domestic market. Some Asian adaptations followed, including a Thai version that raised the format’s profile when it landed an International Emmy Award nomination. Craig Plestis, a producer in the U.S., discovered it when he was out to dinner at a Thai restaurant in Los Angeles. He quickly secured the rights and landed a slot for the show on FOX, where it became a phenomenon.

Since then, the format has notched up deals in the U.K., Germany, France, Argentina, Australia and Mexico, among other countries.

For companies in Asia that represent entertainment formats, The Masked Singer blazing a trail across markets that tend to export more ideas than they import signals a host of new international opportunities.

“We are receiving requests for unique ideas from the Asian market,” says Sonia Fleck, the CEO of Singapore-based independent distributor Bomanbridge Media. “Countries such as the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K. and recently Italy have been in discussions with us for some out-of-the-box creative studio game shows, talent competitions and observational reality series. Buyers agree that it’s getting tougher to garner the record-breaking ratings that were more readily clenched in the past. The Masked Singer is just one example of unique, off-the-wall ideas which entertain and create the audience stickiness we all hope to achieve.”

BEHIND THE MASK Lester Hu, the head of formats and international business at Hunan TV, is optimistic about the prospects for the global export of Chinese IP in the wake of the success of The Masked Singer.

“I do think China will be a future center for creative formats,” Hu says. “The Chinese audience is looking for something new every day. It’s really competitive in China. The other thing about the Chinese market is that the money is there. There is always money for good content. That’s why I believe China will be a future format creator, someday. People want new ideas. We’re creating them constantly, and there is

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Nippon TV’s Woman—My Life for My Children— was remade to great success in Turkey.

money to support good ideas and good content. So that will keep us going forward.”

In Japan, the distribution team of leading broadcaster Nippon TV has witnessed a “substantial rise in interest from Western buyers,” says Shigeko Cindy Chino, the associate managing director for international business development.

But Chino is well aware that, as in the case of The Masked Singer, it can take time to find success with an entertainment brand globally.

SLOW & STEADY “Our megahit format Dragons’ Den took three years from pitching internationally until it launched on BBC Two in 2005,” Chino says. “So we know it is not easy, but we thrive as an entertainment industry leader to seek the next Dragons’ Den. We are pursuing a strategy with our production team to constantly come up with ideas that will transcend borders.

We are recruiting ideas that specifically target the international market and teaming up with partners that are interested in co-development and in sharing common distribution goals.”

Chino adds that Nippon TV formats come with a track record, having already been successes at home. It’s the same situation for Hunan TV, Hu says.

“Our first goal is to make sure it’s a success in China. That means every format we put out to the international market has been a success in China. And then we think, How can it be Westernized or Americanized? When we used to do acquisitions, we tried so hard to understand the format.

Why had it been such a big success in the U.K., for example, but didn’t suit China that well? So we had to do the localization ourselves. I think our potential buyers should look at things that way as well. They should think about how they can abstract some of the key points from a Chinese or Asian format and make it work in a Western market.

Hunan has worked on so many international formats; we know how to localize things. I believe that is something we can provide to buyers or producers in other countries—our experience. And we’re not that strict on the format. We can be quite flexible and cooperative and offer them our experiences and what we can do to help them to really make a success in other countries.”

Among the big domestic hits on Hu’s slate is Super-Vocal, a new take on the singing competition, this one featuring classically trained singers.

GLOBAL ALLIANCES International partnerships have been important to Hunan TV, Hu says. It has a deal with The Story Lab for the voiceover talent format The Sound, co-developed World’s Got Talent with Fremantle and Syco and worked with Endemol Shine Group on Acting Up. Nippon TV, meanwhile, has collaborated with Red Arrow Studios, a partnership that Chino says “has enabled us to broaden our perspective in the sense of being aware of the international cultural differences and the latest trends.”

The game-show format Block Out emerged out of that alliance. The show launched in Thailand over the summer.

CJ ENM is also partnering with global media companies.

“Over the last few years, we have collaborated with Endemol Shine Group for The Society Game, and ITV Studios, Banijay and Gil Formats for other new formats,” says Diane Min, the Korean company’s head of format sales. “We are consistently working on co-productions for fresh formats that target the European and American markets.”

But there are challenges for Asian format distributors.

Among them is the fact programmers are still cagey about betting on new concepts from anyone other than the usual suspects.

Bomanbridge’s Fleck references a “lack of openness and capacity to push beyond comfort zones. Channel heads focus on shows which follow the traditional formulas for success. By traditional, I mean that buyers first request successful sales to other ‘key territories’ or look at the same corporate players.”

Nevertheless, Fleck is so confident of the prospects for Asian formats that her company is setting up a development think tank, The Brewery, in Singapore. “We shall both develop internal IP with fantastic creatives as well as collate and gather a very select number of third-party formats that have strong legs to stand on.”

Among the format brands Bomanbridge is working on is Little Masters, a talent competition that originated in China.

“We realized that the show had strong identity pillars and

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Bomanbridge represents the format rights to the talent competition Little Masters, which originated in China.

could stand up for international review. Following some adjustments on the duration, we have now entered into negotiation with three international territories for this series. It’s very satisfying to find good ideas that are well received by respected industry players.”

SCRIPTED SAVVY

was also sealed for the French market, and more deals are to be unveiled soon.”

Barcelona concedes that the scriptedformats space is not an easy one. “The sale of scripted formats is challenging, as markets are looking for crime and political dramas for adaptation, usually 12 to 20 episodes in length. Most GMA titles have an average of 40 episodes and crime and political dramas are not subjects that [do] well locally. While there are prospects in emerging markets such as Myanmar and Africa, their budgets are very low and their production costs are limited.”

She continues, “While we regard format sales as a lucrative business, we need to devote more time and resources to this area as it involves convincing not just buyers but producers, viewer marketers and airtime sales.”

At India’s GoQuest Media Ventures, there is a focus on bringing international scripted formats to the country’s booming OTT market. Scripted formats are indeed a hot commodity in India at the moment, with recent deals including Luther, Hostages, UnREAL and The Office. “[Linear] TV is not taking any risks,” says Jimmy George, VP of sales and acquisitions. “They’ve moved a bit beyond kitchen politics to romance and more urban stories, but digital is where the real remake market is. There is a lot of opportunity.”

There is so much opportunity across the region that many Asian distributors are making formats a crucial part of their growth strategies. “The format business is positioned as a core pillar in our overseas sales,” says Nippon TV’s Chino. “We continue to thrive on challenges in this area by constantly coming out with renewed schemes and initiatives, holding high hopes for creating the next Dragons’ Den or Mother.”

Bomanbridge’s Fleck adds, “As the big hits are harder to find, there is a space now for industry mavericks to take the leap and jump into new local creative circles, one of which is indeed Asia. What might be a rough jewel is, as we have seen, a true diamond. It just requires a bit of cultural adaptation to hit the bullseye.”

Just as the trade in Asian entertainment formats is picking up, so is interest in scripts from the region. Nippon TV’s Mother and Woman–My Life for My Children–, for example, were both adapted in Turkey.

“Turkey has contributed to becoming our gateway to the remote areas of the world and has triggered more interest in scripted titles from clients abroad,” Chino explains. “We are taking all available resources to meet the demands of our clients by increasing our salespeople as well as improving our sales materials. Since the requirements and preferences of produced works, as well as business styles, hugely differ among the different cultures, we are trying to allocate our titles from our vast catalog to the right market by utilizing professional advice from the respective major markets.”

GMA Worldwide has licensed scripted formats into Latin America and Vietnam and has received inquiries from Myanmar and Malaysia, according to Roxanne J. Barcelona, the company’s VP. “According to clients from Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, GMA’s stories are relatable to their cultures, with common themes and values on family, love, friendship, perseverance, diligence, and so on.” Barcelona continues, “GMA also produces dramas which revolve around modern-day issues of HIV, mental health, extended families, LGBT, etc.”

Nippon TV’s Chino also references the universal themes and storylines in the company’s dramas as being key selling points. “Also, the flexibility and adaptability for a longer series made it possible for a long-running success.

Interestingly enough, Mother has been produced not only in Turkey but also in South Korea, and will soon start in Ukraine. An option Hunan TV is offering up the game-show format The Rocking Bridge.

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base a high pickup in engagement. Within the first half, we saw more than 30 billion video minutes consumed. That’s growing very quickly. At the core of it is Southeast Asia, where we’ve established a leadership position. That’s being driven by the adoption and quick pickup of mobile data usage. It’s also the content that we’re offering, which is a lot of Asian content as well as the addition of Viu originals, which we started about 18 months ago.

TV ASIA: Where do you see the potential for growth ahead?

LEE: We’re in 17 markets. We look at the Middle East as one region, and we’re in eight markets there. Southeast Asia is the growth driver, primarily Thailand and Indonesia. Hong Kong and Singapore are the most sophisticated markets, so the CPMs for advertising as well as sell-through are very strong.

While the smaller markets don’t account for as much in terms of monthly active users, they are significant contributors in terms of revenue. Indonesia and Thailand have a lot of headroom for growth. I believe we’re still scratching the surface in markets like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Janice Lee PCCW Media

By Mansha Daswani

aunched in 2015, Viu today boasts 36 million monthly active users across its 17-market footprint in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Backed by Hong Kong-based telco giant PCCW, Viu took a different route than most of its competitors, rolling out at its inception with a dual AVOD and SVOD model—one that many others have followed. As managing director of PCCW Media Group, Janice Lee is driving the strategy at Viu. She tells TV Asia about local content investments, growth opportunities and working with advertisers.

L

TV ASIA: Tell us about Viu’s growth path over the last few years.

LEE: We’ve reached about 36 million monthly active users.

That has grown from about 20 million a year ago. What’s driven that is a combination of in-market penetration as well as new markets. At the same time, we saw within the user

TV ASIA: My understanding is that Indonesia has emerged as the real battleground, given the size of the market.

LEE: That is why, apart from the Korean content, which is one of the most popular kinds of Asian programming across the region, we started to go more local about 12 to 18 months ago.

We don’t want to be a service that looks foreign and we just make ourselves available in 17 markets. We want to be what local viewers want to watch every day and not only occasionally. So with the Viu originals in Indonesia, we have done Viu Pitching Forums where we work with local producers and writers. We facilitate and develop series or film projects pitched by talented Indonesian filmmakers to experts from the industry. We’re now also working with colleges to do Viu Shorts!, so we’re developing new young talent. We see longterm potential in the market.

TV ASIA: You’ve significantly expanded your originals slate.

What have been the key lessons in that journey?

LEE: We have been producing Viu originals in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, the Middle East, etc. We have learned about our users’ behaviors and consumption preferences. For example, in Malaysia, we’re in season two of The Bridge, which is more of an action, thriller type of story, and we announced Keluarga Baha Don, which is a bit of a dark comedy. In Malaysia, action and dark comedies work. In Indonesia, romantic dramas and romantic comedies do well, and some thriller types of stories. We produced a show called Rewrite and it’s one of the most successful originals we’ve done in Indonesia.

TV ASIA: What role do partnerships play in your programming strategy?

LEE: Whether it’s The Bridge or Pretty Little Liars, we are continually seeking out partnerships. Wattpad is another one that we collaborate with for the Philippines. In looking for IP, whether it’s original or licensed, we want great stories that resonate with the local audience, and ones that we feel will translate. When we do a format, let’s say The Bridge, it’s not about translating the script and changing the faces to local talent. We take the backbone and work with writers and the original IP owners so that they understand what parts of the

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lot of video views, so we have a lot of inventory. We are a destination for advertisers with video ads.

Viu has been expanding its lineup of originals with a number of format-based shows, including Pretty Little Liars.

story will resonate with a local audience. We can take one stream of it and maybe develop it a bit more versus taking the entire original story. So the local adaptation is quite important.

TV ASIA: What is the SVOD/AVOD breakdown at Viu? LEE: We’re about 50-50 right now between SVOD and AVOD revenues. The advertising engine has fired up in the last two years. We were the first ones to decide on this dual revenue stream. The other major players in the market started with SVOD—that seemed to be easy from an operator point of view to understand. We started with a dual revenue stream because we do understand the SVOD model and we knew it would take time for the market to develop. You also want to be able to garner the widest audience. For SVOD, we price anywhere from $1.99 to $4.99, depending on the market.

Singapore is closer to $4.99, markets like Indonesia and the Philippines are closer to $1.99. This is Asia—we can’t have one global price. And because we are transparent about our results, since we’re part of a public company, we wanted to be able to monetize faster. We saw AVOD as an opportunity to groom an audience base as well as to monetize while we are grooming the audience base.

TV ASIA: Tell us about your ad offering. How are marketers responding to the Viu offer?

LEE: We work with advertisers in a number of ways. If they come in as part of a Viu original, there is a lot more integrated branding. For example, in Singapore, we did a show called No Sleep No FOMO. That was a format from Dentsu/The Story Lab that we took on and changed into much more premium content, and we have FWD, an insurance company, as our title sponsor. Their theme is all about celebrating life—the energy, excitement and adventure of life. No Sleep No FOMO matched with that very well. We didn’t develop the content for the advertiser, but we found a brand [where the format] resonated with their core values. Apart from just being a title sponsor, there were FWD talent segments in the adventures themselves.

And then at the other end of the spectrum, we’re working directly with agencies and advertisers, where they come in to buy premium advertising. We work with a lot of models, whether it’s cost per completed views or cost per click. We also do programmatics, because Viu generates a

TV ASIA: How are you using data and analytics in your content decisions?

LEE: We didn’t do Viu originals from the getgo. We didn’t know enough yet about our users. Now, with our data we’re learning a lot about the different markets, what they like to watch. And that does feed into how we greenlight different content. We also use data analytics in terms of onboarding customers.

Apart from content costs, customeracquisition costs are a barrier to being efficient at [growing subscribers]. We look at attribution analysis to see where the highyield customers come in from. When we look at our high-yield customers, it’s not just someone who pays [a subscription fee]. That’s simple: they pay, you know who they are, you build a predictive model on that. We look at usage. We value engagement. If the customer has your service through a telco bundle, but they don’t use it, we can’t generate advertising from that. We can only generate advertising if they are engaged; if they consume minutes. That gives us the ad inventory. So we look at how to acquire active users and yield from that point of view.

TV ASIA: Do you envision adding live channels to the lineup?

LEE: We’re constantly looking at what’s next. With 36 million users, we can think about what other services we can offer besides content on VOD. With live channels, we may have something to talk about very soon.

TV ASIA: What synergies exist with Now TV? LEE: Within the media group I run, there’s Viu, Now TV and a free-TV service in Hong Kong called ViuTV. In markets like Hong Kong, having free-TV, pay-TV and OTT services allows us to acquire content for all platforms. Then, with ViuTV, we produce thousands of hours of original Chinese content, and those have appeal in markets like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, so we are also bringing content from Hong Kong to the rest of the world.

TV ASIA: As competition intensifies in the 12 to 18 months ahead, what areas will you be focusing on at Viu? LEE: We’re not complacent. We’re conscious that others are coming to the market. Hopefully, that also signifies that where we were first, in Southeast Asia, there’s tremendous potential.

Global players are taking notice that these are markets that will continue to develop and are sustainable. We’re focusing on how we continue to be a service that the local audience will connect with and not just a service that appeals to the top 3 percent of the population. That goes from how we do our user interface to how we operate. We have country managers and teams that know the local markets. How to promote, what to promote, how to reach out to the local audience can’t be determined by us sitting in Hong Kong; it has to be at a local level. Secondly, how do you decide what content assets to invest in? Ideas are often brought to us by the local teams and greenlit regionally. The local teams are super important. They give us tremendous local insight.

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Mark Britt iflix I

n 2015, iflix went live in Asia with an SVOD service delivering a heavy dose of Hollywood content. Today, the platform has a radically different proposition, having doubled down on local content, added an ad-supported tier and expanded its offering with live channels. Mark Britt, co-founder and CEO, talks to TV Asia about changing course, using data and building scalable businesses in markets where incomes are low and tech obstacles still exist. By Mansha Daswani TV ASIA: You’ve done several programming and strategic investment deals this year as you’ve pivoted toward more local content. What was the impetus behind that move?

BRITT: In the media business, people talk about change and evolution as if it’s a bad thing. As though it’s some form of failure. In the technology business, it’s not. The iterative process of change is a positive step. You start by saying, We don’t know what the customer wants in the future. We don’t know what the future of TV will look like, but we’re going to evolve our business every single day in response to data. We’re going to follow that data to the point when we’re meeting our customers’ needs better. There have been two big shifts in our business, both driven by data. One has been around solving the payments problem in emerging markets. And in the short term, you can’t. The infrastructure challenges, the customers’ cash-flow issues and the challenges in the mobile telco billing system create such friction for customers that it makes getting premium entertainment a tough experience. We’ve worked to address that. We’re getting better. We have about a million directly paying customers. It’s been four hard years to get there. Churn levels are high because people have cash-flow issues. So the first big pivot was, if we want to entertain as many people as possible, we have to go free. We did that in the middle of last year, and it’s had a hugely positive impact.

The second major theme, driven by data, is we realized that there are 300,000 or 400,000 people in these countries that care about Western content, but there are 40 million to 60 million in the mass market who want better local content. So we’ve shifted our budgets from roughly 80 percent Western, some regional and about 10 percent local to 80 percent local. That’s all driven by data. Local content owners care passionately about their local audience. So the rules around windowing, distribution and promotion of content are driven by local market factors. When you’re working with large Western studios, they tend to be very passionate about their global policies, which are informed by market conditions in the U.S. and U.K. The major strategic deals we’ve made have been towards that end, really establishing iflix as a fixture in the local content ecosystem in all our key markets.

TV ASIA: Where are you seeing the biggest successes in the local content space? Series, movies, entertainment?

BRITT: We love taking local movies, pretty much straight out of the box office. If they do well, we then commission a TV series from that movie. It’s the same cast, the same crew, the same director. You’re getting movie-quality development into TV series for the first time in a lot of these countries.

About 30 percent of the Indonesian box office is on iflix exclusively, within 90 to 100 days. We also do a lot of live sports. We streamed over 1,500 games last year; 221 live football matches were exclusive to us in Malaysia. We’re the ten-year owner of the Malaysian football rights in a joint venture with the league.

TV ASIA: For series, do you drop all episodes at once?

BRITT: We do. There’s what we call a “decay curve” for completion rates of series. The other index that we look at is what we call “binge-watching intensity”—the number of hours that passes between episode consumption. The longer you stretch out the distribution of series, the lower the completion rate, and then the lower the binge-watching intensity later. So we don’t put any rules around it, we let them go for it.

TV ASIA: What have been some of the key lessons learned from your original content investments?

BRITT: We give the people we work with an enormous amount of creative freedom. There are no constraints on episode lengths or number of episodes. We don’t dictate the format. We try to let them push the boundaries as much as possible. We’re entering an interesting discussion, as an industry, around appropriate censorship levels. There’s an odd dichotomy in many of these markets. The content on free to air, because it’s mass market, is very safe, to the point of being mundane or generic. And on the flip side, young kids are mostly pirating content that is deeply offensive to many local religious standards. The most successful show we’ve done is Nur. It’s about a religious leader in a mosque who falls in love with a prostitute. There’s no sex or nudity, because there doesn’t need to be. But it’s a show that pushes the boundaries in a very local way and is very sensitive to local community standards.

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competition has shifted. It used to be, create great content, lock up deep monopoly platforms and get steady cash flow. Now you’re creating controversial content, building a complex technology platform, acquiring users with a direct retail brand and then facing the pressures every day of needing to maintain and capture their attention by delighting them. That’s a very different business. It’s tough, but incredibly rewarding when you get it right.

Rise to Power is an extension to the KL Gangster Underworld franchise on iflix, based on a Malaysian movie.

TV ASIA: How has the response been to your ad offerings?

BRITT: The free-to-air ad market in Southeast Asia is $4.5 billion a year. No one can remember a time that they rushed home to catch the [live broadcast] of their favorite show, and at the same time, free-to-air advertising is still going up. It’s because the digital market is not yet there to move the ad dollars to. The wonderful thing about moving iflix to advertising is brands have genuinely welcomed us because they have been looking for a vehicle to advertise in digital. They don’t believe YouTube or Facebook is a great destination for their brands. There are two conversations we’re having with advertisers now. One is, You’re a TV advertiser, how do you extend your TV campaign into the digital context? We’ve done the data work with Nielsen where for a client like Unilever, we can match their internal proprietary targeted audience segments. What is the audience for Dove?

How do I buy that same targeted audience using the same data on iflix? The other is, it’s like YouTube, but it’s good!

TV ASIA: How have you designed the user interface to promote discovery and encourage watch time?

BRITT: The media business is a fragmented landscape that is fragmenting more and more every single day. Emerging markets skew young demographically. About 68 percent of Southeast Asia is under the age of 30. These are young people with short attention spans and many options. There are two strategies for that. One is, you have to raise the bar. And instead of putting rules around how people will consume things, you need to delight them. If they love you, they come back; if they don’t, they don’t. All the traditional rules of pay TV around contracts and channels and ecosystems are dead. Customers are in complete control. So you just have to do a wonderful job. The second thing is that many aspects of engagement, personalization, push notifications, reminders, are technology-led questions. We have just over 200 full-time engineers; we’ve been building our technology on this for the last five years. About 80 percent of our consumption comes from personalized recommendations. When we do a good job of algorithmically servicing a great show for you, you watch it. If we mess it up, you switch off the platform.

The interesting challenge that many media businesses are finding, as the new landscape evolves, is the basis of

TV ASIA: Tell us about managing the complexities of telco partnerships.

BRITT: Telcos are a critical part of delivering video in an ecosystem that still has very significant structural challenges. We host our content within the environments of over 20 telcos in Southeast Asia. When you only have a 300 kb connection, iflix works. So we’re solving fundamental structural issues in terms of how the internet works [in emerging markets]. And on the commercial level, 85 percent of customers don’t have access to WiFi. They are in a mobile-data-led environment. If you don’t manage that well, the cost of mobile data to the user dwarfs anything else in the process. If you manage that well and you can bundle great content with mobile data and remove the fear for the customer on how they get charged, then consumption goes through the roof. The average iflix customer doesn’t have mobile data every day, and 98 percent are on a prepaid telco bundle. The average iflix customer will only have mobile data four to five times a week. On the days they have mobile data, if we can bundle iflix with it, they’ll consume an average of 1.5 hours a day. When we don’t do that effectively and they are fearful of mobile data charges, they’ll consume 25 to 30 minutes.

TV ASIA: What market forces do you see impacting your business in the next six months?

BRITT: At a structural level, five years ago, the main questions we were asked and that we had for ourselves were, Is there going to be an iflix? Do people watch TV on mobile?

Is pay TV going to get to scale? Is an independent, disruptive business focused on digital going to be successful?

Those aren’t the questions now. OTT has won, linear TV is dying and it will continue to die. Pay TV is not going to get to scale. Now the question is, Who’s going to win? Now that we’ve proven the market, there will be new entrants. Most have big balance sheets. We’re heading into a terrible economic climate. This is a business that requires significant capital and really big, brave bets on building the next generation of media businesses. There are 600 million people in Southeast Asia with a mobile phone and a mobile broadband connection. So whoever wins is going to have a multi-billiondollar business. But it will require significant investment over the next few years to get there. That’s at the macro level. At the content level, it’s all about local. We’ll do about 90 local original productions this year. I think 30 will go well, 30 are interesting, 30 are crazy bets! The industry is in a learning phase. The culture becomes, How do you learn and evolve as markets change? As customer expectations change, how do you continue to iterate?

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TVLATINA

WWW.TVLATINA.TV

OCTUBRE/NOVIEMBRE 2019

EDICIÓN MIPCOM/CHILE MEDIA SHOW

Principales distribuidores de América Latina en Europa Fernando Muñiz de Grupo Televisa

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EDICIÓN MIPCOM/CHILE MEDIA SHOW

Ricardo Seguin Guise Director general Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Editora Rafael Blanco Editor asociado Jessica Ávila Asistente editorial

21

REPORTAJE

21 ENAMORANDO A LAS AUDIENCIAS

Los distribuidores latinos siguen satisfaciendo a sus audiencias a través de la exportación de telenovelas, series y formatos de entretenimiento, en territorios como el europeo.

Simon Weaver Director online David Diehl Director de producción y diseño Dana Mattison Gerente sénior de ventas y mercadeo Genovick Acevedo Coordinadora de ventas y mercadeo

ENTREVISTA 29 Fernando Muñiz de Grupo Televisa

Andrea Moreno Gerente de asuntos de negocios

Ricardo Seguin Guise Presidente Anna Carugati VP ejecutiva y directora editorial del grupo Mansha Daswani Publisher asociada y VP de desarrollo estratégico TV Latina Marca registrada de WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010 Estados Unidos Oficina: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 E-mail: noticias@tvlatina.tv www.tvlatina.tv Para una suscripción gratis, visite suscribase.tv

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PANORAMA/POR ELIZABETH BOWEN-TOMBARI

Si sumamos y seguimos...

Desde que Netflix llevó a las audiencias estrenos y producciones originales, la industria se preocupó no sólo de los cambios en los hábitos de consumo, sino de proporcionar alternativas OTT mejoradas que destacaran los títulos propios de cada estudio.

Así es como a la fecha, además de Netflix, HBO GO y Amazon Prime Video, la lista suma a Hulu y YouTube, así como a los servicios provenientes de CBS, NBC, TNT, Showtime, además de los próximos HBO Max y Disney+.

En ese marco, la investigación de consumidores exclusiva realizada por Qriously para Ampere Analysis ha revelado que el 22 por ciento de todos los encuestados en Estados Unidos, indica que es probable o muy probable que se suscriban al nuevo servicio Disney+.

El objetivo de la investigación fue identificar el atractivo, público objetivo y la posible incorporación del nuevo servicio SVOD Disney+ en Estados Unidos.

Encuestando a 1.003 usuarios de Internet a través de teléfonos móviles, el informe encontró que sólo un cuarto (27 por ciento) de los encuestados ya conocen el servicio de streaming Disney+. Hay una conciencia significativamente mayor entre dos audiencias: Las de 18 a 24 años y las que tienen hijos, el 45 por ciento de las personas de 18 a 24 años y el 36 por ciento de los hogares con niños estaban al tanto del plan de Disney para lanzar un nuevo servicio de streaming.

Para el entrevistado promedio, Marvel, el catálogo de películas animadas de Disney y los títulos de Pixar fueron percibidos como el contenido más valioso para acceder a través de Disney+. Los programas disponibles a través de televisoras o canales de cable básicos como The Simpsons y National Geographic, se consideraron menos importantes. Marvel fue catalogado como el contenido más importante el cual es parte de Disney+ para aquellos de 18 a 24 años. El grupo de 25 a 34 años tiene la mayor afinidad con las películas animadas de Disney, ya que este grupo de edad no sólo es significativamente más propenso a tener hijos, sino que también ha construido una conexión emocional con estas películas en su infancia. Aquellos de más de 35 años tienen más probabilidades de valorar la franquicia Star Wars en comparación con las audiencias más jóvenes, donde tiene un rendimiento inferior. La franquicia será clave para atraer audiencias de mayor edad al servicio, ya que estos grupos pueden verse menos influenciados por los títulos animados de Disney y por la franquicia Marvel.

Pese a esta amplia gama de ofertas, Parks Associates pronostica que en 2019, las compañías de OTT y televisión paga verán una pérdida de ingresos de US$ 9,1 mil millones debido a la piratería y el intercambio de cuentas, número que seguirá creciendo en 2024 a US$ 12,5 mil millones.

"Parks Associates encontró

que el 20 por ciento de los

hogares con banda ancha en Estados Unidos, está usando una aplicación pirata, un sitio

web o un dispositivo liberado".

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De acuerdo con el informe 360 Deep Dive: Account Sharing and Digital Piracy, esta es una tasa de crecimiento del 38 por ciento. Actualmente, el 27 por ciento de los hogares con banda ancha en Estados Unidos se involucra de alguna forma en piratería o intercambio de cuentas.

“La piratería es un tema complejo que no se puede abordar con una solución o enfocándose en un caso”, dice Brett Sappington, director de investigación sénior y analista principal de Parks Associates. “La mayoría de los piratas también se suscribe al menos a un servicio OTT. No son ladrones que roban contenido, sino que son video entusiastas que se involucran con muchos servicios. Los servicios OTT podrían llegar mejor a estos consumidores a través de contenido basado en anuncios, que también se alinea con la creencia general de estos usuarios de que las películas/música debería ofrecerse de forma gratuita”.

Los consumidores que reportan que ven un servicio de video OTT de forma gratuita, pero sin anuncios, tienen 22 por ciento más de probabilidades que los hogares de banda ancha promedio de suscribirse a los servicios OTT, tres veces más probabilidades de usar servicios con publicidad y dos veces más probabilidades de usar servicios de video transaccionales online.

Parks Associates encontró que el aumento en la propiedad de dispositivos conectados ha cambiado el enfoque de los piratas hacia el ecosistema de video online, donde el 20 por ciento de los hogares con banda ancha en Estados Unidos está usando una aplicación pirata, un sitio web o un dispositivo liberado.

Los grupos demográficos que se suscriben con mayor frecuencia a los servicios OTT también son aquellos que más a menudo participan en la piratería o en el intercambio de cuentas: Hombres, consumidores menores de 35 años y hogares con bajos ingresos anuales.

“La creciente cantidad de suscriptores y un mayor número de servicios apuntan a un mercado OTT muy saludable, pero más servicios y contenido promovido podrían incitar a mayor piratería”, agrega Sappington. “Los consumidores llegarán a un límite de gasto superior.

Cuando eso suceda, recurrirán a tácticas piratas para obtener el contenido que desean”.

En esta edición de TV Latina para MIPCOM, presentamos Enamorando a las audiencias, reportaje sobre algunos de los distribuidores latinoamericanos más importantes y la venta de sus novelas y series en Europa. Desde hace casi tanto tiempo como se realizan producciones originales en América Latina, las distribuidoras han llevado dichas historias a otros continentes, donde además de encontrar importantes ventanas, han expandido su presencia.

También ofrecemos una entrevista con Fernando Muñiz, director general de Televisa Internacional; y director general de ventas a afiliados de Televisa Networks.

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Call the Midwife

A+E Networks Miss Scarlet and the Duke / 60 Days In: Narcoland / Paranormal: Caught on Camera Ambientada en la misma sociedad londinense de la década de 1850 que vio el surgimiento de Jack el destripador, Miss Scarlet and the Duke presenta a una heroína independiente y fuerte, interpretada por Kate Phillips. En MIPCOM, A+E Networks también ofrece a los compradores internacionales 60 Days In: Narcoland, donde durante algún tiempo, las personas ordinarias a través de las áreas rurales de Estados Unidos se sentían aisladas de la guerra de drogas. Actualmente, no es el caso, ya que lugares como Bullitt County en Kentucky proveen el hogar ideal para el narcotráfico. Otro destacado de la compañía es Paranormal: Caught on Camera, una serie factual que exhibe algunos de los videos paranormales más increíbles provenientes de alrededor del mundo. Un panel de expertos analiza los videos e investiga lo que vieron los testigos.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke

AMC Networks International The Terror: Infamy / Fear Fest / Reciclarte “AMC Networks International – Latin America se destaca por la oferta de marcas diferenciadas y con contenidos de curaduría editorial”, comenta Alejandro Kember, VP de distribución de la compañía. “Seguiremos apostando por más contenido original y de alta calidad internacional, acercándonos a nuestras audiencias con sus títulos favoritos y nuevas narrativas. Adicionalmente, continuaremos incrementando las horas de producción original en 4K en nuestros canales de estilo de vida”. El canal AMC presenta The Terror: Infamy, que relata la historia de una comunidad estadounidense de origen japonés, perseguida por una serie de muertes misteriosas. Por su parte, la señal también ofrece a sus televidentes a través de Fear Fest, una experiencia de muertos vivientes y leyendas urbanas. La compañía complementa su oferta con Reciclarte por Más Chic.

“Seguiremos apostando por más contenido original y de alta calidad internacional”.

The Terror: Infamy

—Alejandro Kember

Tiempos de guerra

Atresmedia Internacional El clóset de… / Tiempos de guerra / Por el mundo a los 80’ “Seguimos comprometidos en ofrecer contenido original y exclusivo a través de un portafolio de canales atractivo y complementario”, dice Mar Martínez-Raposo, directora de Atresmedia Internacional. “Continuaremos creciendo en todo el continente, aprovechando los avances tecnológicos para llegar a los espectadores en el momento y lugar que deseen”. ¡HOLA! TV, uno de los canales de Atresmedia Internacional, presenta para sus televidentes nuevos episodios de El clóset de…, que mostrarán el estilo y glamour de Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Thalía y Victoria, futura reina de Suecia. Atreseries emite Tiempos de guerra, que hace homenaje a aquellas mujeres que se impusieron a todo lo que habían vivido para enfrentarse a los horrores de la guerra. Otro de los destacados de la compañía es Por el mundo a los 80’.

“Seguimos comprometidos en ofrecer contenido original y exclusivo”.

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Caracol Internacional Amar y vivir / Bolívar / La reina del flow Caracol Internacional participa nuevamente en MIPCOM con un portafolio de series como La reina del flow con las actuaciones de Carlos Torres y Carolina Ramírez. La serie se desarrolla en el ambiente del reggaetón y sigue la historia de Yeimy Montoya, una talentosa joven compositora que paga una injusta condena en una prisión de Nueva York tras ser engañada por Charly, el hombre que ama y que posteriormente le roba sus canciones. “[Esta producción] está siendo doblada al francés y portugués, y su banda sonora se ha convertido en un fenómeno, alcanzando más de 300 millones de reproducciones en las principales plataformas de streaming globales”, resalta Lisette Osorio, VP de ventas internacionales de Caracol Televisión. En Cannes, la compañía también ofrece las producciones Amar y vivir y Bolívar.

“Nos hemos especializado en crear contenidos que transcienden barreras culturales y lingüísticas”.

La reina del flow

—Lisette Osorio

CDC United Network Mary / Marnie’s World / John Wick Una familia que pretende abrir un negocio de transporte compra un barco que encierra un terrorífico secreto en su interior.

Por desgracia para ellos, éste sólo sale a la luz cuando el barco se encuentra mar adentro. Esta es la trama de Mary, producto destacado de CDC United Network en MIPCOM. Por su parte, Marnie’s World es una animación familiar donde cuatro locos antihéroes en fuga son liderados por la inocente e ingenua Marnie, una gata doméstica a la que no se le permite salir de la casa y que sólo conoce la vida real por televisión. La compañía también cuenta con John Wick, protagonizada por Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen y Willem Dafoe. La película narra la historia de un asesino a sueldo retirado en Nueva York, quien regresa nuevamente a la acción para vengarse de los gánsteres que le quitaron todo.

John Wick

HBO Pico de neblina / El jardín de bronce / Santos Dumont Pico de neblina es uno de los destacados de programación de HBO en América Latina que muestra la historia de Biriba, un joven narcotraficante quien decide salir de la vida criminal y utilizar sus conocimientos para vender marihuana de acuerdo a la ley, junto a Vini, un socio inversor con poca experiencia. El canal también presenta El jardín de bronce, una historia creada por Marcos Osorio Vidal y Gustavo Malajovich, autor súper ventas homónimo que inspiró la primera temporada de la serie.

Joaquín Furriel regresa en el papel de Fabián Danubio, que investiga la desaparición de un adolescente, mientras trata de reconstruir su relación con Moira, después de descubrir que no es su hija biológica. Otro destacado de HBO es Santos Dumont, que cuenta la historia del pionero e ícono de la aviación que cautivó a Europa en los años ’20.

Santos Dumont

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Inter Medya Behzat Ç / Exathlon / Bitter Lands “Este año ha sido particularmente bueno gracias al éxito de nuestras series y el número de ventas internacionales”, comenta Can Okan, fundador y CEO de Inter Medya. “Creemos firmemente que el próximo año traerá resultados positivos. En 2020, y a medida que incorporamos más productos a nuestro catálogo, planeamos lanzar al menos un nuevo título en cada mercado importante. Adicionalmente, estamos trabajando en varios nuevos formatos de entretenimiento que esperamos presentar más adelante”. Bitter Lands, es uno de los destacados que Inter Medya ofrece a sus compradores internacionales en MIPCOM. Cuenta la historia de un legendario amor que comienza en Estambul durante los años ’70 y que continúa en las fértiles tierras de Cukurova, al Sur de Turquía. Inter Medya también destaca Behzat Ç y Exathlon.

Bitter Lands

“Este año ha sido particularmente bueno gracias al éxito de nuestras series”.

—Can Okan

Lea

Record TV Jezabel / Lea / Apocalipsis “Record TV tiene una fuerte presencia en Europa del Este, principalmente en Polonia, donde tenemos acuerdos con dos grandes grupos”, comenta Delmar Andrade, director de ventas internacionales de la compañía. “El mercado internacional busca contenido creíble y las telenovelas basadas en las historias bíblicas, además de la religiosidad, colaboran para entregar una visión del mundo en que vivimos”. Una de las novedades de la compañía es Jezabel, que cuenta la historia de una princesa fenicia que usa el poder de su belleza y seducción para lograr todo lo que desea. Por su parte, Apocalipsis es una trama de amor, espiritualidad y redención narrada a partir de uno de los temas más controversiales de la Biblia: El fin de los tiempos.

Record TV también ofrece a los compradores internacionales en Cannes la producción bíblica Lea.

“Europa tiene un gran mercado potencial y es parte de nuestra estrategia de expansión mundial”.

—Delmar Andrade

SPI International Mister Mayfair / Salvage Marines / Miss Willoughby and Bentley En julio, SPI International adquirió los activos de marca de Film1, servicio danés de televisión y VOD premium. “Film1 Premiere, Film1 Drama, Film1 Action y Film1 Family ahora están incluidos en nuestro bouquet de canales y con ello, nos expandimos en Europa Occidental”, explica Loni Farhi, presidente de SPI International. En Cannes, la empresa ofrece “Mister Mayfair, una comedia musical de gánsteres que cuenta la historia de un criminal neoyorquino que ahora vive una existosa vida en Mayfair, Londres”. La producción cuenta con las actuaciones de Armand Assante y Steven Bauer. “Siempre buscamos oportunidades para expandirnos en todo el mundo para la distribución de los canales, servicios digitales y contenidos”, agrega el ejecutivo. Salvage Marines y Miss Willoughby and Bentley también forman parte de la oferta de SPI International.

Salvage Marines

“Estamos desarrollando y sumando nuevas alianzas de negocios a nuestro portafolio”.

—Loni Farhi 528 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

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Telefilms Midway / Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark / Hustlers Con las actuaciones de Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore y Luke Kleintank, Midway es una de las producciones que integra el portafolio de Telefilms en MIPCOM. La cinta cuenta la historia real sobre la batalla más importante de la Guerra del Pacífico, que fue clave para la victoria de los aliados en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Por su parte, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark es producida por el ganador del Oscar, Guillermo del Toro y está basada en la trilogía de libros súper ventas escritos por Alvin Schwartz. Entre tanto, Hustlers es una película escrita y dirigida por Lorene Scafaria que narra la historia real de un grupo de bailarinas exóticas, dirigido por Roselyn Keo y Samantha Barbash, que roban a sus clientes. Telefilms complementa su oferta con 21 Bridges, donde un agente policiaco de Nueva York busca redimir su pasado investigando una serie de asesinatos a policías.

Midway

Telemundo International Studios No te puedes esconder Producido por Telemundo International Studios, No te puedes esconder marca el regreso a la pantalla de la actriz mexicana, Blanca Soto. En la historia, Mónica y su hija Natalia, deciden huir de México para escapar de su pasado. Después de establecer nuevas identidades en Madrid, comienzan a rehacer sus vidas. Ahí se encontrarán con un ex policía convertido en asesino a sueldo, un fotógrafo obsesionado con la muerte y un político con relaciones prohibidas. Sin saberlo, están unidos por verdades a medias, que al cruzarse, pondrán sus vidas en peligro. “Nos complace tener a Blanca de vuelta en Telemundo y estamos orgullosos de ofrecer una serie impactante y relevante mientras seguimos elevando el estándar de las historias que contamos en contenido de habla hispana”, comenta Marcos Santana, presidente de Telemundo Global Studios.

“No te puedes esconder es un thriller fantástico que cautivará al público”.

No te puedes esconder

—Marcos Santana

THEMA América Por mi hijo / Asya Con relación a las proyecciones para 2020, Francheska M. Sánchez, directora de mercadeo de THEMA América, comenta que, “nos concentraremos en reforzar nuestra oferta de canales especializados y estaremos atentos a cualquier canal que sea innovador y pueda tener relevancia para las audiencias a las que queremos llegar”. Kanal D Drama, una de las señales que compone el catálogo de la compañía, presenta Asya, sobre una joven que ha pasado su vida en orfanatos. Su madre murió durante el parto y su padre falleció cuando tenía sólo dos días de vida. Su tío Levent y su esposa Aysel debían encargarse de cuidarla, pero Aysel sabía que Asya era la única heredera de una enorme fortuna. El canal también emite Por mi hijo, un drama en el que un ex oficial de policía es suspendido injustamente por un crimen que no cometió.

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“Seguiremos de cerca las tendencias en el consumo de contenido para 2020”.

—Francheska M. Sánchez

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Estudios de Universal Cinergía Dubbing

Universal Cinergía Dubbing En MIPCOM, Universal Cinergía Dubbing consolida su posición como uno de los principales estudios de doblaje y subtitulado en español, portugués, inglés, francés y castellano. La unidad de sincronización de voz maneja doblaje para programas de televisión y series, telenovelas, películas, animación, documentales y series de acción. “Recientemente, inauguramos un nuevo estudio en Ciudad de México que trabaja con contenido premium en español”, comenta Liliam Hernández, presidenta y CEO de la compañía. “El estudio es el segundo en el país que tendrá certificación para Dolby Atmos System, lo que es un gran logro para la empresa. En Brasil estamos concluyendo la construcción de tres estudios adicionales con mezcla 5.1. La compañía cuenta con 40 estudios a nivel global, lo cual nos enorgullece por todos los éxitos y logros alcanzados”.

“La empresa cuenta con 40 estudios a nivel global, lo cual nos enorgullece por todos los éxitos y logros alcanzados”.

—Liliam Hernández

Viacom International Studios Pequeña Victoria / Atrapa a un ladrón / Club 57 “Para Viacom International Studios (VIS), Europa tiene un foco estratégico definido”, comenta Guillermo Borensztein, VP de venta de contenidos y coproducciones de la empresa. “Esto se ve respaldado por el reciente lanzamiento de las oficinas en Madrid y Manchester, apuntando a replicar el modelo exitoso que venimos desarrollando en Américas desde 2018”. VIS participa en esta edición de MIPCOM con un portafolio que incluye Pequeña Victoria, donde cuatro mujeres comparten el mismo deseo de ser madres y cuyas vidas se entrelazan con el nacimiento de Victoria. La compañía complementa su oferta con Atrapa a un ladrón y Club 57. “Tenemos la ventaja de distribuir los contenidos que producimos para nuestras marcas, pero también el desafío de desarrollar y producir cada vez más para terceros, ya pensando como estudio”, dice el ejecutivo.

“Contamos con elementos que colaboran en posicionarnos como uno de los principales jugadores latinoamericanos frente a socios y clientes europeos”.

Ottilie von Faber-Castell

ZDF Enterprises Heirs of the Night / Ottilie von Faber-Castell / Ancient Skies “Estamos entusiasmados porque nuestra nueva serie de acción en vivo Heirs of the Night fue seleccionada para el World Premiere Screening en MIP Junior”, destaca Fred Burcksen, presidente y CEO de ZDF Enterprises. La producción está ambientada en 1898, cuando una profecía advierte que los cinco clanes de vampiros restantes en Europa deberán unirse para evitar la extinción. “Trabajamos con reconocidos productores, equipos creativos y actores populares que han sido honrados con prestigiosas premiaciones”, señala Burcksen. “Nuestras temáticas funcionan globalmente, ya sean dramas, documentales o programas infantiles”. ZDF Enterprises complementa su catálogo en MIPCOM con Ancient Skies, que da una mirada al cosmos y Ottilie von Faber-Castell, un drama basado en una joven que hereda el imperio de fabricación de lápices.

Atrapa a un ladrón

—Guillermo Borensztein

“Uno de nuestros principales objetivos es trabajar más de cerca con el mercado latinoamericano”.

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Enamorando a las audiencias Los distribuidores latinos siguen satisfaciendo a sus audiencias en territorios como el europeo.

Por Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari esde hace casi tanto tiempo como se realizan producciones originales en América Latina, las distribuidoras locales han llevado dichas historias a otros continentes. Afortunadamente, y gracias a herramientas como el doblaje y subtitulado, las brechas idiomáticas se han cerrado, permitiendo que cada título originario de la región haya encontrado su espacio globalmente, satisfaciendo las necesidades de todo tipo de audiencia.

En palabras de Guillermo Borensztein, VP de venta de contenidos y coproducciones de Viacom International Studios (VIS), Europa tiene un foco estratégico definido para la compañía, respaldado por el reciente lanzamiento de oficinas en Madrid y Manchester, apuntando a replicar el modelo que han venido desarrollando en las Américas desde el año pasado.

D

“Este esquema se potencia en la cercanía con socios de la región en términos de producción (Club 57 con Rainbow) e internacionalización de franquicias (Porta dos Fundos)”, dice el ejecutivo. “Pero a la vez apalanca el negocio tradicional de distribución de latas y formatos de la compañía, logrando incrementar sustancialmente el volumen de facturación y presencia de nuestros contenidos en más territorios”.

CRUZANDO FRONTERAS Borensztein explica que luego de mucho tiempo, los formatos de ficción de VIS se han vuelto a adaptar en países clave como España y Portugal, citando el ejemplo de ADDA, Amar después de amar, con versiones locales realizadas por Atresmedia y TVI, respectivamente. “De la misma forma, el formato está en proceso de adaptación en Grecia a través de

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Amar y vivir, distribuida por Caracol Internacional.

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“cada día se acortan más las brechas culturales, generando más posibilidades de negocio con contenido que además de ser exitoso localmente es relevante en otros mercados”.

Luego de la renovación de TV Azteca, liderada e iniciada por su CEO, Benjamín Salinas hace pocos años, el foco en la realización de producciones dramáticas se expandió a otros géneros como la serie y el documental, yendo más allá de la telenovela tradicional.

“Esto nos acerca a mercados que no han sido históricamente los más consumidores de contenido mexicano como el de Europa Occidental”, subraya la ejecutiva. “Nuestra producción hoy tiene absolutamente otro enfoque. Los últimos lanzamientos como María Magdalena, la serie documental Culture Code, la serie Demencia o Indomable x naturaleza, son ejemplos de algunos de los títulos que han tenido muy buenos resultados de ventas en Europa”.

FOCO ESTRATÉGICO

Ana con Ana de la Reguera, es distribuida por Viacom International Studios.

Delmar Andrade, director de ventas internacionales de Record TV, también enfatiza la importancia de Europa para la compañía. “Tenemos una fuerte presencia en Europa del Este, principalmente en Polonia, con acuerdos realizados con dos importantes grupos en el país”, argumenta el ejecutivo. “Adicionalmente, estamos en negociaciones con diversas compañías en España y Portugal. Europa tiene un gran mercado potencial y forma parte de nuestra estrategia de expansión global”.

A la hora de hablar de producciones destacadas de Record TV en el territorio y otros mercados, Andrade cita La esclava Isaura, La esclava madre y Esas mujeres, entre otras.

“Adicionalmente, hemos consagrado una línea de series y telenovelas bíblicas”, relata Andrade. “Luego del éxito de Moisés y los diez mandamientos y La Tierra prometida, tenemos El rico y Lázaro, además de Jesús, que han entregado resultados increíbles”. El ejecutivo resalta los números de audiencia que logró esta producción en Portugal, además de

Alpha”, agrega el ejecutivo. “Su versión original se transformó en el primer contenido latinoamericano en llegar a Holanda.

Logramos instalar a Sres. Papis como uno de los formatos más adaptados en la región, incluyendo, Eslovaquia, Hungría, Serbia y Ucrania. La primera producción de VIS, Atrapa a un ladrón, fue programada en Italia a través de Paramount Network, y será emitida en España, Francia y Alemania”.

En palabras de Lisette Osorio, VP de ventas internacionales de Caracol Televisión, Europa constituye un interés mayor para la compañía: “Por un lado, es un excelente punto de encuentro donde confluyen nuestros clientes del territorio en espacios como MIPCOM. Por el otro, se ha constituido en una plaza muy fértil para los contenidos de la empresa. Uno de los casos de éxito es el de nuestro formato original de entretenimiento, El desafío, que ha sido adaptado para Rumania, Grecia y Bulgaria”.

En materia de ficción, Osorio cita títulos como Sinú, río de pasiones, Tarde lo conocí y Mariana & Scarlett, que se posicionaron en países como Francia, Polonia y España. “Nuestros contenidos se caracterizan por su capacidad de viajar a distintos territorios sin perder el significado y ese elemento universal le ha permitido a Caracol Internacional posicionarse como un sello de calidad en el territorio europeo, así como en el resto del mundo”, resalta la ejecutiva.

Más recientemente, Osorio ejemplifica a través de títulos como La reina del flow, que está siendo doblada al francés y portugués. “Estamos presentes en todos los rincones del continente”, subraya la ejecutiva. “Éxitos como La esclava blanca, que fue vendida a más de 30 países, y doblada al inglés y francés, han abierto puertas en los principales mercados de la región”.

En esa línea, Patricia Jasin, VP de TV Azteca International, resalta la importancia de Europa para los negocios de la compañía, haciendo hincapié en que, TV Azteca International ofrece a los compradores la serie Millennials.

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negociaciones de Chica vampiro en Italia, Francia y países de habla francesa, y con una OTT en varios países de Europa”, subraya la ejecutiva.

Ernesto Ramírez, director general adjunto de Comarex, resalta la importancia del viejo continente en materia de coproducciones. “Nos permite tener un alcance global con los productos que se realizan en Europa”, explica el ejecutivo. “El ejemplo más reciente es El sabor de las margaritas, coproducción con TVG, CTV y Comarex”.

El ejecutivo comenta que las producciones distribuidas por la compañía han logrado un mayor interés en Europa del Este. “La más reciente es La taxista, que ha tenido muy buena recepción”, señala Ramírez. “Ahora estaremos lanzando Amor a la catalán de 13 Sudmedia y esperamos buenos resultados debido a su excelente desempeño desde su lanzamiento”.

Considerando el reinado de las telenovelas, los ejecutivos coinciden en que dicha presencia no se ha visto amenazada por la expansión de las series, los documentales y formatos de entretención.

“Los melodramas tradicionales siguen teniendo presencia importante y sostenida en los países históricamente compradores del género, principalmente Europa del Este”, expresa Borensztein de VIS. “Esto se complementa con canales temáticos y/o plataformas de territorios con tradición de producción de ficción”.

ESPACIO PARA TODOS

Jezabel es una de las ofertas destacadas de Record TV.

destacar los resultados de otros títulos como Los milagros de Jesús, José del Egipto y Rey David en diversos países.

María Lucía Hernández, directora de ventas internacionales de RCN Televisión, le atribuye una amplia importancia al continente europeo, coincidiendo con el resto de los ejecutivos. “A través de los años hemos llevado nuestras producciones a distintas pantallas en dicho continente quienes han confiado, no sólo en la calidad de dichas producciones sino también en la versatilidad de los libretos”, relata la ejecutiva.

“Hemos mantenido nuestra oferta a través de un robusto catálogo al igual que con nuevas historias, buscando innovación y variedad, [elementos] necesarios para competir en este mercado”.

DEJANDO HUELLA En ese marco, Hernández destaca desarrollos en Polonia, donde están en negociaciones para la adaptación de la secuela de BrzydUla (versión polaca de Yo soy Betty, la fea), acuerdos de distribución de Verliebt in Berlin (versión alemana de Yo soy Betty, la fea) en Francia y países de habla francesa, además de la exhibición de la lata de Yo soy Betty, la fea en España.

“Adicionalmente, cerramos ventas de la lata de las tres temporadas de El capo en los Países Bajos, así como nuevas

El ejecutivo agrega que han visto una apertura en la región hacia otros géneros, entre ellos, melodramas con acción, además de comedias dramáticas frescas y modernas. “Las novelas juveniles, en nuestro caso de Nickelodeon, [son un tema] aparte”, enfatiza Borensztein. “Mantienen una demanda sostenida a lo largo de los años y no necesariamente están localizadas, sino que cruzan toda la región”.

En opinión de Osorio de Caracol Televisión, siempre han visto una amplia demanda por las clásicas historias de amor, donde la compañía ha sido precursora en la proposición de nuevas temáticas que se desarrollan en contextos actuales.

“Esta mezcla de elementos narrativos tradicionales con rasgos modernos, ha resultado en una fórmula contundente para este mercado”, relata la ejecutiva. “Hace poco, iniciamos el rodaje de La venganza de Analía, una historia de amor clásico, con tintes de intriga, poder y venganza, que hará parte del portafolio de Caracol Internacional. Además, tras el gran éxito de La reina del flow, la segunda temporada llegará en 2020”.

Jasin de TV Azteca International comenta: “Siempre hay mercado para todo. Sin embargo, hoy notamos que es imperioso tener una oferta variada de géneros para poder mantenerse en una posición competitiva como proveedor de contenido internacional. Estar enfocado solamente en telenovelas limita mucho el espectro de negocio. La estrategia de TV Azteca es precisamente innovar para abrir nuevas oportunidades”.

Por su parte, Andrade de Record TV, sostiene: “Además de tener la habilidad de hablar con amor, pasión, acción y todos los elementos necesarios para una buena telenovela, existe una preocupación de ofrecer al público temáticas que los haga pensar y generen un profundo interés. Esa es la razón

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26 TV LATINA

RCN Televisión presenta en Cannes la producción Enfermeras.

por la cual la telenovela Latina, en general, ha tenido una respuesta favorable y positiva donde sea que haya sido emitida”.

Las producciones biográficas también constituyen una parte importante del catálogo de Caracol Internacional no sólo en América Latina, sino también en Europa, donde resaltan títulos como Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal y Bolívar.

“Estas historias han logrado un espacio en las parrillas del continente gracias a una gran factura, historias universales y que son de interés global”, sostiene Osorio. “Nuestro éxito radica en el compromiso de la compañía por contar historias locales con personajes vigorosos y emblemáticos, manejando un lenguaje de impacto internacional”.

CON UN TOQUE LOCAL En ese marco y en opinión de Hernández de RCN Televisión, las series biográficas tienen una mayor acogida en los países más afines a la cultura latina, debido al reconocimiento del protagonista de cada una de estas historias.

“También es importante recalcar que los valores de nuestras historias y protagonistas parten de los relatos locales, pero trascienden fronteras, representando sentimientos universales como el amor, la superación, traición y familia, elementos que convierten dichas historias en contenidos atractivos para las audiencias de todo el mundo”, agrega la ejecutiva. “Como ejemplo de esto, podemos ver nuestra serie basada en la vida de la mundialmente reconocida Celia Cruz, cuya historia ha sido licenciada al Reino Unido y próximamente estará en Francia, además de toda la comunidad de habla francesa”.

Pero ante tanta oferta, cada compañía distribuidora centraliza esfuerzos para diferenciar su contenido del resto, más aún y considerando la accesibilidad a cada uno de ellos.

“Actualmente, el mercado internacional busca contenido que es creíble y que entregue valores a sus audiencias”, expresa Andrade de Record TV. “Las telenovelas basadas en historias bíblicas, además de su religiosidad, aportan para entregar una visión del mundo en el cual vivimos. Esto es parte del éxito logrado por estas súper producciones en Brasil y alrededor del mundo. En Record TV, seguimos por este camino con historias bíblicas que también incluyen todos los ingredientes que una telenovela debe tener: Pasión, odio, envidia y solidaridad”.

Por su parte, Jasin de TV Azteca International atribuye la fortaleza del catálogo de la compañía a su diversidad, incluyendo ficciones tradicionales como Mirada de mujer, hasta

producciones modernas como Dos lagos, María Magdalena y Demencia.

“Contamos con documentales de producción propia que van desde Mundo metro en formato docu-reality, Virgen de Guadalupe en un formato más tradicional y Culture Code, totalmente producida en inglés”, argumenta la ejecutiva.

“Comercializamos lucha libre mexicana, fútbol y eventos especiales. Incorporamos el catálogo de Kuarzo Entertainment con más de 200 formatos de entretenimiento de éxito probado”.

En palabras de Ramírez de Comarex, las OTT han demostrado que un buen producto no tiene nacionalidad. “Siempre buscamos tener lo mejor en nuestro portafolio para poder ofrecerlo a nuestros clientes ya sea en modalidades lineales o en VOD”, dice el ejecutivo.

IR MÁS ALLÁ Luego de la exportación y consolidación de las producciones latinoamericanas más allá de las fronteras locales, los distribuidores siguen expandiendo su presencia.

“Tenemos muchas expectativas con la adaptación de ADDA por parte de Atresmedia bajo el título El nudo”, afirma Borensztein de VIS. “Se trata de la primera adaptación a serie, compuesta de 13 episodios, de este contenido que originalmente tuvo 70 episodios en Argentina. Por otro lado, estamos avanzando en la internacionalización de la franquicia de Porta dos Fundos, que después de México replicaremos durante 2020 en tres territorios fuera de Latinoamérica”.

Por su parte, Osorio de Caracol Televisión, destaca el próximo lanzamiento de la versión local de El desafío en Bulgaria, “que cimenta la posición de Caracol Televisión como un referente en la producción de formatos originales de entretenimiento a nivel internacional”.

Jasin de TV Azteca International resalta, “Culture Code, que está 100 por ciento producida en inglés y el servicio de provisión de archivos que hemos estructurado para abastecer la creciente demanda de material de este tipo, aprovechando los 70 años de [material] que contamos en el acervo de la compañía. Además, continuamos con la comercialización de María Magdalena, Demencia y Desaparecida. Por otro lado tenemos también tres proyectos originales completamente escritos que estaremos presentando para producción en Europa”.

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ENAMORING AUDIENCES Throughout the years, Latin American distributors have gone beyond the region’s frontiers to offer their productions in diverse territories, regardless of language, including Europe. What started with the export of telenovelas from LatAm to Europe has become a hotbed of success for other genres, including series, documentaries and entertainment formats. However, as is the case in Latin America, Europe itself develops a high volume of original programs with quality production values and creative stories. In light of this, distributors from LatAm have been focusing on expanding their presence on OTT platforms and positioning their product in a highly competitive market.

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TV LATINA 29

De cara a la reinvención de la compañía, el ejecutivo conversa con TV Latina sobre los nuevos desafíos que ha asumido, el posicionamiento actual de Televisa frente a la competencia, el rol de las señales pagas en el crecimiento del grupo, las asociaciones de coproducción y el estado del negocio de formatos.

TV LATINA: Asumió nuevas responsabilidades en la compañía, ¿cómo está manejando tanto el negocio de Televisa Networks como el de Televisa Internacional?

MUÑIZ: Estoy muy contento porque la compañía me dio la oportunidad de hacerme cargo de Televisa Internacional, una división importante del grupo y que es la cara de la empresa hacia el mundo. Tenía mucha lógica unir el trabajo que realizo para los canales con la división internacional debido a las sinergias que existen. Si te das cuenta, en Televisa Internacional el crecimiento proviene del lado no tradicional del negocio, que tiene que ver con lo que hace Televisa Networks. Pensando en eso, me dieron el privilegio, honor y la responsabilidad de manejar esta división, donde el reto más importante para mí es aprender de este negocio. Aunque parezca muy similar al que ya venía manejando en el área de canales, tiene sus grados de complicación y existen temas que hay que aprender a manejar muy bien.

Este es un negocio muy interesante y atractivo, que te da la posibilidad de entender cómo el contenido tiene vida en diferentes medios, además de la importancia de un buen nivel de producción, calidad de contenido e historia.

Siempre me he sentido muy orgulloso de trabajar en esta empresa y de llevar la camiseta bien puesta. [Mi rol en

Fernando Muñiz

Grupo Televisa Por Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari

A principios de este año, Grupo Televisa realizó un evento liderado por Emilio Azcárraga, presidente ejecutivo del consejo de administración de la compañía, donde habló de la reinvención de la empresa. En ese marco y bajo el nombre Fábrica de sueños, se presentaron las nuevas versiones de las telenovelas clásicas de Televisa, que revisitan bajo una nueva mirada, los títulos que dejaron huella entre las audiencias.

Durante el mismo periodo, la compañía anunció el nombramiento de Fernando Muñiz como director general de Televisa Internacional, sumándose a sus labores en el negocio de canales de televisión paga, Televisa Networks, como director general de ventas a afiliados.

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Televisa Internacional me permitirá] no solamente llevar los canales lineales [al mundo], sino también los contenidos que realizamos. Obviamente, el grupo confía en el trabajo que podemos hacer y que puede darle muchas satisfacciones a la división.

TV LATINA: ¿Qué puede comentar sobre el concepto Fábrica de sueños?

MUÑIZ: La Fábrica de sueños es el nombre que le damos a la productora de la compañía en San Ángel. El equipo de Patricio Wills (presidente de Televisa Studios), decidió

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30 TV LATINA

de vista de Televisa Internacional] me parece muy bien porque vendo una producción de buena calidad y que tiene una presentación completamente distinta. Es un producto más dinámico, ágil y que tiene un nivel de producción mucho más alto.

Ahora bien, la competencia siempre va a existir. ¿Cómo la enfrentamos?, siendo los mejores a través de la realización de nuevos contenidos.

La usurpadora es una de las producciones que forma parte de la Fábrica de sueños de Grupo Televisa.

nombrar la Fábrica de sueños a este paraguas bajo el cual se presentan nuevas versiones de telenovelas de Televisa que han sido íconos alrededor del mundo. La esencia de cada historia es la misma, pero la llevas a otro nivel, [incluyendo] tecnología y enmarcada en la actualidad.

Entonces, los 25 episodios de los cuales estará compuesta cada una de estas telenovelas, le van a dar la posibilidad al televidente de verlas en un menor periodo de tiempo.

Confiamos que será un producto que va a funcionar bien y que tendrá muy buena aceptación. La intención es que el nombre la Fábrica de sueños sea [genérico] y que cada uno de los títulos que lancemos siga complementando dicha franja.

TV LATINA: Televisa ha sido uno de los pioneros en la producción de telenovelas y a través de los años, el género ha evolucionado. Muchas compañías de medios adoptaron nuevos modelos para narrar dichas historias. Frente a este panorama en constante cambio, ¿cómo está posicionada Televisa?, ¿cómo enfrentan a la competencia?

MUÑIZ: Lo positivo es que inventamos el género [de la telenovela], pero al mismo tiempo es lo negativo. Por eso nos reinventamos nuevamente, para poder entregar el género de otra manera.

Durante ese periodo, cambiamos por completo la forma de desarrollar este tipo de contenido. Patricio y su equipo fueron muy importantes en dicho proceso. [Desde el punto

TV LATINA: Los canales de televisión paga han sido un pilar importante para la compañía, ¿a qué factores atribuye el crecimiento?

MUÑIZ: El tema de los canales de televisión paga es interesante. Pese a que la industria se está consolidando o comprimiendo en el sentido de que cada vez hay menos jugadores y les está costando crecer debido a que otros tipos de plataformas están desarrollándose rápidamente, la fórmula de Televisa Networks siempre ha sido muy simple.

Tenemos un contenido que es [único], que es la oferta del grupo, que es muy flexible y puede viajar en cualquiera de las plataformas que existen hoy. Adicionalmente, le entregamos los derechos a los operadores de televisión paga para que puedan hacer lo que necesiten con nuestro contenido dentro de su sistema. Por esa razón los números siempre han sido positivos.

Además, y en el caso de México, el crecimiento de izzi ha sido muy bueno para nosotros, así como el de otras plataformas como Total Play. En Latinoamérica también hemos crecido en territorios en los cuales no teníamos [tanta fuerza] como la tenemos ahora. Hemos cerrado alianzas importantes, como con Claxson, que también nos da la oportunidad de fortalecernos en el Cono Sur. Creo que esa ha sido la fórmula de éxito de Televisa Networks.

TV LATINA: ¿Están buscando asociaciones de coproducción?

MUÑIZ: Sí, estamos dispuestos a explorar la parte de coproducciones siempre y cuando dichos desarrollos no limiten, en el caso de Televisa Internacional, la venta de derechos en otros territorios. Es decir, las coproducciones siempre son bienvenidas mientras tengamos la posibilidad de manejar los derechos y la venta internacional sin ningún problema. Este es un tema que maneja Patricio, pero tenemos la puerta abierta y es algo que definitivamente exploraríamos.

TV LATINA: ¿Cuál es el estado del negocio de los formatos?

MUÑIZ: Seguimos vendiendo formatos, todos nuestros formatos están a la venta. De hecho, [hemos estado] en conversaciones con gente de Sudamérica para La rosa de Guadalupe, que pese a que la lata está funcionando muy bien en el territorio, ellos están interesados en producir la versión local. También tenemos disponible los formatos de programas de concursos, entre ellos, Reto 4 elementos y Pequeños gigantes.

Por otra parte, estamos dispuestos a comprar formatos.

Sin embargo, muchas veces la venta internacional está limitada a ciertos territorios, lo que al final del día se traduce en menos ingresos para el grupo.

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TVLISTINGS

WWW.WORLDSCREENINGS.COM

OCTOBER 2019

MIPCOM EDITION

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IN THIS ISSUE

TV LISTINGS

9 STORY MEDIA GROUP

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9 Story Media Group 41 Entertainment

Inter Medya ITV Studios Global Entertainment Jetpack Distribution The Jim Henson Company JKN Global Media Kanal D International

4 A+E Networks ABC Commercial ABS-CBN Corporation Adler & Associates Entertainment Albatross World Sales

6 Alfred Haber Distribution all3media international Allspark Animasia Studio APC Kids

8 Armoza Formats Artist View Entertainment Atlantyca Entertainment Atresmedia Televisión Attraction Distribution

9 ATV Audiovisual from Spain/ICEX Australian Children’s Television Foundation Autentic Distribution Banijay Rights

10 BBC Studios Bejuba! Entertainment Blue Ant International Boat Rocker Studios Bomanbridge Media

11 CAKE Calinos Entertainment Canal 13 Chile Caracol Internacional CDC United Network Cisneros Media

12 CLPB Rights Crown Media International Distribution Cyber Group Studios Daewon Media Dandelooo DHX Media

13 Discovery, Inc. Dori Media Group DQ Entertainment (International) Dynamic Television Eccho Rights

14 Electric Entertainment Encore International Entertainment One (eOne) Entertainment One Family & Brands FilmRise For Fun Distribution

15 Gaumont Gaumont Animation & Family Genius Brands International Global Agency Globosat GMA Worldwide

16 GO-N International GoldBee GoQuest Media Ventures GRB Studios Green Gold Animation Guru Studio

17 Gusto Worldwide Media HBO Latin America Hoho Rights Hunan TV Incendo Intellecta

19 Keshet International Kew Media Distribution Konami Cross Media NY Lacey Entertainment LGI Media (Formerly Looking Glass International)

20 Lionsgate Entertainment MarVista Entertainment Mattel Media Ranch Mediacorp

21 The Mediapro Studio Mediatoon Distribution Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) MISTCO Mondo TV Group

O (1-416) 530-9900 m distribution@9story.com

w www.9story.com

Stand: R7.E75 Contact: Vince Commisso, pres. & CEO; Natalie Osborne, chief strategy officer; Alix Wiseman, SVP, dist. & acq.; Angela Santomero, chief creative officer; Neil Court, exec. chmn.; Lily Wang, head, studio (Bali); Jennifer Ansley, SVP, mktg. & comms.; Stephen Kelley, VP, dist.; Federico Vargas, VP, dist.; Jennie Stacey, VP, dvpmt.; Kristin Lecour, VP, consumer products & dist.; Aoife Downes, sales & admin. asst.; Bronagh O’Hanlon, dir.; Rachel Sherman, mktg. coord.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Book Hungry Bears (Kids 3-5 animation, 52x11 min.) Join Crystal, Boomer, Melody and Scout as they play and explore together, learning lessons from the books that flit and flutter like birds amid the paper trees.

22 Multicom Entertainment Group NBCUniversal International Distribution New Dominion Pictures NHK Enterprises Nippon TV

23 NTV Broadcasting Company One Animation One Life Studios Orange Smarty ORF-Enterprise

24 Palatin Media Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution Passion Distribution PBS International Pink Parrot Media Portfolio Entertainment

25 Primeworks Distribution Rainbow Record TV Red Arrow Studios International Rive Gauche Television

26 RTVE Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport Serious Lunch Silvergate Media Smithsonian Channel

27 SPI International Star Media Studio 100 Media STUDIOCANAL SUNRIGHTS

28 Superights T&B Media Global TCB Media Rights Telefilms Terra Mater Factual Studios

29 The Story Lab Toon2Tango TV Asahi Corporation TVF International Viacom International Studios Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution

Shooting Star

Super Monsters (Preschool comedy, 52x11 min.)

Dual identity monster preschool children descended from famous historical characters learn how to be the best people and monsters possible.

Monster Pets (Preschool comedy, 12x11 min.)

The Monster Moon has more than enough magic for every kid to find their Furever Friend Monster Pet and create a special everlasting bond.

Shooting Star (Kids adventure comedy, 13x22 min.) When 13-year-old Piper Realto is struck by a sentient star, her life is changed forever as she is unwittingly transformed into the superhero Shooting Star.

Book Hungry Bears

Clifford the Big Red Dog (Kids 2-5 animation, 78x11 min.) Join Emily Elizabeth and her big red dog, Clifford, as they explore their island home and go on big new adventures.

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (Kids 4-7 animation adventure comedy, 75x11 min. & 1x55 min.) Follow the adventures of Xavier, Yadina and Brad as they travel back in time to meet famous heroes of the past and learn how to be their own heroes of the present.

Moon and Me (Kids 2-5, 50x22 min.) Inspired by well-loved tales of toys that come to life, the story of a special friendship between two characters from completely different worlds.

The Hollow (Kids 8-12 serialized adventure, 50x22 min.) Three teens join forces to find a way home after waking up in a strange realm filled with magic portals, perplexing puzzles and vicious beasts.

The Magic School Bus: Rides Again (Kids 48 animation adventure, 26x22 min.) Follow eccentric teacher Ms. Frizzle and her eager students on a new set of science-based adventures aboard the magical school bus.

Let’s Go Luna! (Kids 4-7 animation adventure, 76x11 min. & 1x44 min.) Three friends traverse the globe with their parents’ traveling performance troupe. At each of the Circo’s stops, Luna the Moon guides the trio as they get to know the local region and its people.

Luo Bao Bei (Kids 4-7 animation, 52x11 min.)

Luo Bao Bei is a bright and spirited 7-year-old girl with a vivid imagination, on a quest to understand the world around her.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood (Kids 2-5 animation, 206x11 min.) Features Daniel, a shy but brave 4-year-old tiger who lives in the Neighbourhood of Make Believe.

Anne of Green Gables Collection (Family liveaction, 3x88 min.) A retelling of L.M. Montgomery’s story of Anne Shirley, mistakenly sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm.

41 ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-203) 717-1120 m nancy.koff@41ent.com

w www.41e.tv

30 WarnerMedia WWE ZDF Enterprises Zodiak Kids

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Skylanders Academy (Kids action comedy, 1x44 min. & 37x22 min.) At Skylanders Academy, the greatest young warriors from realms all across Skylands are trained to protect the universe from evildoers.

Stand: R7.E59 Contact: Allen Bohbot, mng. dir.; Nancy Koff, VP, sales & mktg.; Kiersten Halstead, VP, creative services, dvpmt. & acq.; Francisco Urena, prod. & brand assurance dir.

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 549

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Listings ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreenings.com

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TV LISTINGS

S.M.A.S.H! (Preschool action adventure, 52x11 min.) S.M.A.S.H! is a one-of-a-kind sleepaway camp where four amazing superhero kids and their super-powered dogs are preparing to become the next generation of superheroes.

The Mini Musketeers (Preschool adventure comedy, 26x11 min.) Years before they become famous heroes, four fearless, adventurous 6year-olds are training to become members of the French Light Cavalry.

PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures (Kids action comedy, 52x22 min. & 2x44 min.) Pac and his friends face issues of being a teenager while also protecting PacWorld from a ghostly army led by the evil Betrayus.

Kong—King of the Apes (Kids action adventure, 26x22 min.) With super-powered robotic dinosaurs unleashed on the unsuspecting world, Kong is the only force formidable enough to stop them and save humankind.

Tarzan and Jane (Kids action adventure, 13x22 min.) Sixteen-year-old Tarzan returns from the jungle to a London boarding school where he meets Jane, who aids him in solving crimes and mysteries.

A+E NETWORKS

O (1-212) 210-1400 m intl.sales@aenetworks.com

w sales.aenetworks.com

Stand: P3.C1 Contact: Patrick Vien, exec. mng. dir., intl.; Richard Tulk-Hart, mng. dir., intl. content dist. & coprod.; Melissa Madden, SVP, intl. mktg.; Vicky Kahn, SVP, corp. & intl. comms.; Ellen Lovejoy, SVP/head, content sales, Americas & formats; Glen Hansen, SVP/head, content sales, AsiaPac; Hayley Babcock, head, format prod. & acq.; Robyn Hurd, VP, content sales, EMEA; Michael Oesterlin, VP, intl. content sales; Bryan Gabourie, VP, content sales; Helen Jurado, snr. dir., content sales; Eleisha Gorman, snr. dir., intl. mktg.; Mauro Sala, dir., content sales, EMEA; Marica Giessen, dir., content sales, EMEA; Pooja Nirmal Kant, dir., intl. content sales; Moreyba Bidessie, dir., intl. scripted dvpmt. & sales; Shaunna Murphy, mgr., intl. comms.; Crispin Clover, intl. dir., format prod. & acq.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Miss Scarlet and The Duke (Scripted, 6x60 min.)

A crime drama about Eliza Scarlet, the first ever female detective in Victorian London, and Detective Inspector William Wellington of Scotland Yard— drinker, gambler and womanizer, aka “The Duke.”

Damian Lewis: Spy Wars (Docudrama, 8x60 min.) Award-winning actor Damian Lewis unpacks some of the most thrilling covert missions in modern-day history with the help of new declassified information, high-profile experts and intelligence officers who were there.

Biography: Farrah Fawcett Forever (Factual, 1x120 min.) A celebration of the life of actress Farrah Fawcett, an American icon whose influence on pop culture has been underestimated.

JFK Jr.—The Final Year (Factual, 1x120 min.)

Inspired by Steven M. Gillon’s upcoming book, this special is the most substantive documentary to date and includes convincing new evidence regarding his political aspirations before his untimely death.

The Secret Lives of Cheerleaders (Movie, 1x120 min.) Naturally gifted cheerleader Ava is an instant hit at her new school, but her quick rise in popularity is threatened by the rivalry of cheer captain and Homecoming Queen Katrina.

The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (Movie, 1x120 min.) This dramatic biopic tells the story of the Clark Sisters, who overcame humble beginnings in Detroit, abuse, loss and sibling rivalries to achieve international fame as icons of the gospel music industry.

ABC COMMERCIAL

O (61-2) 8333-3970 m abc.contentsales@abc.net.au

Miss Scarlet and The Duke

ABS-CBN CORPORATION

O (632) 415-2272 m internationalsales@abs-cbn.com

Stand: P-1.D17 Contact: Cory Vidanes, COO, broadcast; Lauren Dyogi, TV prod. head; Reily Santiago, business unit head; Ruel Bayani, head, intl. prod. & coprod.; Wilfredo Manalang, dir., intl. prod. & coprod.; Macie Imperial, division head & VP, integrated acq. & intl. sales & dist.; Pia Laurel, sales head; Laarni Yu, sales head; Wincess Gonzalez, sales head; Fernando Villar, integrated mktg. head; Desiree Bretana, client solutions head.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Killer Bride (Drama, 40x45 min.) Las Espadas is a superstitious town that has been haunted by the ghost of the Killer Bride, Camila Dela Torre, a woman who is said to have committed a murder right before her wedding day.

Stand: P-1.B89 Contact: Jessica Ellis, head, content sales & dist.; Tony Iffland, mgr., content sales; Anne McGrath, sales mgr., Europe; Maria Miriklis, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Itch (Children’s, 10x24 min.) What happens when a source of unimaginable power falls into the hands of a teenage boy? A high-octane new action-adventure series for kids.

The General’s Daughter

Wild Wars Australia (Factual, 4x60 min.)

Shaped by the challenging Australian environment, the creatures of the island continent aren’t just competing against each other—they’re fighting the very elements themselves.

Wild Australians (Factual, 6x60 min.)

Explores some of Australia’s most iconic and fascinating animals that have evolved to survive across the ancient Australian landscape.

Searching for Superhuman (Factual, 6x60 min.) An investigation into recent scientific discoveries which have revolutionized our understanding of what it means to be human, to live longer, smarter and stronger.

The Warriors (Drama, 4x60 min. & 8x30 min.)

Professional sport through the eyes of four rookie AFL players. With temptation at every turn, will these young men make the game of the season?

Kidnap Case Files (Factual, 12x60 min.) A true-crime series exploring major abduction cases, the social context of each event and how it changed the way we view the world.

The Wiggles’ World (Children’s, 26x11 min.) A new series from The Wiggles, full of new friends, new songs, new places and new adventures for children everywhere.

The Wiggles: Party Time (Children’s, 1x60 min.)

The Wiggles present a fun, colorful and playful collection of 23 hit party songs, including wonderful collaborations with special guests, in this new special.

Rebellion (News/current affairs, 1x60 min.) On the frontline of Hong Kong’s recent uprising, a

ADLER & ASSOCIATES ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-310) 684-3545 m sales@aaemedia.com

w www.adlerandassociatesentertainment.com Contact: Marie Adler, CEO. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS El Guardia (Drama, 1x105 min.) A security guard and failed entrepreneur is determined to succeed in business in this true story.

w www.abs-cbn.com/internationalsales

w abccommercial.com/contentsales

Itch

Generation Dating (Format, 60 min. pilot) In a world of disposable dating, what would happen if two strangers, one old and one young, ran each other’s love lives?

Solo Wars (Format, 10x60 min.) A large-scale studio-based dating-survival-game-show that unfolds between 100 singles (50 male and 50 female) as they compete for love or money or just maybe both.

Marrying Millions (Format, 10x60 min.)

Focuses on a series of firsts in the world of money and newly in love couples—where one half of each couple is wealthy and the other, is not.

The UnXplained with William Shatner (Factent., 8x60 min.) Hosted and executive produced by William Shatner, explores the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries.

camera crew captures a story of resistance and extraordinary footage of the turmoil and escalating violence.

Third Culture Kids (Arts/music, 6x5 min./1x36 min.) Reveals the stories of six emerging artists from culturally diverse backgrounds and explores the concept of belonging as well as racism, representation and identity.

Mea Culpa (Crime drama, 40x45 min.) Six friends with promising futures get involved in a deadly road accident. Their crime will be unearthed by a mother who will go to any lengths to find the child she loves.

The Heiress (Family drama, 40x45 min.) The Mondragon ladies find themselves struggling to claim the titles of the true heiress and matriarch of their bloodline.

The General’s Daughter (Action drama, 100x45 min.) Rhian Bonifacio, a military nurse in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, was trained to be a spy in the army by her adoptive father to seek revenge against their mortal enemy, a highranking general.

Los Bastardos (Action drama, 120x45 min.)

Don Roman sires five sons from five different women; their lives will become intertwined when they start learning the truth about their identities.

Now & Forever (Romance drama, 59x45 min.)

Eva, the long-lost heiress of the Cortes clan’s wealth, meets Inno; as destiny brings them together, love blossoms while the mystery of Eva’s identity slowly unravels.

Betrayal (Romance drama, 108x45 min.)

Childhood lovers Jacky and Lino meet after being apart for several years and must choose whether to fight to be together again or be true to the promise made to their spouses.

Between Maybes (Romance drama, 1x120 min.) A man lives as a recluse in Japan until a washed-up actress arrives. As he checks up on her, the two lost souls find comfort in each other.

Hello, Love, Goodbye (Romance drama, 1x120 min.) Joy and Ethan agree that their relationship should be temporary. But as their bond deepens, will they be able to keep to their agreement?

550 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

The Golden Age

The Golden Age (Drama, 1x111 min.) In 1967 a penniless Franco-American producer meets an ambitious French actress in Paris. They decide to embark on an artistic project to change the world.

Danger Diva (Sci-fi, 1x100 min.) A cyberpunk musical/thriller about a hard rocking singer who is coerced into becoming an electronically enhanced new-music diva by her high-tech billionaire patron.

Ask the Cheat (Comedy, 1x94 min.) After being caught cheating on a test, a high school student is blackmailed into helping his teacher kidnap her philandering husband.

At the Frontera (Thriller, 1x102 min.) Sent to Mexico to assist the local authorities, an American law enforcement agent discovers that the underworld boss he is investigating is his long-lost father.

Lesson of Magic (Children’s/fantasy, 1x94 min.) School friends are caught in a dangerous game with a sorceress and witches from another world.

Los Jinetes del Tiempo (Doc., 1x100 min.) A history of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20 and the modern-day people who reenact the event for posterity.

Paradise Valley (Drama/thriller, 1x80 min.) A group of people seek shelter in a fortified basement in the aftermath of a nuclear attack.

California No (Comedy, 1x84 min.) A man unexpectedly discovers that he and his wife are in an open relationship.

MMA: Love Never Dies (Thriller, 1x84 min.) A former MMA fighter turned police detective is forced to go into the ring for one final match after his niece is kidnapped.

ALBATROSS WORLD SALES

O (49-341) 4428-2450 m info@albatrossworldsales.com

w www.albatrossworldsales.com

Stand: P-1.K19 Contact: Polina Axenova, snr. sales mgr., Asia, MENA, Africa & CIS; Lisa Anna Schelhas, sales mgr., Europe (ex. Eastern Europe), Americas, Australia, New Zealand; Claudia Zell, sales mgr., Eastern Europe.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Beasts and Witches (Nature/wildlife, 4x52 min./4x43 min. 4K) Through the ages, fairy tales about animals’ magical abilities have frightened us. Mixing animation and wildlife images, this series will challenge our beliefs about animals.

Matsalu Moose—Wild Giants of the Baltics (Nature/wildlife, 1x52 min. 4K) Matsalu National Park is one of Europe’s most important stopover places for migrating birds. An exceptionally large Moose colony also lives here, roaming the open marshes.

Days of Summer (Nature/wildlife, 1x52 min.)

It’s summertime, but nature can’t afford to take a holiday. The long hours of sunshine demand peak performance.

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TV LISTINGS

Fascinating Places (Nature/wildlife, 26x15 min.) Explores the world’s most captivating places while focusing on breathtaking landscapes, intriguing animal behavior and impressive encounters with human inhabitants.

Beasts and Witches

The Invisible River—Under Water Between the Black Forest and the Vosges (Nature/ wildlife, 1x52 min. 4K) Europe’s largest groundwater reservoir forms an underground river, which gives rise to wetlands of unique beauty, home to rare animals and plants.

Out of Europe—A New Story of Human Evolution? (Science/history, 1x52 min. 4K) For the last hundred years, human evolution was explained through the “Out of Africa” theory. But now fossil findings from Europe and Asia are challenging that.

Paradise Preserved (Science/travel, 5x52 min.) Tells the stories of five exceptional and beautiful landscapes, which represent role models for new approaches to nature conservation.

Cruising the Baltic Sea—A Summer on the Water (Travel, 5x52 min.) Follow the path of ancient Vikings and set sail on a cruise through the Baltic Sea to discover the outstanding beauty of the Baltic states.

Israel—Land of Contrasts (Travel, 2x52 min.

4K) A land known as the “Cradle of Civilization,” Israel might hold the key to its flourishing in the future due to ingenious technology and a spirit of innovation.

We Are Half the World (History, 2x52 min./1x90 min.) Docudrama tells the story of the international fight for women’s right to vote through the eyes of fascinating protagonists such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Marguerite Durand.

Elvis All-Star Tribute (Music/variety, 1x120 min.) Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, John Legend and more celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s legendary 1968 “Comeback Special.” bublé! (Music, 1x60 min.) Superstar Michael Bublé performs classic songs along with several of his popular, original tunes.

Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration (Music, 1x120 min.) The brand-new salute to the legendary record label features an all-star lineup of performers, including Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder.

Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (Music, 1x120 min.) This CBS special salutes the extraordinary career of 18time Grammy winner Aretha Franklin with an incredible mix of talent.

A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy (Variety, 1x60 min.) Music, comedy and holiday spirit fill the air when John, Chrissy and their children try to create the perfect Christmas celebration.

2020 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (Awards, 1x120 min.) Actors vote solely for actors in honoring the year’s finest film and television performances.

2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards (Music/awards, 1x120 min.) The annual music spectacular that showcases today’s boldest and brightest musical talent, from rock to hip-hop to indie-pop and more.

Stand: P3.C10 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Dog House (Factual, 60 min. eps.) Finding the right homes for dogs isn’t always easy, as this series bears witness to the joy, comedy and emotion of the human-dog dating experience.

Eddie Eats America

Cooking Up a Fortune (Format, 30 min. eps.)

Amateur cooks prep and serve their dishes in the “Food Arena” as they compete in a food contest with real paying customers where the cooks can win a money-can’t-buy prize.

My Famous Babysitter (Format, 60 min. eps.)

Childless celebrities shock-test the realities of modern parenting by tackling one of the toughest jobs ever, babysitting.

Eddie Eats America (Factual, 12x30 min.)

World’s Strongest Man Eddie “The Beast” Hall takes on the most calorific country on earth: can Eddie conquer America, one meal at a time?

Dying for Meat (Factual, 1x60 min.) From award-winning producer Raw, this timely film explores how the global meat industry is destroying our planet and affecting our health.

Monty Don’s American Gardens (Factual, 3x60 min.) Follow Monty on a journey across America as he visits a variety of gardens to find out about the country at large in a way it’s rarely explored.

Van der Valk (Drama, 3x120 min.) Detective procedural filmed in Amsterdam stars Marc Warren as the eponymous Commisaris Van der Valk.

The Feed (Drama, 10x60 min.) Liberty Global and Amazon Prime introduce Channing Powell’s psychological thriller about a family forced to control a technology they created when its users turn murderous.

ANIMASIA STUDIO

O (603) 7784-6987 m distribution@animasia-studio.com

w www.animasia-studio.com

Stand: P-1.E14 Contact: Edmund Chan, mng. dir.; Raye Lee, exec. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Mighty Justice Go! (Action comedy, 52x11 min.) The world’s greatest villain has a bad day and starts his new life as a superhero.

w allspark.hasbro.com

Stand: R7.D32 Contact: Stephen Davis, chief content officer & EVP; Nina Scales, SVP, global content dist.; Sheetal Merchant, sales dir., intl. content dist.; Nuno I, sales dir., intl. content dist.; Lucy Mackrill, intl. dist. mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Kids animation, 221x22 min.) In the village of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and her five pony friends learn all about the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship.

w www.all3mediainternational.com

w www.alfredhaber.com

Help! My House is Haunted (Reality, 12x60 min.)

From Zak Bagans, a series that finds answers to unexplained supernatural phenomena to help families reclaim their properties from unwelcome spirits.

Shallow Grave (Reality, 8x60 min.) A murder has been committed elsewhere, likely cleaned of evidence, and then dumped at what investigators call “the deposition site” or shallow grave.

O (44-208) 569-1234 m internationalsales@hasbro.com

O (44-20) 7845-4350 m international@all3media.com

O (1-201) 224-8000 m info@haberinc.com

Help! My House is Haunted

ALLSPARK

ALL3MEDIA INTERNATIONAL

ALFRED HABER DISTRIBUTION

Stand: P-1.L50 Contact: Alfred Haber, pres.; Andrew Haber, VP, intl. sales; Steven Weiser, VP, domestic & intl. sales; Patricia Villagran, intl. sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 62nd Annual Grammy Awards (Awards/ music show, 1x210 min.) It is all about the performances on the world’s most popular and prestigious televised music awards show, to be broadcast in over 190 territories worldwide.

The Accident (Drama, 4x60 min.) A further standalone drama from acclaimed writer Jack Thorne starring award-winning Sarah Lancashire fighting for justice following a tragic accident that tears her community apart.

Butterfly Breath (Pili Pala) (Drama, 4x60 min.) A compassionate but poor medical decision sets in motion a chain of events and repercussions that throws the lives of three women into turmoil.

Micronauts

Chomp Squad (Kids animation, 25x5 min.) In the world of Chomp Squad, dinosaurs never went extinct. Despite their considerable size difference, these dinos happily work alongside humans.

Hanazuki Full of Treasures (Kids animation, 35x11 min.) In a far-off galaxy, moons and their inhabitants are threatened by a mysterious dark force. Their only hope is a Moonflower named Hanazuki.

Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters (Kids animation, 25x22 min.) Jake Armstrong and his friends Nathan and Ricardo expose themselves to an experimental chemical that changes their lives.

Transformers Cyberverse (Kids animation, 62x11 min.) Bumblebee is on a critical mission— only, he can’t remember what it is. It’s a good thing Windblade has found him to help repair his memory to complete their mission before the Decepticons find them.

Transformers Rescue Bots Academy (Kids animation, 104x11 min.) A group of young Bots fresh from Cybertron have the honor of being the first-ever class to enroll in Earth’s Rescue Bot Training Academy and learn how to become Earth heroes through hands-on experience.

Power Rangers (Kids live action, 919x22 min.) Scientists create technology to harness power from the Morphin Grid, but it’s corrupted by a virus. Only one force can stop him: the Power Rangers.

Micronauts (Kids animation, 26x22 min.) A team of alien space explorers come to earth in pursuit of Baron Karza, but in our world they are the size of action figures.

Zoids (Kids animation, 26x22 min.) A group of young rebels join forces with giant living mechanized beasts called ZOIDS to challenge villains who have stripped Earth of its natural resources.

Treehouse Detectives (Kids animation, 20x22 min.) When their animal friends need help, brother and sister team Toby and Teri use clues and follow facts to solve mysteries in their own backyard.

552 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Chuck Chicken Season 2

Chuck Chicken Season 2 (Action comedy/ adventure, 52x11 min.) Chuck comes back stronger with greater humor and more superpowers from his golden egg to take on Dr Mingo and stop his henchmen from creating chaos in Rocky Perch Island.

Mighty Mechs—Envirobots (Preschool edutainment/adventure, 26x4 min.) Four AI robots that can resolve environmental problems, from land to sea to sky, the Mighty Mechs will take the lead to protect and conserve mother nature from being destroyed by irresponsible parties.

Harry & Bunnie (Non-dialogue slapstick comedy, 78x7 min.) Features Harry, a not so talented young wannabe magician, and his mischievous stage rabbit, Bunnie, who always steals his limelight.

Chuck Chicken—Never Chicken Out! (Action comedy/adventure, 52x11 min.) From an ordinary chicken to a Kung Fu Master, Chuck has the power of golden egg and his mission is to bring down evil.

ABC Monsters (Preschool edutainment/ adventure/comedy, 26x22 min.) Exploring entertaining ABC learning with Alice, Brian and Cherry Berry.

Bola Kampung Xtreme (Robokicks) (Sports/ action/comedy, 13x22 min.) A mix of football and traditional village lifestyle, the story delves into the transformation of a group of characters from different backgrounds.

Supa Strikas (Sports/action/comedy, 65x22 min.) Join Shakes and the Supa Strikas team as they fight to lift the world’s most prized trophy.

The Nine Lives of Claw (Action/comedy, 26x3 min. & 52x11 min.) Sarcastic superhero cat Claw, his genius mouse sidekick Edison and the always ambitious kitty, Purrfessor Purrnelope, battle the villains to keep things in order in the fair city of Anonymous.

Magiki (Preschool edutainment/adventure/ comedy, 52x11 min.) The stories of an alternative heroine full of depth and grace who refuses to be a stereotype in pink.

APC KIDS

O (33-1) 8508-7017 m lionel.marty@apckids.com

w www.aboutpremiumcontent.com Stand: P-1.E58 Contact: Lionel Marty, mng. dir., David Sauerwein, chief creative officer, Zephyr Animation.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Kid-E-Cats (Preschool 2D, 156x5 min.) Three little kittens, Cookie, Pudding and kid sister Candy, are forever ready to jump into action with endless enthusiasm and energy.

Roger (Kids 6-9 CGI, 78x7 min.) The lively adventures of a little girl, the carefree, joyful and occasionally perky Fatou, and an alien, the clumsy Roger, on a tropical island.

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TV LISTINGS

Roger

Fox and Hare (Kids 3-7 CGI, 26x11 min.) The cheerful adventures of the most unexpected forest friends: Fox, with a taste for the finer things in life, and Hare, who is more responsible and gentle.

Little Tiaras (Kids 5-8 CGI, 52x7 min.) Five princesses arrive from faraway lands to study wizardry on the mysterious island of Wondermont.

Adventures, secrets and dangers await them.

Galactic Agency (Kids 6-9 2D, 52x11 min.)

These all-repair specialists come to the rescue at any destination in the galaxy. But with freaky creatures and oddities, nothing ever goes as expected.

Ricky the Dinosaur (Kids 3-7 2D, 52x5 min.)

Fun stories around a family of city dinosaurs: little Ricky and her sister Tira—who can turn everyday situations into something extraordinary—and their parents.

Huggleboo (Preschool 2D, 26x7 min.) A wayward little girl lives small adventures in and around her house, exploring things that seem normal to us but very special to her.

Memories of Nanette (Kids 6-9 2D, 52x13 min.) When 9-year-old Nanette arrives in the countryside for the first time, she discovers an environment very different from the city.

Zoli & Pokey (Kids 6-9 2D, 52x13 min.) Pre-teen Zoli’s life is transformed by the sudden arrival of his genius scientist Dad, who has turned into a dog.

The Wish (Family live action, 24x26 min.) A young angel is sent to Earth to help 12-year-old July make her wish come true: to spend Christmas with her whole, rather dysfunctional, family.

discovery, addressing a new lighthearted issue in every episode with the help of a support group.

Dance Revolution (Dance competition, 22x90 min.) Prime-time dance show where contestants will be judged with a 360-degree shot of their most spectacular “revolution” moment.

The Four (Singing competition, 90-120 min. eps.) Four finalists are announced in the first episode—but they shouldn’t get too comfortable because in every episode talented hopefuls will try to steal their seat.

Sex Tape (Social-experiment format, 60 min. eps.) Three couples take part in a dramatic and spicy therapy, watching their own sex tapes to fix their relationships.

La Famiglia (Comedy, 45x30 min.) Set around the therapy sessions of a couple from an ordinary suburban family, as they flashback to the most embarrassing, awkward and insane moments that are a part of every family’s life.

Red Lines (Drama, 13x60 min.) An up-andcoming lawyer uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to shake the entire country. Can she stop it before she crosses too many red lines?

Still Standing (Game show, 60 min. eps.) Contestants fight to be the last one still standing and win $1 million by out-guessing ten opponents in fast-paced and dramatic trivia battles.

w www.armozaformats.com

Single Parents Cruising (Dating/reality, 11x60 min.) One single mom and one single dad set sail on a ten-day cruise with ten suitors who will compete for the chance to sweep them off their feet while also trying to win over their children.

Song of My Life (Studio ent., 10x60 min.) The studio entertainment show in which four celebrity contestants try to uncover who has a personal connection to each live song performance.

I’ve Got Issues (Fact-ent., 8x60 min.) One wellknown comedian who “suffers” from a range of issues embarks on a comedic journey of self-

w www.atlantyca.com

Stand: R7.A20 Contact: Caterina Vacchi, head, animation dept., exec. producer & dist. dir.; Niccolò Sacchi, exec. producer & dir.; Alessandra Dematteis, dist. mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Geronimo Stilton (Kids 6+ 2D, 78x23 min.)

The famous mouse journalist, together with his companions, Benjamin, Trap and Thea, is launched, paws-first, into adventures in New Mouse City and around the world. Every day is a new story to tell.

w www.artistviewent.com Stand: P-1.F5 Contact: Scott J. Jones, pres.; Jay E. Joyce, VP, worldwide sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Making Contact (Doc., 4x45 min.) Join one man’s mission to explore, document and ultimately work towards understanding the evolving mythology of UFOs in today’s world.

Making Contact

U2: Dream Out Loud (Doc., 1x95 min.) A heartfelt collection of experiences from fans representing 25 countries ranging in age from 12 to 72. Their stories bring to life the incredible journey that U2 fans have been on since 1980.

Grace (Romantic comedy, 1x100 min.) A young woman is hired as the housekeeper to a very accomplished but reclusive writer who is spiraling out of control.

30 and Single (Romantic comedy, 1x97 min.)

During their final year of high school, two friends make a promise to each other—if they are both 30 years old and single, they will get married.

Axcellerator (Action/sci-fi, 1x90 min.) When a car thief stumbles onto a teleportation device and the girl of his dreams, the invention of the century takes them on an adventure of a lifetime.

Narco Soldiers (Action, 1x90 min.) Crime thriller that explores the resurgence of the Caribbean drug routes and one couple’s violent, Bonnie-and-Clyde-style rise to power.

Abducted (Action, 1x90 min.) After his young daughter is kidnapped, a war hero takes matters into his own hands while detectives try to unravel the mystery surrounding the unusual crime.

Above Ground (Thriller, 1x90 min.) When Julie’s ex-husband Thad disappears, the Sheriff, who is in love with Julie himself, won’t search for him.

Relish (Drama, 1x97 min.) Five teenage outcasts, led by a rebellious transgender male,

S34) A midwife crosses paths with the rich stepmother of her ex-lover, the father of the son who was ripped from her at birth.

Down Below (Allí Abajo) (Comedy, S1: 13x70 min., S2: 15x70 min., S3: 16x70 min., S4: 15x70 min., S5: 10x50 min.) A hilarious love story of a traditional guy from the north and a jovial and gracious nurse.

O (39-02) 4300-101 m distribution@atlantyca.it

O (1-818) 752-2480 m jay@artistviewent.com

O (972-3) 540-8333 m info@armozaformats.com

Song of My Life

ATLANTYCA ENTERTAINMENT

ARTIST VIEW ENTERTAINMENT

ARMOZA FORMATS

Stand: R8.B3 Contact: Avi Armoza, CEO; Mihal Brezis, SVP; Amos Neumann, COO; Sharon Levi, head, sales; Louise Melzack, sales dir.; Salome Peillon, sales dir.; Eilon Arieli, sales dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Queens of Love (Dating, 60 min. eps.) Three fabulous drag queens use their outspoken and wild personalities to help one hopeless single find love as they audition four potential suitors together and choose her perfect match.

escape a private treatment facility and embark on a wild, life-changing road trip.

Blood Mountain (Thriller, 1x90 min.) A mountainbiking getaway turns deadly for Colt and his friends when they encounter local residents on the mountain who don’t like strangers in their backyard.

Geronimo Stilton

Bat Pat (Kids 5-9 2D, 104x11 min.) Bat Pat and his friends Martin, Leo and Rebecca unravel mysteries and cross paths with supernatural creatures who don’t really want to hurt anyone.

In fact, what they need is help.

Berry Bees (Kids 5-9 2D, 52x12 min.) Bobby, Lola and Juliette, three ordinary girls with the most extraordinary talents, have been recruited by the B.I.A. to become spies and solve missions in which only child agents can be involved.

Nutri Ventures (Kids 6+ 2D, 52x23 min.) Four brave kids have a mission: saving the food in order to save the world in the seven kingdoms.

Because only food can give them Nutri-Powers.

Toy Cop (Kids 4-8 CGI, 52x13 min.) When the kid Dori leaves his room, the toy world comes to life, And the Toy Cop crew is there to keep the peace.

Dive Olly Dive (CGI, 104x11 min.) The fun-filled underwater escapades of two research submarines-in-training who, under the guidance of Diver Doug, discover the marvels of Safe Harbour.

ZDFE.junior Catalog Atlantyca also distributes programs of ZDF Enterprises’ Junior catalog in Italy, including School of Roars, Ziggy and the Zootram, #Likeme, Buck and H20, among others.

ATRESMEDIA TELEVISIÓN

O (34-91) 623-0500 m sales@atresmediatv.com

Toy Boy

Te Lo Vas A Comer? (Will You Really Eat It?) (Doc., 13x70 min.) Alberto Chicote returns, leaving aside his role as a chef to see first-hand what is behind the processes of food and consumption that directly affect us all.

Privileged Observer (Enviado Especial) (Doc., S1: 7x60 min., S2: 8x60 min.) The journalist Jalis de la Serna travels across the globe, helping us become aware of a world in the process of change and challenge.

People Talking (Gente Hablando) (Digital series, S1: 6x8 min., S2: 6x8 min.) A series that deals with universal subjects through conversations between two characters.

More Than 100 Lies (+ De 100 Mentiras) (Digital series, S1: 6x20 min., S2: 5x20 min.)

Four high school students hide a big secret that could be revealed by a mysterious hacker.

Slaughterhouse (Matadero) (Drama, 10x70 min.) In a small town, the owner of the local abattoir is murdered. Things get more complicated when a gang of drug traffickers appears on scene in this rural thriller with dabs of black humor.

Locked Up (Vis a Vis) (Drama, S1: 16x50 min., S2: 19x50 min.) A fragile young woman, betrayed by her lover and arrested for fraud, must learn to survive and fight to prove her innocence in a detention facility as she awaits her trial.

ATTRACTION DISTRIBUTION

O (1-514) 360-0252 m sales@attractiondistribution.ca

w www.attractiondistribution.ca

Stand: P-1.A51 Contact: XiaoJuan Zhou, pres.; Max Oliveras, VP. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Jenny (Preteen drama, 40x13 min. & 20 eps. in dvpmt.) A journey into the heart of a young girl diagnosed with leukemia who discovers a rather impressive force of character that helps her fight her illness with courage and humor.

Dancing all the Way (Variety, 60x3 min.) Everyday chores can be repetitive and dull, especially to a teen (or preteen), but put on the music and start “flossing” and routine becomes fun.

w international-sales-atresmedia.com Stand: R7.J11 Contact: Jose Antonio Salso, head, acq. & sales; Diana Borbón, sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Toy Boy (Drama, 13x70 min.) A stripper wakes up in the middle of the ocean with the beheaded body of his lover’s husband on deck after attending a wild party in which he loses consciousness.

Seven years later, a young attorney gets him on probation after discovering irregularities at trial.

Presumed Guilty (Presunto Culpable) (Drama, 13x70 min.) After the death of his father, a scientist living in Paris returns to the fishing village where he was born and must confront the ghosts of his past.

The Secret of Old Bridge (El Secreto de Puente Viejo) (Telenovela, S1-33: 65x50 min.,

554 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Jenny

Pat & Mat (Non-verbal animation, 52x8 min./5 min.) Slapstick comedy featuring two of the world’s most recognizable DIY handymen. New content based on the beloved Czech brand.

Kings of Mulberry Street (Family/adventure, 1x86 min.) With boundless energy and street smarts, Ticky lives in a Bollywood dream world

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TV LISTINGS where he’s an invincible action hero. But he needs a partner in crime and he finds an unusual accomplice in Baboo.

Game On (Preteen comedy, 40x11 min./20x22 min.) Toby, 14, who attempts to get through the day without too many disasters, is being followed without him knowing by two sportscasters who comment jokingly on his every move for viewers at home.

Gamer (Youth, 16x8-10 min.) Justine’s personal gaming quest receives a big boost when she finishes second in an important competition and gets recruited by the coach of the professional Wendigo team.

Doggy Day School (Preschool animation, 52x11 min.) From the producer of Dragon (Cite Amerique) and the creator of Franny’s Feet (Cathy Moss) comes this brand-new animation series set in a chaotic daycare center inhabited by dogs of all breeds and unusual characters.

Invisible Sue (Family, 1x95 min.) When Sue gets in contact with a liquid invented by her scientist mother, she is suddenly able to become invisible.

13 Commandments (Crime, 13x50 min.)

Inspired by the Ten Commandments, a modernday Moses commits a series of gruesome crimes in order to jolt society’s conscience and restore its moral values.

Coppers (Crime, 13x50 min.) In an ideal world, when a criminal commits a crime he is punished and his victim compensated. But in real life, justice can be truly blind.

ATV

O (90-212) 381-2848 m info@atvdistribution.com

w www.atvdistribution.com

Stand: P-1.J2 Contact: Müge Akar, content sales deputy mgr.; Emre Görentaş, content sales deputy mgr.; Emir Düzel, content sales deputy mgr.; Gözde Dinç, content sales asst. specialist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Hercai (Drama, 160x45 min., S2 ongoing) Reyyan and Miran try to appreciate their love despite all obstacles.

Love and Secrets (Drama, 45 min. eps., ongoing) Ali and Pilot, unaware that they are brothers, will begin to fight each other. Ali and Sevda, completely opposite characters, will fall in love with each other.

Orphan Flowers (Drama, 388x45 min.) Eylül is left in an orphanage. While bad days are ahead of her, she manages to form good friendships.

Wedlock (Drama, 137x45 min.) A lie told by a desperate mother for her child turns lives upside down.

She Was Pretty (Romantic drama, 28x120 min.) Childhood sweethearts find each other again as adults.

AUDIOVISUAL FROM SPAIN/ICEX

O (34) 9134-919-75 m javier.martinez@icex.es

w audiovisualfromspain.com, icex.es Stand: R7.J11 Contact: Miguel Aldasoro Vasarhelyi, mng. dir. & intl., Anima Kitchent Media; Antoni D’Ocon, CEO, D’Ocon Films; Diana Borbón, sales mgr., Atresmedia TV; Ignacio Orive Martin, CEO, Brands & Rights 360; Sandra Fernandez Brites, producer, Brites Films; Emanuela Bosco, sales exec., Comercial TV; Íñigo Purroy Sanz, CEO, DRV Studio Navarra; Iván Díaz, dir., sales & coprod., Filmax (Castelao Pictures); Roberto Sánchez Lugarnuevo, head, sales, Media Bank (MB Multimedia); Daniel Domenjó, exec. dir., Mediacrest Entertainment; Silvia Cotino Estornell, deputy dir., sales & business dvpmt.; Mediterráneo; Jessica Ortiz, sales dir., Onza Distribution; Carmen Romano De Pedro, head, intl., Sociograph; Sophie Mac Mahon, sales dir., Video Mercury Films; Pablo Alemán, CEO, Wild Stories Distribution; Robert Fonollosa Martín, CEO, Zona Mixta.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Toy Boy (Drama, 13x70 min.) A carefree Marbella stripper wakes up in his sailboat next to the burned corpse of the husband of his lover, a mature and powerful woman. (Atresmedia Televisión)

Little Coincidences

Hercai

Lifeline (Drama, 173x45 min., S3 ongoing) Sold to a businessman as a child bride, Nefes suffers at the hands of her husband’s abuse.

Foster Mother (Drama, 41x45 min.) Alev is sent to prison after trying to kill her baby.

When Alev is released, she will have to fight her sister, who raised the child, to get her daughter back.

Grand Family (Drama, 378x45 min., S5 ongoing) Hizir, a high-ranking member of a weapons smuggling syndicate, attempts to hold his family together and survive without choosing between his wife and his mistress.

Don’t Leave Me (Drama, 147x45 min., S2 ongoing) Arzu, her husband Cengiz and her two sons, Tarik and Emre, live together in Ankara.

Love and Hate (Drama, 280x45 min.) Ali, who spent his youth in prison and didn’t learn to love, and Mavi, who never loved anyone, get to know each other only by the letters they exchange.

Now it’s time to meet face to face.

Little Coincidences (Comedy, 8x50 min.)

Revolves around two main characters: a 37year-old shop-owner and a hedonistic 40-yearold food critic. (Onza Distribution) Welcome to the Family (Comedy, 13x50 min.) A comical look at the institution of family, showing courageous mothers, adopted children and dim-witted widows embarking on the journey of life together. (Filmax International) Masai Mara. Battle for Life (Wildlife/nature, 1x52 min.) The Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya is one of the most iconic wild places in Africa. (Wild Stories) Bodytown (Children’s animation, 52x11 min.) Phil, Nikki, Mac and Gina are young immune system cells learning how to preserve peace and order inside Camila, a 10-year-old girl. (Anima Kitchent) Kafes (The Cage) (Feature film, 1x110 min.)

MediaBank is an online platform for the trade of film and TV rights.

Dangerous Moms (Comedy/scripted format, 13x52 min.) The story of a single mother, Mayte, and three other women who get trapped in a spiral of bizarre illegal acts while covering up an accidental murder. (Mediterráneo Audiovisual) Camilo Sinfonico (Bio., 1x55 min.) A journey through the life and musical career of the multiawarded singer Camilo Sesto, from the beginning of his artistic career to his last project.

(Comercial Television)

AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S TELEVISION FOUNDATION

m roberta.divito@actf.com.au

w www.actf.com.au

Stand: P-1.B84 Contact: Jenny Buckland, CEO; Bernadette O’Mahony, head, dvpmt. & prod.; Roberta Di Vito, intl. sales mgr.; Tim Hegarty, intl. sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Inbestigators (Tween live-action comedy, 40x12 min.) Eleven-year-olds Ezra, Maudie, Ava and Kyle run a detective agency. On call to solve any puzzle that crops up at school or in the neighborhood, this team of savvy sleuths love nothing more than a mystery.

The Inbestigators

Hardball (Tween live-action comedy, 13x24 min.) A fish-out-of-water story about Mikey, who moves from New Zealand to Western Sydney and finds himself in the thick of the ultra-competitive schoolyard game of handball.

Little J & Big Cuz (Kids 4-6 animation, 13x12 min.) Little J and Big Cuz are busy with the ups and downs of playground and classroom.

There’s always something surprising going on whether it’s at school, in the backyard or beyond.

Little Lunch (Tween live-action comedy, 26x12 min. & 2x24 min.) Every episode takes place during morning snack time—tackling the big issues on the school playground.

Balloon Barnyard (Preschool animation, 26x7 min.) Pip and Streak are two loveable balloon donkeys with superhero ambitions who work together to solve problems around the farm with their fellow balloon friends.

Ready for This (Teen live-action drama, 1x42 min. & 12x24 min.) Six teenagers, all elite within their own field, come to live at Arcadia House in pursuit of their dreams.

Bushwhacked (Tween/family adventure, 39x24 min.) Weaving adventure, travel, food, wildlife, history and culture, Kayne goes on the adventure of a lifetime with Indigenous co-hosts Brandon (series one) and Kamil (series two and three).

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Last Treasures of the Earth (People/places, 1x52 min./90 min.) Delve into the intriguing and beautiful world of some of the last remaining indigenous cultures that survive and prosper far away from civilization.

Dark Web (Science/tech., 1x45 min.) Technology is constantly advancing, creating a new legion of criminals. Find out how we are fighting cybercrime and what you can do to stay safe.

Out of the Cradle (Science/tech., 1x52 min.)

Discover how our early ancestors managed to survive with the odds stacked against them.

Using cutting-edge computer imageries, our ancestor’s world is unearthed.

Tuna on Tour (People/places, 1x52 min./45 min.) In Tokyo, the tuna industry embodies years of family tradition and culture. However, with the 2020 Olympic Games, over 14,000 dealers will have to relocate.

Geared Up (Motor/machines, 10x45 min.) In this under the hood “resto-mod” show, husband and wife Ralph and Kelly Biase restore classic vehicles into modern works of art.

Getting Married (People/places, 5x30 min.)

Five weddings. Five countries. Five completely different ways to celebrate them. Observe each wedding’s unique characteristics in this humorous and warm documentary.

Human Towers (People/places, 1x52 min.) In a phenomenal example of human achievement, witness the formation of “castells,” towers made up of human beings from all ages and backgrounds.

German Night Tales (People/places, 1x60 min./90 min.) When night falls in Germany and most of the population sleeps, a new world lights up. This journey follows the nightlife of Northern Germany.

Chiloé (People/places, 5x30 min.) Discover the magic of Chiloé, an archipelago off the coast of Chile with one of a kind architecture, folklore and culinary traditions.

BANIJAY RIGHTS

O (44-20) 7013-4200 m sales@banijayrights.com

w banijayrights.com

Stand: C20.A Contact: Tim Mutimer, CEO; Caroline Torrance, head, scripted; Emily Elisha, head, factual; Steve Quirke, head, mktg.; Andrew Sime, VP, formats.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Gulf (Scripted, 6x60 min.) Justice isn’t always right. And some crimes aren’t wrong. But where does that leave us? And the people caught between the two?

AUTENTIC DISTRIBUTION

O (49-221) 4848-200 m sales@autentic-distribution.com

w www.autentic-distribution.com

Stand: R7.F2 Contact: Patrick Hörl, mng. dir.; Isabelle Helle, gen. mgr., cnslt.; Mirjam Strasser, sales dir.; Julian Althaus, intl. sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS What Went Wrong (History, 6x52 min.)

Examines six catastrophic events caused by technical failures in recent history. Experience what went wrong in these terrifying moments.

Last Treasures of the Earth

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Lodgers

Occupied (Scripted, S3: 6x45 min.) Brand-new season of the critically acclaimed political suspense thriller.

Baroness von Sketch Show (Comedy, S4: 10x30 min.) A critically acclaimed sketch series and internet sensation. A hilarious fresh look at our contemporary culture.

Don’t (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.)

From executive prankster Ryan Reynolds and host Adam Scott comes a new show where families can win money by following one simple rule: Don’t.

Lodgers (Ent. format, 60 min. eps.) Old-age pensioners offer their spare rooms to young millennials struggling to pay rent in exchange for company and help around the home.

It’s A Knockout (Ent. format, 120 min. eps.) The original physical entertainment game show that

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TV LISTINGS

made the world laugh, cheer and proudly root for their champions is back with a bang.

Together Forever (Factual, 1x60 min.) The story of teenage conjoined twins. Two entirely separate people, with distinct personalities sharing not only their body but every moment of their teenage lives.

World’s Greatest Warships (Factual, 3x60 min.) The history of the warship from the dawn of the 20th century to the present, telling the stories of the most iconic ships of all time.

The Big Bookclub (Factual, 4x60 min.) Each week Damian Barr will meet a trio of acclaimed writers from the worlds of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail (Factual, 3x60 min.) Billy Connolly follows the migratory trail of his Scottish ancestors through America.

Starting in New York and finishing in the heart of America, Nashville, Tennessee.

BEJUBA! ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-310) 428-7192 m tatiana@bejuba.com

w www.bejuba.com

Stand: P-1.A51 Contact: Tatiana Kober, pres.; Emilie Pasquet, head, sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS I’m a Dino (Kids 5-7 comedy 2D, 52x2 min.) Meet the dinosaurs as they present the world they lived in, more than 65 million years ago. Perfect as a companion piece to the internationally successful series I’m An Animal or as a stand-alone.

BBC STUDIOS

O (44-20) 8433-2000 m sophie.harris@bbc.com

w www.bbcstudios.com

Stand: C18 Contact: Tim Davie, chief exec.; Paul Dempsey, pres., global markets; Sarah Monteith, global dir., brand & content mktg.; Lisa Opie, mng. dir., prod.; Nick Percy, EVP, Western Europe, global markets; David Weiland, EVP, engagement; Marcus Arthur, pres., U.K. & ANZ; Mark Linsey, chief creative officer; Beth Clearfield, SVP, digital strategy & franchise business mngmt.; Jon Farrar, SVP, global pgmng. & acq.; Jon Penn, mng. dir., Sydney; Matt Forde, EVP, BBC Worldwide Productions Los Angeles; Ralph Lee, dir., content.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Sanditon (Drama, 8x45 min.) Emmy and BAFTAwinning writer Andrew Davies brings Jane Austen’s unfinished last novel vividly to life.

Sanditon

Life (Drama, 6x60 min./6x50 min.) An explosive series from the team behind BAFTA-winning global hit Doctor Foster, explores the human capacity for connection in an increasingly splintered society.

Traces (Drama, 6x45 min.) A body buried 18 years ago. A daughter left behind. A murder unsolved. Until now. A new crime drama from the makers of Happy Valley.

Guilt (Drama, 4x60 min.) A stylish, contemporary crime thriller. Packed with unexpected plot twists and steeped in black humor, audiences will be steered through a web of lies and secrets.

Trigonometry (Drama, 8x45 min.) A love story about three people. A bold new drama that blends fresh talent and witty writing from acclaimed playwright Duncan Macmillan and Effie Woods.

Seven Worlds, One Planet (Natural history, 7x50 min. & 1x50 min.) From the colorful paradise of South America to the scorching heat of Africa, showcases the true character of each continent.

Earth’s Tropical Islands (Natural history, 3x50 min.) Three iconic islands. Madagascar.

Borneo. Hawaii. Rich in extraordinary wildlife and human cultures, we delve deep into some of the most fragile places on Earth.

Putin: A Russian Spy Story (Doc., 3x50 min.) Takes viewers on an unprecedented journey into the mind of one of the most formidable politicians of our time.

Top Gear (Fact-ent., S27: 5x60 min.) The world’s biggest motoring show is back with a new presenter line up: Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, and of course, the Stig.

Flora of the Forest

Lil Astronaut (Kids 5-8 comedy 2D, 57x7 min.)

Little Cosmonaut finds himself stranded on an unknown planet, Minos. He has only one idea in mind: to repair his rocket and to resume his intergalactic exploration.

Flora of the Forest (Kids 4-6 CGI, 78x7 min. in dvpmt.) Seven-year-old Flora lives in an epic treehouse with her scientist mum in the middle of a forest. There’s always something intriguing to investigate, record and re-create, with the help of Flora’s friends, goggles, journal, polaroid, and whatever forest supplies she has at hand.

The Wonder Woollies (Preschool comedy CGI, 78x7 min. in dvpmt.) Set in a valley where our adorable Woollies (Skylar, BeeBee, Poppy, Harper, Sunny and Vanilla) learn problem-solving skills through play.

Chicken Big (Kids 6-12 2D comedy, 52x11 min. in dvpmt.) Adapted from the internationally acclaimed book of the same name about clueless, curious, kooky chickens on wild, funny adventures.

Cutie Pugs (Preschool live-action comedy education, 26x7 min.) Meet a family of pugs that talk, play and have fun together in this series that aims to entertain and teach early preschoolers about their world through simple, interactive play-based learning.

Wishfart (Kids 5+ 2D comedy, 52x11 min./26x30 min.) Dez, 15, the first ever leprechaun of his kind, is still learning how to wield his powers, so the wishes he grants go sideways, get out of control and spin in extraordinarily random directions.

The Grimes (Preschool 2D comedy, 15x5 min.)

Meet the Grimes, the world’s filthiest family.

Luckily, they have a Magic Bathroom that cleans them up at the end of every grimy adventure.

Ben and Hairy (Kids 5+ 2D non-dialogue comedy, 20x2 min.) Ben wakes up one morning to find he has a Yeti in the house and brings him to work hoping none of the guys will notice.

Shutterbugs (Preschool/bridge 2D comedy, 52x11 min./26x30 min.) The Shutterbugs are a crack team of friends that investigate unusual activities in their hometown of Murky Marsh.

BLUE ANT INTERNATIONAL

O (1-416) 646-4434 m solange.attwood@blueantmedia.com

w blueantmedia.com/international/titles/ Stand: R8.D7 Contact: Solange Attwood, EVP; Ludo Dufour, SVP, coprod. & sales, intl.; Alex Maldini, VP, intl. sales & acq.; Kate Blank, snr. dir., sales, intl.; Nick Solowski, dir., intl. sales & acq.; Carlyn Staudt, EVP, pgmng. & dvpmt., Love Nature; Aaron Clark, snr. mgr., pgmng. & acq.; Chiara McKee, VP, EMEA, global networks; Fleur Wheatley, sales mgr., intl.; Sam Sniderman, co-pres., Blue Ant Studios; Laura Michalchyshyn, co-pres.,

content prod. & chief creative officer; Julie Chang, VP, intl. coprod.; Michael Kot, mng. dir., Saloon Media, Blue Ant Studios; Kyle Murdoch, mng. dir., NHNZ, Blue Ant Studios; Catherine Nebauer, head, kids, Northern Pictures, Blue Ant Studios; Sam Linton, head, original content, Blue Ant Media; Andrea Harrick, dir., content acq.; Heather Scrivens, mgr., acq.; Jocelyn Little, mng. dir., Beach House Pictures, Blue Ant Studios; Donovan Chan, creative dir., Beach House Pictures, Blue Ant Studios.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Witches of Salem (History, 4x60 min.) Draws on historical documents to bring the gripping drama of the Salem Witch Trials to life.

Big Cat Country (Natural history, 6x60 min. 4K & HDR) In the heart of Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, three lion prides collide. A wildlife camera team gets caught up in the action as they follow the lions day and night.

Bigfoot (Animated comedy, 6x22 min./12x11 min.) America’s favorite crypto-zoological hominid is recast as the modern-day everyman, struggling with eating disorders, casual cannibalism, pop culture, and philosophical quandaries.

The Killer in My Family (Factual/crime, 6x60 min.) Examines crimes through the lens of a killer’s family, mixing horrific details and happy memories with a very personal point of view.

Gangs of Lemur Island

Gangs of Lemur Island (Nature/wildlife, 5x60 min. 4K & HDR) Follows a troop of ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar who are obsessed with social rank and are adept at surviving in an environment of extremes.

Cheating Hitler: Surviving the Last Holocaust (History/human interest, 1x90 min./2x45 min.

4K) Three Holocaust survivors journey back to hometowns, killing sites and hiding places to search for answers about their past, knowing they are the last living link to history.

Art of Craft (Art/culture, 5x60 min. 4K) Explores the passion, authenticity and skill of modern-day master craftsmen and artists in glass blowing, embroidery, violin making and more.

Women on the Force (Ob-doc./crime, 6x60 min.) Capturing the stories of the women on the West Yorkshire Police force, follows the unexpected twists and turns of one week on the job.

Sarah Off the Grid (Property/reno, S2: 12x60 min.) Designer and television personality Sarah Richardson is back with her most ambitious series yet: a year-long project designing and building an off-the-grid rental home with her family.

Rich Kids Go Homeless (Reality, 6x60 min.)

Coddled rich kids swap their pampered and lavish lives to sleep rough on the pavements of London and learn how difficult it is to escape poverty and homelessness.

BOAT ROCKER STUDIOS

O (1-416) 591-0065 m kelsey@boatrocker.com

w www.boatrocker.com

Stand: R7.K8 Contact: Jon Rutherford, mng. dir. & pres., rights; Kate Schlomann, EVP, brand mngmt. & content mktg.; Bob Higgins, EVP, content, kids & family; Gia DeLaney, SVP, global sales, kids & family; Henry Or, SVP, strategic partnerships, Asia; Natalie Vinet, VP, global sales, factual; Chapman Maddox, VP, dvpmt. & prod.; Jessica Watson, dir., global sales & acq.; Kelsey Griffin,

556 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

snr. mgr., global sales & mktg.; Fabien Ching, mgr., global sales & lic., Asia.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Cavendish (Comedy, 8x30 min.) Bickering brothers Andy and Mark left Cavendish when their parents split up almost 30 years ago. Now they’re back to take care of their ailing father, Rollie, but their hometown isn’t quite how they remember it.

Mary’s Kitchen Crush

Mary’s Kitchen Crush (Food/lifestyle, 30x30 min.) In each episode, Mary Berg demonstrates her culinary skill and creativity with original recipes inspired by someone who has made a meaningful impact on her life.

Hell in the Heartland: What Happened to Ashley and Lauria? (Factual/crime, 4x60 min.) Explores a harrowing and unique missing persons case that is currently evolving into a much larger story of unsolved murder, and allegations of cover-up and corruption in Oklahoma.

Secrets of a Psychopath (Factual/crime, 3x60 min.) In August 2012, three fishermen chanced upon a cache of intimate sex toys, abandoned in a reservoir situated just south of Dublin, Ireland. When police linked the items to the discovery of a decomposed body in a forest 17 miles away, their investigation took on a more sinister dimension.

Killer Instincts (Factual/wildlife, 13x30 min.)

Explores the world’s most interesting and deadly predators, how they interact with one another and how they use the elements around them as well as their own instincts to not only survive, but thrive.

Unexplained: Caught on Camera (Factual/ paranormal, 8x60 min.) Entertainment clip show shines a light on the truly remarkable and unexplainable footage captured every day by the general public.

The Strange Chores (Kids 6-11 animated comedy/adventure, 26x11 min.) Two teenage wannabe warrior heroes and a super high-spirited ghost girl master the skills they need to replace the world’s greatest (and oldest) monster hunter by doing his strange, supernatural chores.

The Next Step (Live-action tweens/teens, S6 & S7: 52x30 min.) Follows the lives of a group of dancers at The Next Step Dance Studio as they attempt to win regional, national and international dance championships.

You’re Called What?! (Kids 6-11 liveaction/wildlife, 13x30 min.) Investigates a wide array of animals with odd, wacky and unusual names, and gives us insight into their amazing lives.

The Tasty Tales of the Food Truckers (Kids 611 comedy/adventure animation, 52x11 min.) Three crazy friends travel the world in their souped-up sentient food truck seeking out rare (but real) ingredients to turn into exotic (but real) meals.

BOMANBRIDGE MEDIA

O (65) 6224-4211 m info@bomanbridge.tv

w www.bomanbridge.tv

Stand: P-1.D2 Contact: Sonia Fleck, CEO; Aegena Tay, dir., acq. & sales; Gleyce Soares, content sales mgr.; Wendy Chong, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Paul Goes to Hollywood (Lifestyle, 4x60 min.)

Join Paul Hollywood, as he indulges in three of his greatest passions—bikes, movies and baking— and goes on an epic trans-continental adventure riding a customized Harley Davidson.

Walking the Yangtze with Ash Dykes (Factent., 2x60 min.) Adventurer Ash Dykes takes us

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 12:28 PM Page 11

TV LISTINGS on his most ambitious record-attempt yet. A stunning journey from the heart of China to its most spectacular city, Shanghai.

Shane the Chef (Kids animation, 52x11 min.)

Follow the adventures of Shane, an ambitious and energetic chef, and his young daughter Izzy in the town of Munchington.

Epic Yellowstone (Nature/wildlife, 4x60 min.)

Four new episodes filmed in Ultra HD for two straight years, follow nature’s epic drama through flood, freeze, fire and famine.

Walking the Yangtze with Ash Dykes

Delicacy Hunter (Food/lifestyle, S2: 5x30 min.)

After traveling along the Chinese Silk Road, British chef Jamie Bilbow is back on track hunting for gastronomic delicacies inside and outside of China.

Egypt from Above (People/culture, 1x90 min./2x60 min.) The first film to be shot in Egypt exclusively from a helicopter in 4K format, showing the marvels of this unique country.

Little Luke and Lucy (Preschool, 52x7 min.)

Follows the whimsical escapes of two kids with boundless imaginations.

Smighties (Kids animation, 39x7 min.) The Smighties are the chosen six who go on fantastical and funny adventures in their imaginative world. Part fun, part heroic and all zany.

Gamerz (Format) Twelve talents will move into the GAMERZ House where they will, with professional help, be drilled to maximize their abilities with live broadcasts of matches and interactive challenges.

Secret Life of the Pets (Fact-ent., 8x30 min.)

Using the latest hidden-camera technology, we get up close and personal with our furry friends as we explore some of the incredible things they get up to.

Treasure Trekkers (Kids 4-7 animation, 52x11 min.) Three heroic mouse-sized adventurers are tasked with protecting the priceless artifacts of the world while learning that the most precious treasures of friendship, kindness and respect come from within.

Legend Quest (Kids 8-12 animation, 26x25 min.) Twelve-year old Leo and an intrepid crew of ghosts defend the world against evil forces in this Mexican folklore inspired fantasy adventure series available in 18 languages.

Angry Birds MakerSpace (Kids 8-12 & family animation, 20x1 min.) A shared workspace complete with sound stages and tech labs where together birds and pigs can experiment with the latest gadgets but can they do it without destroying each other?

Olobob Top (Preschool animation, 78x5 min./39x11 min., S2 available) Tib, Lalloo and Bobble work together combining shapes, colors and patterns to create a new character who joins in their fun in this interactive series.

Pablo (Preschool animation, 104x11 min., S2 available) Pablo, a 5-and-a-half-year-old boy who is on the autism spectrum, turns his life challenges into imaginative drawings to help him face the real world with confidence.

Kiri and Lou (Preschool animation, 52x5 min.) Kiri, a feisty little dinosaur, and Lou, a gentle and thoughtful creature, navigate a forest of feelings with laughter, song and adventure. Voiced by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Moana).

Mighty Mike (Kids 6-12 animation, 78x7 min.)

Non-dialogue slapstick comedy featuring a refined pug who longs for a quiet life but is instead forced to defend his house from a bunch of furry intruders.

Space Chickens in Space (Kids 6-12 animation, 52x11 min.) Surreal sci-fi comedy in which a trio of chicken siblings are mistakenly taken from their homes and enrolled in an elite intergalactic academy.

Total Dramarama (Kids 6-12 animation, 52x11 min., S2 available) The prequel to the multi-award-winning franchise reintroduces favorite cast members and ages them down from teenagers to toddlers with hilarious results.

CALINOS ENTERTAINMENT

m marketing@calinos.com

CAKE

w www.calinosentertainment.com

w www.cakeentertainment.com

Stand: P-1.M51 Contact: Firat Gulgen, chmn.; Ismail Dursunov, deputy GM; Goryana Vasileva, business dvpmt. mgr.; Melis Idil, intl. sales dir., MENA & Europe; Ebru Mercan, sales rep., Baltics & Africa; Busra Saracoglu, project dvpmt. specialist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Revival (Drama, ongoing) Kemal wakes after almost ten years in a coma. The long-awaited reunion with his family will not be as he expected.

O (44-207) 307-3230 m info@cakeentertainment.com Stand: R7.D18 Contact: Tom van Waveren, CEO & creative dir.; Ed Galton, chief commercial officer & mng. dir.; Bianca Rodriguez, head, sales; Julien Farcat, sales mgr.; Bassma Rassi, sales exec.; Rob Doherty, VP, prod.; Emily Chapman, VP, creative; Jonathan Dyer, head, business affairs; Shanti Bhagawati, sales asst.; Tanya Peck, mktg. mgr.; Odilia Sickinghe, dvpmt. coord. & mktg. exec.; Caitlin Worthington, exec. PA. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Mush-Mush & the Mushables (Animation, 48x11 min./2x22 min.) Following the exciting outdoor adventures of the Mushable community, pocket-sized Guardians of the Forest, as they embark on a fun journey of self-discovery.

Mush-Mush & the Mushables

CANAL 13 CHILE

O (56-2) 2630-2316 m ventasint@13.cl

w www.13.cl/sudmedia

Contact: José Navarro, head, acq.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Catalan Kind of Love (Amor a la Catalán) (Series, 94x45 min.) Rafael and Dafne are in love and everything seems to collapse after discovering they have the same father. (Distributor: Comarex) Blood Pact (Pacto de Sangre) (Thriller, 99x45 min.) The world of four inseparable friends collapses after a bachelor party with unsuspected consequences. (Distributor: Comarex)

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Living to Love (Amar y Vivir) (Series, 60x60 min.)

Irene Romero, leading vocalist of the group Los Milagrosos, meets the mechanic Joaquín Herrera; they realize they cannot live without each other, but their fight to be together will be intense and painful.

The Road to Love (Los Briceño) (Series, 60x60 min.) La Chiqui, the youngest daughter of a family of truck drivers, works hard to make it in a world where macho men rule.

El Hijo del Cacique (The King of Hearts) (Telenovela, 80x60 min.) Martín Elías will face more obstacles than any other artist on his road to stardom, but armed only with his great talent, he will earn a special place among the legends of popular music in his country.

CDC UNITED NETWORK

O (32-2) 502-6640 m marketing@cdcun.com

w www.cdcun.com

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Mary (Horror, 1x84 min.) A family looking to start a charter-boat business buys a ship that holds terrifying secrets once out on isolated waters.

Juego contra Fuego

Dark River (Río Oscuro) (Series, 94x45 min.)

A psychological thriller about a woman trying to find out who murdered her son—not knowing she’s sleeping with him. (Distributor: Comarex) Queen of Franklin St. (La Reina de Franklin) (Series, 94x45 min.) A romantic comedy about Yolanda Garrido, a modest mother who became an empowered businesswoman. (Distributor: Comarex) Ver para Creer (Magic show, 5x60 min.) The magician and illusionist Jean Paul Olhaberry challenges his own physical and mental limits through five extreme tests, full of tension and risk.

Juego contra Fuego (Cooking game, 60x50 min.) Two competitors face off in a culinary quiz and cooking competition.

Looking for God (Buscando a Dios) (Doc., 10x50 min.) Follow the routes of the largest religious pilgrimages on the planet.

World’s Most Isolated Tribes (Las Últimas Tribus) (Doc., 21x50 min.) Goes in search of isolated tribes that have had very little contact with the outside world and that are about to disappear.

Sapo (Feature film) A journalist must face up to his past—his role during the dictatorship in Chile.

Love Is Not Enough (No Basta con Amar) (Feature film, 1x85 min.) A young boy must face the separation of his parents.

CARACOL INTERNACIONAL

O (1-305) 960-2018/ (571) 6430-430

John Wick

Marnie’s World (Animated film, 1x84 min.) Four crazy antiheroes on the run. Their leader is the naive Marnie, a house cat who is not allowed to leave the house and only knows about real life from television.

John Wick (Action/thriller, 1x101 min.) In New York, ex-hit man John Wick (Keanu Reeves) comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.

CISNEROS MEDIA

O (1-305) 442-3400 Contact: Ailing Zubizarreta, VP, creative services; Maria Benel, dir., sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS AnimalFanPedia (Edutainment, 52x11 min.)

Brings families to every kind of animal imaginable in an incredible adventure to discover the animal kingdom.

m sales@caracoltv.com.co

w www.caracolinternacional.com/en

Revival

Stand: P0.B1 Contact: Lisette Osorio, VP, intl. sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Queen and The Conqueror (La Reina de Indias y el Conquistador) (Series, 60x60 min.)

The amazing love story that brings together Catalina, a female icon in the time of the conquest, and Pedro de Heredia, the conqueror who would establish the city of Cartagena, betray his love and break her heart.

Forbidden Fruit (Drama, ongoing) Yıldız and Zeynep are two sisters who are very close but have very different life goals: Zeynep wants a successful career while Yıldız is looking for a rich man who would save her from her low-income life.

Our Story (Drama/romance, ongoing) In one of the poorest neighborhoods in Istanbul, Filiz has become the mother of the family, looking after her five younger siblings and her useless alcoholic father.

Woman (Drama, ongoing) After the sudden death of her husband, Bahar, living alone with her children, is surprised by the sudden appearance of the mother who abandoned her as a child and her extremely eclectic sisters.

The Queen and the Conqueror

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 557

AnimalFanPedia

Wowzu! (Children’s, 52x7 min.) Children will react to wild and wacky animal behaviors in the form of challenges, memes, dance-offs, lipsyncing and silliness in every episode.

DinoItAll (Children’s, 52x7 min.) A hybrid liveaction and animated series franchise that delves into the fantastical universe of dinosaurs, where incredible characters band together to bring back harmony to the land.

Dino Bites (Children’s, 60x1 min.) Each capsule will bring a prehistorically epic dose of fun-filled dinosaur adventure for preschoolers.

The Science Of (Series, 7x60 min.) Delves into the fascinating world of the science behind our most simple and complex human experiences.

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12

TV LISTINGS

Nature of Disaster (Series, 6x60 min.) Each episode will come face-to-face with the most epic disasters on Earth, both natural and human-made.

Out of this World (Series, 6x60 min.) Explores the triumph of the human spirit in bringing bold new realities of space travel, space living and all things space to life.

What Do We Know? (Series, 5x60 min.)

Examines different unsolved mysteries that have toyed with all of humanity and managed to stay hidden from those who have tried to solve them.

Car Czars (Series, 6x60 min.) A look at the illustrious history, passionate personalities and insane accomplishments in the automobile industry.

CROWN MEDIA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

m franciscogonzalez@crownmedia.com

w www.crownmediainternational.com

Stand: R9.A16 Contact: Francisco González, SVP, intl. dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Rome in Love (Romantic comedy, 1x90 min.)

Shot entirely on location in Rome, beautifully capturing the magic of the city for this modern take on the classic film Roman Holiday.

CLPB RIGHTS

O (33-1) 4475-1136 m julie.tolza@cpbfilms.com

partnership with an ancient and extremely grumpy magical rabbit who just wants to retire.

Tom Sawyer (Kids 6-12 CGI adventure, 26x22 min.) Tom Sawyer, a boy called to adventure from the moment he wakes up, and his friends are always on the go. Each episode will tell one of their great adventures, escapades or explorations.

Purple Turtle (Kids 3-6 CGI comedy, 52x7 min.)

Purple Turtle and his friends Roxy the Chameleon, Zing the Rabbit, Melody the Bird, and Tadley the Bear celebrate the joy of the childhood, curiosity and discovery in each episode.

Bananimals (Kids 5-8 2D comedy, 78x7 min.)

Gordon is a bull and a doctor. With the help of his friends, two 7-day-old chick twins, he treats all the other anthropomorphic animals in his village by curing them of their everyday ills and sorting out the endless stream of misunderstandings.

w www.clpbrights.com

Stand: P-1.A75 Contact: Julie Tolza, head, sales & intl. dvpmt.; Alice Fardel, intl. sales coord.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Big Pharma—Gaming the System (Society, 1x52 min./90 min.) Investigates the lobbying practices of the lucrative pharmaceutical industry, which can alone decide on government health policies, possibly to the detriment of our health.

From Watts to Watts, Portrait of Charles Burnett

Betty Boop Forever (Arts/culture, 1x52 min.)

Femme fatale, sex object, woman-child, liberated woman, businesswoman, bosom friend or feminist pioneer, who really is Betty Boop?

Humans At Work (Society, 2x52 min./1x90 min.)

Reports on workers of today and explores issues related to the changing nature of work and its consequences in the future through 12 international profiles chosen carefully according to their professional activity and embodying current issues.

The Zimov Hypothesis (Environment, 1x52 min.)

Two scientists, Sergei Zimov and his son Nikita, have taken on a mission to save the world from global warming by attempting to repopulate the Siberian taiga with species long since disappeared.

From Watts to Watts, Portrait of Charles Burnett (Arts/culture, 1x52 min.) A portrait of Charles Burnett, figure of the Black independent movement during the ‘60s, which follows him in his hometown of Los Angeles, but also tells the story of 50 years of American history scarred by the fight for civil rights.

History’s Greatest Lies (History, 12x52 min.)

The lies of those in power always achieve their goals: they change the course of history.

The World in a Painting or Vermeer’s Hat (Arts/culture, 1x52 min./75 min.) Based on the book

by Canadian writer Timothy Brook, offers a new way of understanding the global world we live in thanks to Vermeer’s 17th-century painting.

Back to Cognac (Lifestyle, 1x52 min.) The story of a great divide between what is a very French rural product, cognac, barely consumed in France, and its success in the United States, in particular in the world of hip-hop.

Sacred Paths (Lifestyle, 5x52 min.) In this collection Frédéric Lenoir proposes five universal and timeless journeys around the sacred, through mythical lands and emblematic places, on the trail of those who experience their spiritual quest today.

Belfast: The Walls of Shame (History, 1x52 min.)

At the end of the ‘60s, to put a stop to the escalating violence and avoid a physical confrontation between the Catholic and Protestant communities in Belfast, the British army built walls throughout the town.

Rome in Love

Mystery 101 (Mystery, 4x90 min.) Follows an English college professor and the local detective as the unlikely duo rely on each other to solve murder mysteries.

Love in Store (Romantic comedy, 1x90 min.) Starring Robert Buckley and Alexandra Breckenridge, two rival home shopping hosts are forced to work together while competing for a promotion.

Ruby Herring Mysteries (Mystery, 2x90 min.)

Consumer news reporter Ruby Herring inadvertently discovers a knack for crime solving. With the reluctant help of a detective, Ruby finds a new career covering crime.

Write Before Christmas (Christmas, 1x90 min.)

Jessica sends Christmas cards to those special to her, which sets off a chain of magical events. Starring Torrey DeVitto and Chad Michael Murray.

Hallmark’s 10th Anniversary of Countdown to Christmas (Christmas) With an all-new lineup of original holiday movies, Hallmark Channel is celebrating the tenth anniversary of Countdown to Christmas, the most successful holiday franchise on U.S. television.

My One & Only (Romantic comedy, 1x90 min.)

Contestants on television show The One, Stephanie and Oliver, try to determine if they’re fated to be together.

CYBER GROUP STUDIOS

O (33-1) 5556-3232/

(1-424) 341-4911 w www.cybergroupstudios.com Stand: R7.D22 Contact: Pierre Sissmann, pres. & CEO; Richard Goldsmith, pres. & CEO, Cyber Group Studios USA; Dominique Bourse, COO; Raphaelle Mathieu, SVP, sales, acq. & new media; Olivier Lelardoux, SVP, studio & associate producer; Pierre Belaïsch, SVP, creative development; Ira Singerman, VP, dvpmt., Cyber Group Studios USA; Noemie Bourrie, intl. sales exec.; Michele Massonnat, snr. sales mgr.; Mickael Frison, mgr., digital dvpmt. & ops.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Gigantosaurus (Kids 4-6 CGI-2D adventure comedy, 52x11 min.) Stars four young dinosaur friends who are about to leave the family and explore a world full of mysteries and danger.

Taffy (Kids 6-10 2D comedy, 78x7 min.) Follows the non-stop, slapstick extravaganza faced by loyal hound dog Bentley when his billionaire old lady owner Mrs. Muchmore takes in an imposter posing as a wide-eyed, fluffy angora cat.

Sadie Sparks (Kids 6-11 CGI-2D comedy, 52x11 min.) A teenage girl discovers she has extraordinary powers—which can only be harnessed in

DANDELOOO

O (33-9) 7264-4601 m contact@dandelooo.com

w www.dandelooo.com

Stand: P-1.A75 Contact: Emmanuèle Pétry Sirvin, head, intl.; Gennarino Romano, intl. sales mgr.; Melissa Vega, intl. sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Stinky Dog (52x13 min.) Presents the hilarious and hectic adventures of a maverick mutt and a flattened cat.

Shooom’s Odyssey (1x26 min.) Shooom, a baby owl, hatches just as a storm turns the bayou surrounding her tree upside down. No sooner has she fallen from her nest, the little fledgling totters off determined to find a mother…even if that mom turns out to be an alligator or a raccoon!

Taina and the Amazon’s Guardians (S1: 26x11 min., S2: 26x11 min.) When the forest is in distress, the “Cru-Cru” call echoes all the way to the Great Tree, where Taina and the Guardians of the Amazon are always ready to help.

Hungry Bear Tales (26x7 min. & 26x2 min.)

Two hungry bear stomachs are growling. What will Mishka and Ned find to eat today?

Gigantosaurus

Ernest and Rebecca (Kids 5-8 2D comedy, 52x13 min.) Tells the story of Rebecca and her adventures with her “microbe” Ernest, which she caught on a rainy day.

Zak Jinks (Kids 6-10 2D adventure comedy, 52x13 min.) Follows the adventures of its eponymous hero, Zak. For Zak, school, street and home are all perfect settings for mischief-making.

Zou (Kids 3-6 CGI comedy, 156x11 min.) Now in season three, follow the daily life of a 5-year-old Zebra Zou and his extended zebra family. Full of curiosity and love, Zou is now old enough to start becoming his own person.

Mini Ninjas 2 (Kids 6-12 CGI-2D adventure comedy, 104x11 min.) Discover a new generation of 12-year-old ninjas, trained by the wise (and rather eccentric) Ninja Master to defend the Land Below the Clouds from the warlord Ashida.

DAEWON MEDIA

O (82-2) 6373-3046 m gahee.kim@daewonmedia.com

w www.daewonmedia.com/en

Stand: P-1.D80 Contact: Donghoon Jung, pres. & CEO; Marie J. Hwang, head, sales & acq.; Gahee Kim, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Armored Saurus (Live action, S1: 26x22 min., S2: 26x22 min.) Jin’s destiny is to pilot the invincible Red Dragon, a weaponized T-Rex. Jin and Armored Saurus lead the battle against invading forces of fully-mechanized extraterrestrial dinosaurs bent on destroying Earth!

GON (Animation, S1: 90x15 min., S2: 26x15 min.) In the deep wild, a place where humans are not relevant, a timeless place where animals do what animals do, following their instinct, nature, and appetite in a balanced network, GON is plowing through the day with three goals: sleep, eat and play.

Armored Saurus

558 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Shooom’s Odyssey

The Treehouse Stories (S3: 28x7 min.) Four friends meet in a secret treehouse to share their favorite books and dive into the story.

Ella, Oscar & Hoo (52x11 min.) For a smart bubbly girl, a bouncy little boy and a very young cloud chasing dinosaur, every day is a new adventure, an opportunity to learn together about courage, honesty and childhood friendship.

My Life in Versailles (1x26 min.) When Violette suddenly becomes an orphan, she is sent to live with her uncle Régis, who lives in the Versailles castle.

Unfortunately, she strongly dislikes him—at first.

Loco’s Lab (13x11 min.) The crazy adventures of Nina, a rebellious girl who fights for “lost causes” along with her uncle Dr. C. The Jolly Jesters (26x3.5 min.) The characters embody a theatre troop which live true historical stories in a fun way. They take you on a journey through the daily life of the Middle Ages.

Petit (26x7 min.) Discover Petit’s unique and imaginative perspective about daily situations that will become adventures he will have to face being brave and creative, and always with the help of his friends.

DHX MEDIA (WILDBRAIN)

O (1-416) 363-8034 m sales@dhxmedia.com

w www.dhxmedia.com

Stand: R7.M19 Contact: Eric Ellenbogen, CEO; Josh Scherba, pres.; Anne Loi, chief commercial officer; Stephanie Betts, EVP, content & current series; Jerry Diaz, VP, dist.; Lara Ilie, VP, rights strategy; Gary Finnegan, VP, pgmng. strategy, TV; Wiebke Hoefer, snr. dir., sales; Liz Thompson, snr. dir., mktg. & comms.; Richard Rowe, dir., intl. acq. & coprod.; Darcee McCartney, sales mgr.; Rebecca Lugo, sales mgr.; Jeff Cooke, mktg. mgr., dist.; Veronica Manzerolle, pgmng. & acq. mgr., TV. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Malory Towers (Kids live-action, 13x24 min.) Based on the hugely popular book series of the same name by Enid Blyton, follows

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 12:32 PM Page 13

TV LISTINGS 13 12-year-old Darrell Rivers as she leaves home for the first time to attend an all-girls’ boarding school.

Springboard (w.t.) (Kids live-action, 15x30 min.)

Produced by Frank van Keeken, the award-winning creator of The Next Step and Lost & Found: Music Studios, follows Jenny Cortez, a talented young gymnast, who moves to a new city when her family gets the opportunity to run their own gymnastics club.

Springboard (w.t.)

Chip & Potato (Preschool 2D, 40x11 min.)

Chip, a 4-year-old pug puppy, takes her first steps towards independence at kindergarten.

Her secret friend, Potato is always snuggled up in her pocket for comfort. Everyone thinks Potato is just a toy but it is actually a mouse.

Dorg Van Dango (Kids 6-11 2D, 52x11 min.)

Dorg Van Dango is a normal kid, living in the very normal town of Normill, until he meets the Magicals—Jet Lazor the super-cool unicorn, Petronella, an ancient witch, RD a curious alien and Yooki, an eerie ghost—escapees from Area 51 in desperate need of help and refuge.

Rev & Roll (Preschool 3D, 52x11 min.) Join 8year-old Rev and his best friend, Rumble, a rambunctious, powerful truck with a puppy personality as they help around town or roar through the wilderness.

Polly Pocket (Kids 6-9 2D, 26x22 min. & 26x11 min.) When 11-year-old Polly Pocket shrinks to four inches tall, she discovers a world of unlimited adventures where the smallest person can make the biggest difference! Season two in production.

Mega Man: Fully Charged (Kids 6-11 3D, 52x11 min.) A regular robo-kid, Aki Light discovers secret programming that transforms him into Mega Man.

DISCOVERY, INC.

Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox (4x60 min.) Megan Fox is taking an extraordinary journey across the globe to re-examine some of the world’s most enduring legends and lore.

Salvage Hunters (15x60 min.) With demanding customers, high turnover and one of the biggest decorative salvage yards in Britain, Drew Pritchard travels the country, searching for derelict gems and forgotten remnants.

Steel Buddies (14x60 min.) This documentary series accompanies engine and mechanics experts Michael Manousakis and the guys from Morlock Motors in their worldwide search for discarded army vehicles, all lovingly restored.

Drag Me Down The Aisle (Format) Four of America’s most beloved Drag Queens have made it their mission to make brides feel like Queens on their big day.

Bakers Vs. Fakers (Format) Can a talented home baker out-cook a professional, or do true professionals have skills that no amateur could match? With an even playing ground, a blind taste test will determine whose dish is the best.

Guy’s Grocery Games (Format) Guy Fieri sends four talented chefs running through the aisles in a high-stakes, high-skills, grocery-store cooking competition.

DORI MEDIA GROUP

O (41-43) 817-7050 m sales@dorimedia.com

w www.dorimedia.com,

www.dorimediadistribution.com Stand: P-1.F50 Contact: Nadav Palti, pres. & CEO; Leora Nir, CEO, Dori TLV; Givon Snir, CEO, MeMeMe Studios; Carolina Sabbag, VP, sales, Dori Media Dist.; Pauline Ick, VP, sales, Dori Media Dist.; Camila Premet, sales mgr., Dori Media Dist. Argentina; Tali Fink, dir., acq., Dori TLV; Einat BorovichNaim, mktg. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Losing Alice (Psychological thriller, 8x60 min.)

Tells the story of Alice, an ambitious 47-year-old film director, who becomes obsessed with 24year-old femme-fatale Sophie and eventually surrenders all moral integrity in order to achieve power, success and unlimited relevance.

O (1-212) 548-5365 m cara_brugnoli@discovery.com

w www.discoveryprogramsales.com Stand: P4.C20 Contact: Elliot Wagner, SVP, global pgm. sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Mysterious Planet (5x60 min.) An epic journey to the ends of the earth to unlock the greatest mysteries behind the world’s most incredible species.

24 Hour War (1x120 min.) Looks at the Ford versus Ferrari rivalry at Le Mans that started in 1963 and became one of the most famous battles in racing history.

Crikey! It’s the Irwins (14x60 min.) Follows Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin as they run Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.

Ghost Adventures (13x60 min.) Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley travel to haunted destinations to meet with locals, eyewitnesses and experts to piece together the haunted history of each site.

Mysterious Planet

Normal

Normal (Drama, 8x60 min.) When 24-year-old Noam Ashkenazy hits rock bottom, he finds his own route to normality in the unlikeliest of places: the psych ward.

Corte y Confeccion (The Fashion House) (Fashion talent/reality) Seeks out the best talent among the self-taught, amateurs, students and professionals in the fashion industry with careers related to clothing design.

Run!!! (Kids horror, 10x30 min.) A group of friends meet for a fun game night at an escape room, but as the evening continues, they find out that each room is designed based on a different member of the group, and they can’t get out without revealing their deepest secrets to each other.

Middle East Central (Comedy, 10x30 min.) Three terrorists are sent to Israel to carry out a suicide attack. From the start, the mission is at risk because the leader of the group falls in love with a Jewish woman and is not keen on dying so soon.

Rampensau (Dumb Germany) (Crime drama, 10x60 min.) A frustrated, impulsive 30-year-old actress goes undercover as a high school student, trying to help her arrested boyfriend, and finding herself enjoying the danger a bit too much.

Dumb (Crime drama, S1-3: 75x35 min.) Following the achievement of the ultimate romantic fantasy, in

which Shiri and Assaf escaped abroad with millions of stolen euros, they are finally free to fulfill their love, but instead reality rears its ugly head.

La Entrega (The Drop) (Crime/thriller, 10x50 min.) A series about the huge number of people who go missing in Bolivia, revealing a world of power games, sex cravings and violence.

The Box (Kids reality format, S2) Talent show for kids (aged 5 to 14), where viewers will see, for the first time, a social media star born on TV. Power Couple (Reality format) Puts love to the test like you’ve never seen before as eight couples face extreme challenges that will test how well they really know each other.

DQ ENTERTAINMENT (INTERNATIONAL)

DYNAMIC TELEVISION

O (1-323) 433-0100 m dmarch@dynamictelevision.com

w www.dynamictelevision.com

Stand: R8.B21 Contact: Dan March, mng. partner; Klaus Zimmermann, mng. partner; Gilda Demirtas, VP, intl. sales; Isabelle Carriere-March, sales; Jan Bennemann, VP, acq. & coprod.; Tasja Abel, VP, sales & coprod.; Ryan St. Peters, sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Deliver Us (Thriller, 8x60 min.) In a small town five people join forces and plan the perfect murder of the local town psycho.

O (91-40) 2355-3726/27 m distribution@dqentertainment.com

w www.dqentertainment.com

Stand: P-1.L20 Contact: Tapaas Chakravarti, CEO & mng. dir.; Manoj Mishra, COO; Nivedita Chakravarti, AVP, IP division; Swastik Sekhar Patra, AVP, lic. & dist.; Laurent Amar, PR & comms., France; PR Vishnu, mgr., lic. & dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Scrambled (Kids 6-9 CGI fantasy adventure, 52x11 min.) Living breakfast creatures Eggy and his friends in Refrigetora have their own awesome universe and a wild sense of humor.

Scrambled

Toadlly Awesome (Kids 6-9 CGI comedy adventure, 52x11 min.) Follow the adventures of racecar-driving, skydiving, yodeling, and extreme mini-golfing, hyperactive Toad and his two best friends, Mole and Ratty.

Cuddle Cubbies (Kids 3-6 CGI fantasy adventure, 78x7 min.) Six preschoolers with the ability to conjure “Cuddle Power” embark on extraordinary adventures and discover the joys of learning, teamwork and friendship.

The Psammy Show (Kids 5-9 CGI comedy adventure, 52x11 min.) Follows the adventures and escapades of five children after they unearth and befriend a magical sand fairy who grants them one free wish every day.

The Jungle Book (Kids 4-8 CGI comedy adventure, S1-3: 156x11 min.) Rudyard Kipling’s most loved characters come to life. The stories narrate the escapades of the man cub Mowgli, who was raised in Indian jungle by a pack of wolves.

The Jungle Book Safari (Kids 5-9 CGI & liveaction edutainment, 26x12 min.) Mixes The Jungle Book animation with real-life footage of animals in their natural habitats.

The New Adventures of Peter Pan (Kids 5-9 CGI fantasy adventure, S1-2: 52x32 min.) Peter Pan and the new-generation Wendy, Michael and John fight to save Neverland from the evil Captain Hook and many more unimaginable evils.

The New Adventures of Lassie (Kids 6-9 2D family adventure, 26x22 min.) Lassie has a talking avatar for the first time, joined by her human companion, Zoe Parker.

Robin Hood (Kids 5-9 CGI action adventure, S1-2: 104x11 min.) Young Robin and his friends stand up to Prince John’s whims in a show where action, magic and friendship combine to make a happy mix.

Mysteries & Feluda (Kids 6-9 2D action adventure, 13x22 min.) Based on Satyajit Ray’s famous detective character. Feluda and his friends are ready to bring down the most notorious criminals and solve crimes.

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 559

Deliver Us

The Sommerdahl Murders (Crime procedural, 8x45 min./4x90 min.) Set in a picturesque coastal town, best friends Detective Dan Sommerdahl and Detective Superintendent Fleming Torp solve intriguing and complex murder cases. Based on Anna Grue’s famous crime novels.

Vagrant Queen (Sci-fi, 10x60 min.) Follows Elida from child queen to orphaned outcast, as she scavenges the treacherous corners of the galaxy, always one step ahead of the Republic government out to extinguish her bloodline.

Creepshow (Horror, 12x30 min./6x60 min.) A reboot of the classic horror anthology.

How to Stay Married (Comedy, 16x30 min.)

After 15 years of marriage, the lives of parents Greg and Em change when Em returns to work, Greg is made redundant and his brother Brad moves in.

ECCHO RIGHTS

O (46-8) 5560-9380 m info@ecchorights.com

w ecchorights.com

Stand: P3.B1 Contact: Fredrik af Malmborg, mng. dir.; Nicola Söderlund, mng. partner; Handan Özkubat, dir., Turkish drama; Barbora Suster, head, LatAm & Iberia; Nixon Yau Lim, head, AsiaPac; Lisa Widén, sales & acq. exec., Scandinavia; Liisa Helmi, head, business affairs, sales, Africa.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Everywhere I Go (Drama, 45 min. eps.) When two young people realize they have bought the same property, their stubbornness sees them living together—even when Selin finds out that Demir is her new boss.

Water Mirror

My Sweet Lie (Drama, 45 min. eps.) A little white lie becomes hard to maintain when a woman arrives at Nejat’s house and his daughter believes her to be her long-lost mother.

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 8:24 AM Page 14

14

TV LISTINGS

Heart & Soul (Drama, 45 min. eps.) Twenty years after she was forced to abandon her daughter, run away and change identity, Diana feels safe to return home. But her previous life soon catches up with her.

Water Mirror (Drama, 45 min. eps.) When Rita embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about a past she doesn’t remember, she unknowingly seeks help from the people who caused her family’s demise.

North Star (Drama, 45 min. eps.) Kuzey returns to his hometown hoping to win back the family he once deserted. When he encounters his childhood sweetheart he wonders if it was destiny that brought him home.

Sisterhood (Drama, 45 min. eps.) Three women receive anonymous letters telling them that they are related, but their family bond is quickly tested by a violent husband and a murder cover up.

Honour (Crime thriller, 45 min. eps.) A team of lawyers, used to representing victims, find themselves defending a murderer in a desperate attempt to cover up their own dark history, with secrets from the past threatening to come to the surface.

Swiping (Comedy/drama, 45 min. eps.) Ella is a single mother with a great career but missing something in life. When her best friend convinces her to test an online dating app, the results are emotional, educational but often hilarious.

Invisible Heroes (Historical drama, 45 min. eps.) True story of two Finnish diplomats who saved the lives of thousands of Chilean citizens during the Pinochet military coup of 1973.

Solar Impact (Sci-fi/action/horror, 1x85 min.)

The Earth suffers massive destruction and the people that are exposed to solar radiation experience genetic cellular mutations that cause them to attack and feed on the uncontaminated.

ENCORE INTERNATIONAL

O (1-514) 270-0011 m sales@encoretvintl.com

w encoretvintl.com

Stand: P-1.A0/P-1.A51 Contact: Dominique Simard, mng. dir.; Chrystine Girard, head, intl. dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Last Night (Crime doc., 6x45 min.) The result of two years of research by an investigative journalist whose only goal is to try to reveal the truth about the gruesome murder of two children, still unsolved after 45 years.

Between Two Worlds

Unmasking Jihadi John: The Anatomy of a Terrorist (Factual, 1x98 min./1x68 min.) From Emmy Award-winning producer Nutopia, in association with Livedrop Media for HBO (U.S. and Canada) and Channel 4 (U.K.) Inside China (Factual, 1x60 min.) From fivetime Emmy-winning Hardcash Productions, uncovering the truth on China’s prison camps and the most sophisticated surveillance system in the world.

ENTERTAINMENT ONE FAMILY & BRANDS

O (44-20) 3691-8600 m tseagers@entonegroup.com

ELECTRIC ENTERTAINMENT

w www.entertainmentone.com

O (1-323) 817-1300 m sales@electricentertainment.com

w www.electricentertainment.com

Stand: P-1.A51 Tables 2 & 6 Contact: Dean Devlin, CEO; Sonia Mehandjiyska, head, intl. dist.; Nolan Pielak, SVP, intl. dist. & coprod.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Almost Paradise (Action/crime, 10x60 min.) Set in the Philippines, a DEA agent’s tropical retirement gets interrupted when he finds himself at the center of an international drug investigation.

The Suspect (Factual, 4x60 min.) True-crime mystery investigating the brutal murder of millionaire Richard Oland and examining the police misconduct, media frenzy and wrongful conviction of his son that followed.

But Why?

But Why? (Doc., 6x45 min.) Features a media celebrity as she tries to learn more about lifestyle choices that arouse her curiosity, or which she fails to understand, or even make her somewhat uncomfortable: money, nudity, religion and parenthood are among the subject matters she delves into.

Distortion (Doc., 13x30 min.) TV adaptation of a popular podcast, exploring the strangest stories of the digital age through the eyes of our hosts, two people passionate about all things web and technology.

A Couple of Nerds (Pop-science doc., 6x27 min.) Follows the everyday lives of Mathieu and Marianne, a perfectly matched pair of nerds searching for the scientific answers behind everything they do.

The Fisher King Race (Adventure doc., 8x45 min.) Every year in May, 325 crews from the Magdalen Islands take to the seas to catch lobster, a highly coveted seasonal commodity.

Stand: C15.A5 Contact: Olivier Dumont, pres.; Nick Gawne, COO; Monica Candiani, EVP, content sales; Jillianne Reinseth, SVP, creative affairs; Josie Grierson, dir., creative affairs; Macaulay Wong, dir., content sales, Asia; Luciana Bianchi Vicos, snr. dir., content sales; Ralf Kies, snr. dir., content sales; Alex Beckett, dir., content sales; Tara Craze, VP, digital; Toby Seagers, coordinator, content sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Ricky Zoom (Preschool CGI, 52x11 min.) Built for speed, Ricky Zoom is a little red rescue bike who shares his experiences with his loyal Bike Buddies Loop, Scootio and DJ. Together they race around the sports track, try new stunts at the park and zoom into every adventure.

ENTERTAINMENT ONE (EONE) The Outpost

The Outpost (Fantasy/adventure, 23x60 min.)

After her village is destroyed, Talon travels to track down the killers. She soon discovers a supernatural power she must learn to control to defend the world against a religious dictator.

Stephen J. Cannell Library (Drama) Includes TV hits from the 1970s through the 1990s, among them 21 Jump Street, The Commish, The Greatest American Hero, Silk Stalkings, Booker, Hunter, Renegade and Wiseguy.

Change Is in the Air (Drama, 1x94 min.) A peaceful community is forever changed when a mysterious young woman with a secret moves in.

Say My Name (Comedy/romance, 1x83 min.)

When a one-night stand gets interrupted by a robbery, strangers are forced to navigate the underbelly of a sleepy Welsh isle to get back their stolen property.

Alone (Horror/thriller, 1x81 min.) A writer finds peace in the countryside far from the city but soon realizes that her inner demons are not the worst of her problems.

O (44-20) 3691-8600 m tvinfo@entonegroup.com

Ricky Zoom

Stand: C15.A5 Contact: Stuart Baxter, pres., intl. dist.; Dan Gopal, EVP, sales, EMEA, intl. dist.; Joyce Yeung, EVP, sales AsiaPac, intl. dist.; Dan Loewy, EVP, sales, Americas, intl. dist.; Noel Hedges, EVP, acq., intl. dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Deputy (Drama, 13x60 min.) Stephen Dorff (True Detective) stars as old-school, rule-breaking Deputy Bill Hollister, who is appointed Sheriff of LA County after the elected sheriff suddenly dies.

Between Two Worlds (Drama, 10x60 min.)

Stars Hermione Norris (Cold Feet) in an intense, high-concept melodrama about two disconnected worlds thrown together by death, sacrifice and the chance for new life Nurses (Drama, 10x60 min.) Starring Tiera Skovbye (Riverdale), follows five newly appointed nurses navigating the start of their careers in highstakes emergency unit of St. Mary’s Hospital.

Peppa Pig (Preschool 2D, 312x5 min. & 4 specials) Peppa is a lovable, cheeky little piggy who lives with her younger brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. PJ Masks (Preschool CGI, 156x11 min.) Follows the thrilling night time exploits of three young friends who transform into their dynamic super hero alter egos, Catboy, Owlette and Gekko, when they put their pajamas on at night and activate their animal amulets.

Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom (Preschool 2D, 104x11 min.) Little Kingdom is home to Princess Holly, a young fairy still learning how to do magic properly, and her elf best friend, Ben. Cupcake and Dino: General Services (Kids 2D comedy, 52x11 min.) Follows the larger than life exploits of Cupcake, a pastry with a Napoleon complex, and his fun-loving brother, Dino, as they strive to make a name for themselves in the General Services business.

Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding Dong (Kids 7-11 2D, 52x11 min.) Winston Steinburger, a fearless, fun-first, thrill-seeking Space Kid, sets

w www.entertainmentone.com

560 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

out to explore every solar system star and space-monster in the Universe with the help of his hapless cat, Sir Dudley Ding Dong, and his pint-sized galaxy guardian, Hampton.

Humf (Preschool 2D animation, 78x7 min.)

Humf is short, round and cuddly and always curious to learn about the world around him.

Lost and Found (Family animation, 1x30 min.) A boy found a penguin at his door and together they set out in his row boat on a journey to the South Pole.

The Magic Hockey Skates (Family animation, 1x30 min.) A 9-year-old boy who dreams of being a hockey champion can only afford a pair of secondhand skates, but it turns out they’re magical, granting him three wishes.

Raymond (Kids 6-9, 78x7 min.) When you’re 8 years old, have an oversized head, unruly red hair and thick round glasses, life is far from simple. And no one knows that better than Raymond.

FILMRISE

O (1-718) 369-9090 m contact@filmrise.com

w www.filmrise.com

Stand: Buyers Lounge Contact: Danny Fisher, CEO; Melissa Wohl, head, sales; Vlad Wolynetz, head, TV prod.; Max Einhorn, VP, acq.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS West of Liberty (6x60 min.) Former Stasi agent and CIA informant Ludwig Licht is dragged back into the darkest corners of the intelligence world. (U.S. & Canada)

West of Liberty

Little Dog (S1: 7x30 min., S2: 8x30 min.)

Washed up pro boxer “Little Dog” Ross embarks on one last attempt to prove his worth in this raunchy comedy. (U.S.) The Cat and the Moon (1x108 min.) Nick comes to NYC to stay with Cal, an old friend of his late father’s, and makes friends who show him the city. (U.S.) Unintended (1x92 min.) On the verge of losing her apartment and job, Leah is forced to confront her demons from her childhood memories. (U.S.) Nighthawks (1x90 min.) Wide-eyed Midwest transplant Stan agrees to play wingman to his calculating, privileged roommate Chad as they embark upon an exploration of glittering New York nightlife.

1275 Days (1x80 min.) Fifteen-year-old Blake is facing a life prison sentence. An uphill battle ensues for 1,275 days as his family vows to keep fighting for Blake’s freedom. (U.S.)

FOR FUN DISTRIBUTION

O (39) 33560-8227 m info@forfundistribution.com

w www.forfundistribution.com

Stand: R7.L23 Contact: Francesco Mozzetti, mng. dir.; Valeria Quattrini, intl. sales mgr.

Topo Gigio

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 12:33 PM Page 15

TV LISTINGS 15 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT Topo Gigio (Preschool, 52x11 min.) This entertainment icon now makes his animated debut with a comedy series featuring an ensemble cast of characters in carefree and irresistible adventures.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Touch the Earth (Kids 5-7 CGI eco adventure, 52x11 min.) Based on the book series by Julian Lennon and Bart Davis, a group of international friends join a magical White Feather on global adventures to help make our world a better place.

GAUMONT

O (1-424) 281-5200 m sales@gaumont.com

w www.gaumont.us

Stand: R8.C1 Contact: Christophe Riandee, vice CEO; Vanessa Shapiro, pres., worldwide TV dist. & coprod.; Isabelle DeGeorges, pres., TV, France; Cécilia Rossignol, VP, intl. TV sales, scripted; Rod Rodrigo, exec. dir., TV sales, EMEA; Mathilde Rottier, VP, intl. TV sales, U.S. & Canada; Ben Bishop, VP, intl.

TV sales, Australia, New Zealand, Asia; Eze Olzanski, VP, intl. TV sales & coprod., LatAm; Christian Gabela, VP, intl. coprod.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS El Presidente (Drama, 8x60 min.) Amazon Prime original series inspired by the real-life characters and events behind the 2015 “FIFA Gate” corruption scandal.

A Very Corgi Christmas

Narcos (Drama, 50x60 min.) Netflix original chronicles the real-life rise to global power and wealth story of the world’s most infamous drug lords.

NOX (Drama, 6x60 min.) A Creation Originale series for Canal+ about a retired cop forced back into action when her daughter disappears into the Paris underground.

The Art of Crime (Drama, 18x60 min.) A hotheaded detective teams up with an art historian from the Louvre to delve into mysteries that capture French culture and history. Produced for France 2.

Murder in Lisieux (Drama, 1x90 min.) A police commander and a nun at the Carmel of Lisieux chapel uncover the mystery behind a dead body found in a newly restored statue of Saint Thérèse. Produced for France 3.

Merry Christmas Match (Holiday, 1x90 min.)

Corey, the director of the annual Christmas pageant, questions her future in her small hometown after a chance encounter with a handsome stranger.

A Very Corgi Christmas (Holiday, 1x90 min.) A single mom—and confirmed workaholic—runs into a fellow single dad who enlists her help in taking care of a cute corgi puppy he plans to give his daughter at Christmas.

Christmas Runaway Wedding (Holiday, 1x90 min.) A runaway bride does some soulsearching about an old flame with her grandmother while trapped in a snowed-in cabin over the Christmas holiday.

Christmas A La Mode (Holiday, 1x90 min.)

Emily’s plans to keep her family’s dairy farm are threatened by a visit from her sister and a handsome stranger at Christmas.

Touch the Earth

The Royal Family (Kids 5-7 2D comedy, 52x11 min.) Based on the book series La Famille Royale

by Christophe Mauri and Aurore Damant, a modern-day royal family is eager to explore the extraordinarily ordinary discoveries of everyday life.

Bionic Max (Kids 6-11 2D buddy comedy, 52x11 min.) A malfunctioning bionic guinea pig and his goldfish buddy escape from their laboratory into Woodchuck Woods and must learn to adapt in this urban jungle.

Furiki Wheels (Kids 6-11 2D/CGI buddy comedy, 52x11 min.) André Furiki is a hyperactive young sloth with oodles of drive to become a racecar driver.

Belle and Sebastian (Kids 5-9 2D adventure, 52x11 min.) The adventures of a courageous young boy and his huge white dog, who will rush to anybody’s rescue, friend or foe, no matter the risk.

Do, Re & Mi (Kids 2-5 CG, 52x11 min.) An animated lyrical series for preschoolers featuring original tracks performed by executive producers Kristen Bell (Frozen) and Jackie Tohn (Glow, American Idol).

Atomic Puppet (Kids 6-11 2D comedy/action, 52x11 min.) Captain Atomic and Joey become an awkward and comedic duo after Captain Atomic is transformed into a super-powered puppet activated by Joey’s fist.

Calimero (Kids 2-5 CG comedy, 104x13 min.)

With his big heart, three eager companions, and an old mill teeming with incredible inventions, Calimero tries to put right all those things in life that are just not fair.

Galactik Football (Kids 6-11 CG action, 78x26 min.) An ultimate sci-fi football game that mixes football, teen drama, amazing planets and scary enemies.

Lanfuest Quest (Kids 6-11 CG adventure comedy, 26x26 min.) A mystical medallion that endows superhuman powers falls into the hands of a hotheaded teenager who doesn’t know how to use his newly acquired power.

GENIUS BRANDS INTERNATIONAL

O (1-310) 273-4222 m info@gnusbrands.com

w www.gnusbrands.com

Stand: P-1.B11 Contact: Andy Heyward, chmn. & CEO; Caroline Tyre, SVP, intl. dist. & mktg. & head, Genius Brands Network; Jon Ollwerther, VP, business dvpmt.; Mark Shoeman, dir., dist.

GAUMONT ANIMATION & FAMILY

O (1-424) 281-5200 m sales@gaumont.com

w www.gaumont.us

Stand: R8.C1 Contact: Christophe Riandee, vice CEO, Gaumont; Nicolas Atlan, pres.; Terry Kalagian, SVP, creative dvpmt.; Kimberly Dennison, VP, creative dvpmt.; Courtney Arumugan, VP, creative dvpmt., Europe; Laura Laas, VP, intl. TV sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten (Preschool animation, 52x11 min.) Created by Stan Lee, comedy adventure series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger features superhero-driven stories with valuable lessons about health, exercise, anti-bullying and using talents for good.

Rainbow Rangers (Preschool animation, 26x30 min. & 52x11 min.) An empowering adventure following the lives of Earth’s first responders, whose mission is to help protect the planet’s environment and its animal inhabitants.

Llama Llama (Preschool animation, 15x30 min.) Starring Jennifer Garner, the series tells heartwarming tales of life in a safe, friendly town seen through the eyes of Llama as he interacts with the amazing world around him.

Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten

GLOBAL AGENCY

O (90-212) 241-2693 m info@theglobalagency.tv

the perfect birthday party for their own children, judged by an uncompromising jury—their kids.

The Advertiser (Reality game-show format, 90 min. eps) Brings together brands and their products with young and innovative advertising creatives.

GLOBOSAT

O (55-21) 2145-8802 m tompson@globosat.com.br

w globosatcontent.com

Stand: P0.A10 Contact: Beatriz Tompson, snr. sales exec.; Marina Pontes, sales asst.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Bono the Surfing Dog (9x30 min.) Bono is a 6-year-old Labrador and two-time world surfing champion who lives a routine around the sport and travels around the world with his owner, coach and friend, Ivan Moreira.

w www.theglobalagency.tv

Stand: R8.E17 Contact: Izzet Pinto, fndr. & CEO; Pamir Guroglu, COO; Rozlin Sevindiren, head, finance; Umay Ayaz, head, acq.; Senay Filiztekin, head, drama acq.; Duygu Safak, head, mktg. comms.; Işıl Türkşen, sales dir., Asia; Şenay Taş, sales dir., CEE; Ivan Sanchez, sales dir., LatAm; Gözde Sergili, sales dir., Europe; Deniz Tüzün, sales dir., Russia, CIS; Miroslav Radojevic, sales dir., MENA, Africa; Ekin Gabay, sales dir., North America, Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand; Cheryl Godfrey Ross, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Daydreamer (Dramedy, 161x60 min.) A fun-loving daydreamer sets off on a tumultuous journey of romantic adventure, leaving behind her father’s grocery store to tame the wild heart of a world-famous photographer and teach them both about love.

Daydreamer

Sisters (Drama, S1: 53x60 min., S2: ongoing) Love and betrayal drive sisters apart with an enmity deep enough to poison their daughters’ lives when they later cross paths, leaving them destined to face the same ordeal.

Evermore (Drama, S1: 51x60 min., S2: 129x60 min., S3: 121x60 min.) The passionate love between a wealthy businessman and a poor singer struggles to survive in a battle against deep-rooted family traditions that prize power over romance.

Gulperi (Drama, S1: 93x60 min.) A woman struggles to fulfill her dreams in the face of a tyrannical family determined to control her every step, battling alone to win the hearts of the children turned against her and carve out the loving life she craves.

Meryem (Drama, 94x60 min.) A car accident transforms three people’s lives, drawing them into a triangle of love, lies and revenge that threatens to destroy them, unless love can overcome hate.

Babysitter Celebrity Undercover (Lifestyle/reality format, 90 min. eps.) Celebrities transform themselves to become undercover babysitters.

Golden Spoon (Cooking format, 55 min. eps.)

Can a mother’s homemade dish beat that of professional chefs?

Sanatorium of Love (Reality/social experiment format, 45 min. eps) Six senior women and six senior men set off to a picturesque health resort in the mountains to get to know one another and experience new adventures.

Magic Moms (Lifestyle/reality competition format) Moms take each other on by creating and organizing

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 561

Bono the Surfing Dog

Down The Pacific (15x30 min.) Luiza and Stephan met on a 45-day boat trip across the Pacific Ocean looking for waves. Now they are going on a road trip all along the West Coast of the American continent, from Alaska to Patagonia.

Planet Uncharted (15x30 min.) Four Brazilian surfers and Silvestre Campo, director of photography, take a sail boat for a 50-day expedition between Russia and Alaska Family Spices (45x30 min.) A culinary show that reveals the secrets of good food but demystifies the idea that for cooking we need complicated ingredients and utensils.

Pedro Around the World (20x60 min.) Brazilian presenter Pedro Andrade travels throughout the continents chasing the social, political and economic changes experienced by the countries.

This Is Why I Am Vindictive (13x30 min.) Tired of the tedious life at the laundry, Sara decides that the time has come to take revenge on the men who have humiliated her through the years.

Making Room (Format) Celebrities give up unused clothing, shoes and accessories, which are then sold online. Proceeds will be donated to an institution.

Brainiacs (78x30 min.) Isaac is 12 years old and earns an opportunity to get his education at a very special place: the Genius School.

When introduced to robotics, he finds a way to help his quadriplegic sister play videogames again.

Gigablaster (52x15 min.) Giga is a blue rhinoceros who is charged with an odd mission: to sing like the Headless Japanese, the long missing legend of Cool Daddy’s, the coolest karaoke bar in the city of Corner Pocket.

A Life on the Road (23x30 min.) Marcela Witt and Nelson Pinto explore the world on four wheels, searching for new and unique places, people and experiences.

GMA WORLDWIDE

O (632) 333-7633 m gwi@gmanetwork.com

w www.gmaworldwide.tv

Stand: P-1.E67 Contact: Roxanne J. Barcelona, VP; Ana Racquel A. Sevilla, sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS For Love or Money (Drama, 50x45 min.) Will a devoted wife let her fidelity be shaken and give in to an indecent proposal if it is the only way to save her husband’s life?

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 12:34 PM Page 16

16

TV LISTINGS

Love You Two (Romantic comedy, 50x45 min.) Sisters Raffy and Sam had a perfect relationship until they unintentionally fell in love with the same guy.

GOLDBEE

O (34) 665-467-853 m christophe@goldbee.es

w www.goldbee.es

Contact: Christophe Goldberger, mng. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Heirs of the Night (Live action, 26x26 min.) Europe, 1889. The heirs of the five remaining vampire clans are brought together on the ship The Elisabetha to attend the newly created vampire school. Unlike their parents, they need to join forces and become stronger than ever in order to survive.

Obsession

The Silent Thief (Crime drama, 45x45 min.) In Jessie’s quest to find her abducted son, she uncovers secrets that will point to unlikely suspects and will push her to the limit.

Sahaya (Drama, 60x45 min.) Will a young woman’s new world bring her happiness and peace? Or will she return to her roots to find her purpose and destiny?

Obsession (Thriller, 45x45 min.) Yvie faces off with a strange rival, the vengeful spirit of her husband’s dead ex-girlfriend who will stop at nothing to wreak havoc in her life.

The Better Woman (Drama, 30x45 min.)

Andrew’s fidelity is put to a test when he meets Juliet, an exotic dancer who is his wife’s long-lost identical twin.

Prima Donnas (Family drama, 25x45 min.)

Fraternal triplets separated from their father must find their way back home and earn their rights as heiresses to the family wealth.

Beautiful Justice (Crime drama, 25x45 min.) A common grief brings together three ladies to team up and infiltrate a drug syndicate responsible for the death of their loved ones.

The Gift (Drama, 25x45 min.) Joseph may be blind, but he sees what ordinary eyes cannot see—glimpses of past and future events.

My Crown Princess (Romantic comedy, 25x45 min.) Can a man-hater survive a maledominated field and reach her dream of becoming a female ship captain?

GO-N INTERNATIONAL

O (33-1) 4874-8700 m eric.garnet@go-n.fr,

anne.degalard@go-n.fr

w www.go-n.fr

Stand: P1.A75 Contact: Eric Garnet, producer, co-fndr.; Anne de Galard, producer, co-fndr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Simon (Preschool animation, S1-3: 156x5 min.)

Simon is an adorable little rabbit who exudes all the vitality of childhood.

Zip Zip (Animated comedy, S1-2: 104x11 min.)

Washington the fox, Sam the wild boar, his sister Eugenie the boar piglet and Suzie the blackbird are still “undercover.”

Tib & Tumtum (Comedy/adventure animation, 52x13 min.) The story of the incredible friendship between a boy and a dinosaur.

Becca’s Bunch

Becca’s Bunch (Preschool) Becca and her friends see an opportunity for adventure in every situation. Becca’s positivity, leadership and nevergive-up spirit keeps the bunch, and her neighborhood, forging ahead.

The Worst Witch (Live action, 1x58 min. & 24x28 min.) Mildred Hubble is a first-year student at Cackle’s Academy for Witches, and is living every child’s dream—learning how to do real magic.

The Athena (Live action, 26x26 min.) Nyela Malik, a young model whose career implodes when she dares to complain about a famous designer treating her like an object, wins a place at London’s most prestigious art school.

Chop Chop Ninja (Animation, 40x11 min. & 40x1.5 min.) Follows the antics of a clumsy ninjain-training and his friends as they protect their island home from a villainous organization.

The Bureau of Magical Things (Live action, 40x25 min.) Teenager Kyra acquires magical powers when caught in a clash between an elf and a fairy. When a threat emerges, she must unite fairies, elves and humans to save them all.

Cleo & Cuquin (Preschool, 78x7 min. & 26x2 min.) In each episode, Cleo and Cuquin, with the help from their four siblings, will find solutions for all kinds of small situations. At the end of every adventure, Cleo will know what she wants to be when she grows up—or at least for that day.

School of Roars (Preschool animation, 52x7 min.) Going to school for the first time is one of the biggest things you’ll do in your life.

Zoom, The White Dolphin (Animation, 104x12 min.) Yann and Marina experience thrilling adventures on an island paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. An extraordinary friendship blossoms with a mysterious white dolphin.

Mako Mermaids (Live action, 68x26 min.) Mako is a magical island that a pod of mermaids calls home. Their peaceful lives are turned upside down when a merman develops a connection with the island that poses a threat to their existence.

GOQUEST MEDIA VENTURES

O (91-22) 495-591-00 m contact@goquestmedia.com

w www.goquestmedia.com

Tib & Tumtum

Stand: P-1.J9 Contact: Vivek Lath, fndr. & CEO; Jimmy George, VP, sales & acq.; Harshad Wadadekar, GM, content sales; Akshit Sandhu, asst. mgr., content acq. & sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Eclipse (Romance/thriller, 8x45 min.) Sergie’s onesided love turns to obsession when he meets his childhood school crush, Svetlana, after 20 years.

Ruby Ring

Rain Flower (Drama/romance, 8x45 min.) An adolescent tale of two step siblings who fall in deeply and passionately in love with each other.

Ruby Ring (Drama/romance/thriller, 95x45 min.) A fatal accident disfigured their faces and altered their destiny, putting two sisters at a vital crossroad in their lives—in conflict with each other for the perfect life.

Secrets (Drama/romance/mystery, 95x45 min.) Mysterious events and destiny lead two childhood lovers, Mykola and Katya, to reunite and return to their homeland. Knowing Katya’s missing father can be the murderer of Mykola’s mother, will the two lovers separate?

Paper Pusher (Crime drama, 16x48 min.) Detective Sergey Tumanov is a pen pusher, a police archives dweller, who doesn’t know how to fight or use fire weapons. He is determined to prove that even a man like him can find a way to stop criminals.

The Policeman’s Wife (Crime drama, 16x48 min.)

What happens when a perfect wife discovers that her husband is a dirty cop? A seemingly frail woman has to protect her family and her police officer husband who is strong on the surface but rotten inside.

Man At Arms (Science docuseries, 8x60 min.)

Expert craftsmen recreate iconic weapons from video games, movies and comics. Then, each creation is tested for its strength and real-world functionality. Hosted by Danny Trejo.

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter (Doc., 42x60 min.) This roundtable interview series features the hottest A-list stars and directors from the year’s most acclaimed films and television series.

Whacked Out Sports (Sports clip show, 100x30 min.) Features hysterical professional and amateur sports mishaps, crashes and bloopers from all around the world.

Showdown of the Unbeatables (Competition, 9x60 min.) Inventors and entrepreneurs pit their products and machines against each other in the ultimate head-to-head battle.

GREEN GOLD ANIMATION

O (91-40) 4436-1900/1990 m sales@greengold.tv

w www.greengold.tv

Stand: P-1.K14 Contact: Rajiv Chilaka, fndr. & CEO; Bharath Laxmipati, SVP, content sales; Desmond Aram, GM, content sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Mighty Little Bheem (Comedy/adventure, 52x5 min.) Revolves around an innocent toddler whose boundless curiosity and extraordinary might lead to mischief and adventure in his small Indian town.

GRB STUDIOS

O (1-818) 728-4140 m sales@grbtv.com

w www.grbtv.com

Stand: R7.K17 Contact: Gary R. Benz, CEO; Sarah Coursey, SVP, intl.; Mehmet Gunduz, VP, intl. sales & acq.; Melanie Torres, snr. sales cnslt.; Liz Levenson, sales & acq. cnslt.; Torquil Macneal, sales cnslt.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Listen (Doc., 1x90 min.) Follow ordinary people as they are forced to spend time with someone who has opposing views on an important topic.

Will they be able to learn from each other?

The New Normal (Doc., 1x90 min.) Follows five Parkland High School students dealing with the aftermath of a mass shooting in which 17 of their classmates were murdered.

Mighty Little Bheem

Jungle Trouble (Slapstick comedy, 104x7 min.) A comic tale of a motley group of jungle animals who rally to save their home: the forest.

Kung Fu Dhamaka (Action/adventure, 10x22 min.) At the emperor’s request, Bheem and friends agree to stay back in China to explore the kingdom and its nearby villages, making new friends and defeating foes both new and old.

Duchess (Action, 26x22 min.) High fashion meets psychedelic spy adventures in this fastpaced series.

GURU STUDIO (1-416) 599-4878 m sales@gurustudio.com w gurustudio.com Highland: Thailand’s Marijuana Awakening

Highland: Thailand’s Marijuana Awakening (Doc., 3x30 min.) In Thailand, far from the tourists and the tropical beaches, there is a growing community of Thai people fighting a battle to legalize marijuana.

Cinderella Bride (Docuseries, 6x30 min.) Each episode follows wedding planner Sheri Steffans as she and her team give deserving couples their dream wedding.

On the Case (Crime, 194x60 min.) Explore intriguing murder mysteries through in-depth interviews with witnesses and suspects and examine the forensic evidence that helped unravel the mystery.

Untold Stories of the E.R. (Health/format, 150x60 min.) These real stories demonstrate the dramatic nature of medicine practiced under pressure.

562 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Stand: R7.D25 Contact: Frank Falcone, pres. & exec. creative dir.; Jonathan Abraham, VP, sales & business dvpmt.; Rachel Marcus, VP, creative dvpmt.; Corey Caplan, dir., intl. sales; Emily Jenkins, dir., creative dvmpt.

True and the Rainbow Kingdom

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 8:27 AM Page 17

TV LISTINGS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Pikwik Pack (Preschool 2D, 52x11 min.) Follows Suki the hedgehog and her team of adorable animals as they deliver magical packages to the kind citizens of Pikwik.

True and the Rainbow Kingdom (Preschool 3D, 30x22 min.) True, our bright and fearless heroine, and her hilarious best friend, Bartleby the cat, come to the rescue of Rainbow City’s whimsical citizens.

Big Blue (Kids 5-9 2D comedy, 52x11 min.)

Siblings Lettie and Lemo lead their quirky submarine crew to solve the ocean’s mysteries and find the origins of a new magical recruit named Bacon Berry.

Justin Time (Preschool 2D, 74x11 min. & 2x22 min.) Justin’s imagination catapults him into larger-than-life adventures set in different points in history.

A is for Apple (Food/cooking, S1: 30x30 min., S2: 24x30 min. 4K) Recorded on a one-of-akind set accompanied by 160-plus recipes with webisodes and photography.

HBO LATIN AMERICA

O (1-305) 648-8100 m internationalsales@hbo-la.com

do in this series that promotes caring for each other and the world around us.

Little Luke and Lucy (Preschool animation, 52x7 min. & 4x26 min.) An adventure series embracing action, fantasy and friendship taking preschoolers on journeys into their own imaginative world.

w screeningroom.hbolag.com

Stand: C17 Contact: Emilio Rubio, CEO; Francisco Smith, pres., dist. & new media dvpmt.; Luis Peraza, pres., networks; Roberto Rios, CVP, original prod.; Xavier Aristimuno, VP, lic.; Flavia Vigio, VP, PR & corp. comms.; Vanessa Cruz, lic. & new business lead.

17

Whitehead, head, prod. & dvpmt.; Michael McLaughlin, SVP & mng. dir., Fox/Incendo; Brook Peters, VP, pgm. sales, English Canada, Fox/Incendo.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Disasterland (Drama, 10x60 min.) In search of a greater sense of purpose, Kristine Turner makes a radical mid-life decision to train as an emergency responder at the world’s most prestigious training facility.

The Unfound (Drama procedural, 60 min. eps.)

The head of an elite man-tracker unit risks destroying her team and exposing her darkest secrets when she abuses her power to covertly investigate her own abduction.

Shane the Chef

GUSTO WORLDWIDE MEDIA

The Overcoat (Animated family ent., 1x30 min.) A new adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s classic Russian folktale, combining classical hand-drawn animation with modern CG animation techniques.

Hana’s Helpline (Preschool stop-frame animation, 52x10 min.) If you’ve got a problem, just call duck agony aunt Hana on Moo Bah Double Quack Double Quack. She’s always happy to help.

O (1-613) 730-1728 m sales@gustoworldwidemedia.com

w www.gustoworldwidemedia.com

Stand: P-1.A51 Contact: Chris Knight, pres. & CEO. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS DNA Dinners (Food/cooking, 16x30 min. 4K) Takes viewers on an emotional roller coaster ride of self-discovery, with delicious dishes along the way. Accompanied with recipes and short-form content.

Bonacini’s Italy

Bonacini’s Italy (Food/cooking, 30x30 min.

4K) Features celebrity chef Michael Bonacini as he cooks sumptuous Italian fare. Marketing package includes 64 recipes, stylish webisodes and food photography.

Flour Power (Food/cooking, 26x30 min. 4K) Set in a retro-style kitchen, the host inspires viewers with simple to extravagant baked treats.

Accompanied by 85 recipes, webisodes and photography.

Spencer’s Big 30 (Food/cooking, 34x30 min.

4K) Shot in real time, features healthy, familystyle meals made in around 30 minutes for about $30. Accompanied by 115-plus original recipes, webisodes and photography.

Watts on the Grill (Food/cooking, 25x30 min.

4K) This cooking series is all about delectable barbeque and inspiring viewers to entertain guests outdoors. Accompanied by 61 recipes, webisodes and photography.

Fish the Dish (Food/cooking, S1: 15x30 min., S2: 15x30 min. 4K) Celebrates sustainability while demystifying cooking seafood. Accompanied by 120-plus recipes with videos and photography.

One World Kitchen (Food/cooking, S1: 30x30 min., S2: 24x30 min., S3: 28x30 min. 4K) Features international cuisines (Italian, Indian, Thai, Argentine, Japanese, Cantonese, Lebanese and Greek). Accompanied by 320-plus webisodes, recipes and photography.

The Latin Kitchen (Food/cooking, 15x30 min.

4K) Explores three Latin cuisines (Mexican, Venezuelan and Spanish) with three hosts.

Turnkey marketing package includes 60 recipes, webisodes and photography.

The Urban Vegetarian (Food/cooking, 15x30 min. 4K) Set in an upscale kitchen, celebrates delicious vegetarian cuisine. Accompanied by 45-plus recipes, webisodes and photography.

HUNAN TV

O (86-0731) 8287-1224 m international@hunantv.com

Joint Venture

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Joint Venture (Pico Da Neblina) (Drama, 10x60 min.) Depicts the story of a young drug dealer who decides to leave the criminal life and use his knowledge to trade within the law.

Santos Dumont (Drama, 10x60 min.) This period piece tells the story of Santos Dumont, the famous inventor and aviator who captivated Europe with his aeronautical endeavors at the turn of the 20th century.

The Bronze Garden (El Jardín De Bronce) (Mystery/thriller, S2: 8x60 min.) The plot of this new story created by Gustavo Malajovich and Marcos Osorio Vidal follows the life of Fabián Danubio after the reunion with his daughter Moira.

The Secret Life of Couples (A Vida Secreta Dos Casais) (Drama, S2: 10x60 min.) Sex therapist Sofia will uncover the truth behind the murder of one of her patients, and gets involved—against her will—in the plans of a dangerous group of hackers.

Psi (Drama, S4: 10x60 min.) Created by renowned psychiatrist Contardo Calligaris, the fourth season of this Brazilian series will closely examine cases of paranoia.

Magnífica 70 (Drama, S3: 13x60 min.) Portrays the underground cinema-making scene of São Paulo in the ’70s. The third season wraps up the series with the protagonists coming back to their original paths.

Sr. Ávila (Drama, S4: 13x60 min.) A tormented man living the double life of a criminal and a family man, Sr. Ávila gets involved in an underground web of contract killings.

The Business (O Negócio) (Drama, S4: 12x60 min.) Karin swaps her old manager for two stunning female partners and sets out to build up her own substantial clientele.

HOHO RIGHTS

O (44-20) 7682-3154 m helen.howells@hohoentertainment.com

w www.hohoentertainment.com

Stand: P-1.A82 Contact: Helen Howells, joint mng. dir.; Oliver Ellis, joint mng. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Shane the Chef (Preschool animation, 52x11 min.)

Shane is the celebrity chef that preschoolers can call their own. Each episode is a recipe for adventure for the energetic chef and his daughter Izzy.

Cloudbabies (Preschool animation, 52x10 min.) Who looks after the sky? The Cloudbabies

Stand: China Pavilion Contact: Xiong Zhou, EVP; Nikki Luo, VP, research & dvpmt.; Lester Hu, head, formats & intl. business; Amelie Zhou, snr. mgr., intl. business; Chelsea Yang, intl. content co-dvpmt.; Cesar Chen, brand & comms.

Magic Chinese Characters

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Magic Chinese Characters (Game-show format, 48x30 min.) Can you win rapid-fire word puzzle games on an ejector seat? This in-studio game show celebrates the profoundness of Chinese characters and idioms with various puzzle games and an iconic twist.

Super-Vocal (Music competition format, 60/90 min. eps.) A classical crossover music competition in which 36 young male vocalists compete to win a place in the nation’s first ever popera idol group.

The Rocking Bridge (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.) The only bridge in the world that tries to shake you off into the water. Friends and families work together to win big prizes.

Do-Re-Mi: I Love My City (Competition/reality format, 60/90 min. eps.) Discover the hidden gems of your city through social media. Do our celebrities have what it takes to impress the audience?

The Sound (Competition/reality format, 60/90 min. eps.) The world’s first celebrity voice-acting competition reality show.

Postbox of Miracles (Fact-ent. format, 45/50 min. eps.) Kids make unfulfilled childhood dreams come true for seniors.

INCENDO

O (1-514) 937-3333/ (1-310) 614-2416

m greardon@incendo.ca

w www.incendo.ca

Stand: P0.A1 Contact: Jean-Philippe Normandeau, COO; Gavin Reardon, intl. sales & coprod.; Ian

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 563

A Brush with Love

Next of Kin (Drama mystery, 60 min. eps.) A teenage girl becomes the prime suspect in her best friend’s murder, only to discover some shocking secrets about her past.

A Brush with Love (MOW, 1x90 min.) Jamie Spellman struggles to balance her dream of painting with the reality of such a difficult career choice, while having to choose between two men who seem perfect, but for very different reasons.

Radio Silence (MOW, 1x90 min.) One year after the traumatic on-air suicide of a caller named Alexis, radio host Dr. Jill Peterman reboots her show only to be the target of attacks orchestrated by a caller using the same name.

Thicker Than Water (MOW, 1x90 min.) The Petrovic family is stricken with grief after the death of their son. When a new young tenant moves into their home, life seems to improve for the family, until a shocking secret is revealed.

The Sisterhood (MOW, 1x90 min.) Ashley is having a rough year when her sister introduces her to a women’s group, The Sisterhood, hoping she will feel empowered to change her life. The Sisterhood delivers everything it promises, but the benefits come at a steep and possibly illegal price.

The Lead (MOW, 1x90 min.) Sasha wants to be a star news reporter but is stuck covering community events at the local TV station. However, when she is kidnapped and held captive, she suddenly becomes the story.

Rule of 3 (MOW, 1x90 min.) Alison’s world is turned upside down when her husband suddenly dies in a car accident. First it’s revealed that he was murdered and then it becomes clear that Alison was not the only one mourning him.

Glass Houses (MOW, 1x90 min.) Teenage babysitter Carrie has a chip on her shoulder on the heels of a humiliating family scandal. When she finds out that the neighborhood queen bee may be to blame, she is determined to exact revenge.

INTELLECTA

O (359) 888-308-180 m marketing@intellectasrl.com

w www.intellectasrl.com

Stand: P-1.D51 Contact: Christina Vlahova, GM; Anna Kraeva, VP, business dvpmt., Russia & Eastern Europe; Antonia Matolov, VP business dvpmt., Central Europe; Giuseppe Zappala, VP, business dvpmt., Western Europe.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Love Conquers All (Drama, 260x30 min.)

Anurag and Prerna fall deeply in love but are forced apart by his family.

The Singing Star (Drama, 312x30 min., ongoing) The magic in her 7-year-old voice moves stoned

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TV LISTINGS

hearts, and many have acknowledged her musical genius, yet her mother refuses to let her sing.

Strange Love (Drama, 398x30 min.) An intense love-hate relationship between two individuals in a new perspective, highlighting the dilemma of how they cannot do without one another, and at the same time cannot be with each other.

Tainted Love (Drama) Cem, an assistant general manager of a large company, and Yasemin, a law student who grew up in an orphanage, cross paths.

The Perfect Couple (Reality dating format, 6090 min. eps.) Eleven men and eleven women looking for love compete for rooms in a luxurious house in the Caribbean.

Exathlon (Sports reality format, 150 min. eps.)

Two teams of physically fit and athletic contestants compete in highly challenging parkours at specially built locations.

The Box Challenge (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.) Three contestants, each with a set amount of cash, fight over 30 boxes in a game that needs luck, intelligence and strategy.

ITV STUDIOS GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT There Was a Beautiful Woman

Love Gamblers (Drama, 448x30 min., ongoing) The Oberoi family owns the biggest industries and hosts the most lavish parties. The ghosts of the past keep coming in front of them.

Family Secrets (Drama, 312x30 min.) Seventeenyear-old Anami, abandoned at birth and adopted by a family in Banaras, returns as the sole yet reluctant heir to a royal family in Bihar and a saga begins.

The Wait for Love (Drama, 120x30 min.) After a torrid romance, Prince Madhav Singh leaves a hurt and humiliated movie actress, Kamini, at the altar.

Kamini delivers their love child and swears to never let her experience the ordeal she went through.

The Threshold (Drama, 104x30 min.)

Swadheenta confesses her love for Adarsh during his engagement to another girl. They have to convince Adarsh’s mother that they should be together. On the wedding day, tragedy strikes.

This Is Love (Drama, 1,162x30 min., ongoing) The story of Raman and Ishita, who are connected by their common love for the little Ruhi.

There Was a Beautiful Woman (Drama, 216x30 min.) Durga changes her identity and comes back to rewrite her own destiny and see the justice that was denied to her.

INTER MEDYA

O (90-212) 231-0102 m info@intermedya.tv

w www.intermedya.tv

Stand: C16.B Contact: Can Okan, CEO & fndr.; Ahmet Ziyalar, pres. & COO; Beatriz Cea Okan, VP & head, sales & acq.; Hasret Ozcan, legal & business affairs mgr.; Melissa Miskavi, sales & mktg. mgr.; Nesrin Eyupoglu, mktg. & PR exec.; Irem Kucuckkutlu, mktg. & PR exec.; Sibel Levendoglu, sales exec.; Elena Pak, sales exec.; Pelin Koray, sales exec.; Sinem Aliskan, sales exec.; Naz Yigit, content dvpmt. & acq. exec.; Emre Okan, new business dvpmt. exec.; Leyla Apa, team asst.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Bitter Lands (Drama) The story of a legendary love that begins in Istanbul during the 1970s and continues in the fertile lands of Çukurova in southern Turkey through the trials of evil, ambition and tyranny.

Behzat Ç. (Drama) Behzat Ç. is forced to give up his nomadic life and return to the homicide unit after an attack by his brutal enemy, Ercüment Çözer.

O (44-207) 157-3000 m global.kids@itv.com

w itvstudios.com/merchandise Contact: Steve Green, EVP, kids’ content & dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Robozuna (Kids 4-9 action-adventure 3D, 40x22 min.) This brand-new animated series recently launched in the U.K. to fantastic ratings, with 40 action-packed episodes now available worldwide.

THE JIM HENSON COMPANY

Elias: Rescue Team Adventures (Preschool CG, 52x11 min.) Elias is a brave, playful little rescue boat with an enthusiasm for adventure. (Distributed by HIP/Henson Independent Properties)

JKN GLOBAL MEDIA

O (66) 3431-0569 m worldwide@jknglobal.com, banpot@jknglobal.com

w www.jknglobal.com, www.jknworldwide.com Stand: P-1.C64 Contact: Anne Jakrajutatip, CEO; Angie Jakrajutatip, chief admin. officer & head, acq.; Banpot Chawangorn, chief investment officer & head, intl. sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS My Love from Another Star (Romantic drama, 16x105 min.) By coming to earth 300 years ago and saving a young girl’s life, this male alien with super powers has been stranded ever since.

Based on a Korean series.

O (1-323) 802-1500 m international@henson.com

w www.henson.com

Stand: R7.E45 Contact: Claudia Scott-Hansen, SVP, global dist.; Anna Moorefield, VP, global dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Dinosaur Train (Preschool CG, 100x22 min.)

Award-winning animated series celebrates the fascination that kids have for trains and dinosaurs.

My Love from Another Star

Robozuna

Thunderbirds Are Go (Kids 4-9 action-adventure 3D, 78x22 min.) Stunning production and top ratings make this show a winning proposition with rights available in multiple territories.

JETPACK DISTRIBUTION

O (44-203) 561-5881 m dominic.gardiner@jetpackdistribution.tv

w www.jetpackdistribution.tv

Stand: R7.F18 Contact: Dominic Gardiner, CEO; Sophie ‘Kido’ Prigent, sales dir.; Marie-Laure Roche, interim global head, sales; Rhiannon Lyons, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty (Kids 6-11 2D, 52x11 min.) Centers around a spirited and adorable kitty named Felicity who acquires magical and majestic powers.

Oswaldo (Kids 6-11 2D, 52x11 min.) Follows the misadventures of a school-aged penguin, Oswaldo, who was adopted and raised by human parents and who faces his biggest challenge—surviving school.

Oswaldo

Behzat Ç.

Kitty is Not a Cat (Kids 6-11 2D, S1: 52x11 min., S2: 52x12 min.) The party is over when a young girl arrives on the doorstep of a household of cats.

Talking Tom & Friends (Kids 6+ 3D, 156x11 min.) Based on the global app sensation, the TV series follows the gang’s adventures as they make their own show.

Yoko (Kids 4-6 CGI, S1: 52x11 min., S2: 14x11 min.) Follows the adventures of three children whose playful energy and enthusiasm awakens the magical creature Yoko.

Wolf (Kids 4-6 2D, 156x7 min.) Wolf is friendly, endearing and always up for adventure. He wants to try everything and anything and has a new idea every minute.

My Petsaurus (Kids 4-6 3D/live action, 60x2 min.) Chloe is a cheerful, energetic 7-year-old who adopts a pet dinosaur on the condition she takes care of him.

Daisy & Ollie (Kids 3-5 CGI, 52x7 min., 1x22 min.)

A preschool series that encourages children to be curious and question the world around them.

The Cul de Sac (Kids 9+ live-action, 18x23 min.)

Rose wakes one day to find all technology has turned on its head and the adults have vanished.

Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed (Kids 6-11 3D, S1: 52x11 min., S2: 52x11 min.) Features 10-yearold Dennis and his pet dog Gnasher in Beanotown, a world full of imagination, comedy and adventure.

Dinosaur Train

Word Party (Early preschool CG, 40x11 min.) Four adorable baby animals sing, dance and play, inviting the youngest viewers to help teach them new words, and learn these new words themselves.

Doozers (Preschool, 72x11 min.) Inspired by characters from Fraggle Rock, the Doozers return to charm a new generation of preschoolers in this series that encourages kids to design, create and innovate.

Dot. (Kids 4-7 comedy/adventure 2D, 78x11 min.) Follows the inquisitive and tech-savvy Dot, who embarks on adventures to satisfy her imagination, curiosity and latest passion.

Splash and Bubbles (Kids 4-7 CGI, 80x11 min.)

Young viewers will join Splash, Bubbles and friends on adventures to discover more about the world of marine species and ocean phenomena.

Camp Turtleback (Comedy adventure, 13x22 min. in dvpmt.) A fantasy summer camp adventure where kids of all kinds come together to overcome their differences, unravel mysteries, and hopefully avoid accidentally blowing up the place.

Farscape (Fantasy, 88x60 min. & 2x90 min.)

The groundbreaking and award-winning sci-fi series follows astronaut John Crichton who, during an experimental space mission, is hurled across a thousand galaxies to an alien world. friendZspace (Comedy/adventure, 52x11 min.)

Character-driven comedy about three human kids on a mission to make friends with outerspace kids across the universe and share their findings via posts to kids on Earth. (Distributed

by HIP/Henson Independent Properties) The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin (Preschool, 65x22 min.) Remastered in HD. Teddy and his best friend search for ancient crystals with magical powers. (Distributed by HIP/Henson Independent Properties)

564 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Thong Ek—The Herbal Master (Period romantic comedy, 14x105 min.) A series about Thong Ek and his medical treatments using Thai herbs.

Scent of Love (Drama, 15x105 min.) Sweet Kasalong and her cruel twin sister Songpeep fall for the same guy, Dr. Sap. Things get more intense when they are reborn into three different lives and try to resolve their past-life problems.

Mr. Merman (Romance/fantasy, 20x42 min.)

Three mermen are trying to find out why scientists want to prove that mer-people are real. But the longer they investigate, the further they get involved with humans, especially beautiful girls.

Angor (Action/adventure, 13x105 min.) The adventures of Angor, a beautiful girl possessed by the spirit of a tiger. She will become the tiger for good if the silver dagger isn’t found before she turns 25.

Kom Faek—The Lost Art (Action/drama, 14x105 min.) Thrilling battle scenes with traditional Thai martial arts and its lethal weapon, Kom Faek, inside a story of true love, family and friendship.

The Blaze of Naga (Action/fantasy, 13x105 min.)

Singha and Gumpa are naga brothers; Gumpa respects Buddha and practices Dharma, Singha is overwhelmed with his power. After Singha escapes from his brother’s spell, he comes back for a revenge.

Repercussion (Drama, 19x105 min.) A period drama about a Thai-Chinese family. The bustling sea of love, greed, revenge and power struggles are stirred from inside out and outside in.

The Ghost Dolls (Horror, 15x105 min.) When a 7-year-old girl loses her wealthy parents, she only talks to a doll named Wawa, which is the only thing that protects her from harm and people who are after her valuable assets.

Khejdi (Movie, 1x92 min.) Born as an intersex person, Khejdi is brought up by her father behind concrete walls and closed doors. The story of Khejdi is about growing up different in a society that’s scared of the unknown.

KANAL D INTERNATIONAL

O (90-212) 413-5666 m sales@kanald.international

w www.kanald.international

Stand: R9.A32 Contact: Kerim Emrah Turna, exec. dir.; Ekim Koyuncu, sales exec., CEE; Mikaela Perez, sales

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/26/19 7:12 PM Page 19

TV LISTINGS 19 exec., LatAm & Spain; Salmi Gambarova, sales exec., CIS, Asia, Australia; Selim Türkmen, sales exec., Western Europe, MENA, Africa; Burcu Anış, mktg. & operations exec.; Derya Evirgen, legal & business affairs exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Ruthless City (Drama, S1: 9/30 eps., S2 in prod.)

Seher’s life changes dramatically when her motherin-law makes a deal to sell one of her daughters to a wealthy man from her hometown.

Love Trap

Love Trap (Romantic comedy, ongoing) Ayse, a poor girl, forces Kerem, the son of one of the wealthiest families in Istanbul, to marry her.

Price of Passion (Romance drama, 32x130 min./95x45 min.) Ferhat is a hit man working for his criminal uncle. Asli is a young and idealistic doctor. Their paths cross in the most unexpected way.

Wounded Love (Historical drama, 57x130 min./168x45 min.) The story of one of the most tragic heroes of his time, who is condemned to face the ruination of his family while he can do nothing to stop it.

KESHET INTERNATIONAL

O (972-50) 846-7316 m info@keshetinternational.com

w www.keshetinternational.com

Stand: R8.C9 Contact: Alon Shtruzman, CEO; Keren Shahar, COO & pres., dist.; Sammy Nourmand, CCDO & mng. dir., U.K. & Western Europe; Revital Basel, mng. dir., networks; Kelly Wright, SVP, dist. & new business; Rose Hughes, VP, sales; Gary Pudney, GM, Keshet Asia; Anne Roder Botbol, snr. sales mgr.; Marta Csizmadia, snr. sales mgr.; Azel Kuehn, mng. dir., Tresor; Anke Stoll, VP, acq.; Peter Schweizer, VP, unscripted formats; Rebecca Edwards, dir., comms.; Zohar Niv, dir., tech.; Tal Feigenbaum, sales coord.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Trial of Christine Keeler (Drama, 6x60 min.)

Tells the story of all those involved in one of the most controversial political sex scandals of modern times, known as the infamous “Profumo Affair.”

abandoned and underestimated, now she’s on a quest for revenge that will send the political establishment into meltdown.

Our Boys (Drama, 10x60 min.) Follows the murder investigation of Muslim and Jewish teens in Israel whose deaths started a war, forever changing the lives of those involved.

Singletown (Reality dating, 15x60 min. & format) Five couples press pause on their relationships to spend a summer of living their best single lives. At the end, will they choose to get back together or stay single?

Drive Master (Competition talent show, 10x120 min. & format) A prime-time skill-based studio competition in which ordinary people perform extraordinary vehicle stunts in a variety show full of action, emotion, suspense and fun.

Head Hunters (Game-show format, 30x60 min.) A strategic quiz that puts a price on knowledge. Contestants must recruit players to their team by making them offers they can’t refuse.

How much are they prepared to lose, to win?

Killer Camp (Reality competition, 5x60 min. & format) A horror-themed reality competition set in an ’80s American-style summer camp where contestants must do everything they can to stay alive.

Dom Does America (Fact-ent., 10x60 min.)

Dom Littlewood immerses himself for 24 unpredictable hours in the most dangerous institutions in the U.S. and learns about what it takes to be one of America’s unsung heroes.

Speed Freaks (Fact-ent., 6x60 min.) Legendary daredevil Zef Eisenberg is obsessed with speed, as he takes cars and pushes them to their limits before taking on his most ambitious record attempt yet.

KEW MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

O (44-207) 851-6500

w www.kewmedia.com

Stand: C15.A6 Contact: Steven Silver, fndr. & CEO, Kew Media Group; Peter Sussman, fndr. & chmn., Kew Media Group; Greg Phillips, pres.; Jonathan Ford, EVP, sales; Carrie Stein, EVP, global scripted series, Kew Media; Vicky Ryan, EVP, commercial affairs; Mark Benmore, SVP, sales; Stephen Joy, VP, sales; Tom Bairstow, VP, sales; Jennifer Askin, VP, sales; Hana Palmer, VP, sales; Maria Ibarra, dir., sales; Becci Payne, dir., sales; Anton Romalijskij, sales mgr.; Lesley Whittock, mktg. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Susan Hill’s The Small Hand: A Ghost Story (Ghost story, 1x94 min.) When antique book dealer Adam Snow stumbles upon a dilapidated mansion near his wealthy client, he feels the presence of the ghost of a small child.

Cold Call

The Trial of Christine Keeler

Secret Bridesmaids’ Business (Romantic thriller, 6x60 min. & format) A bride’s perfect wedding turns deadly after one of her bridesmaids unwittingly invites a malevolent stranger into their lives, triggering a life-threatening chain reaction that blows open a hidden world of intimate secrets.

Black Bitch (Total Control) (Political drama, 6x60 min.) An unlikely national hero is catapulted into government in a cynical power play. Used,

Cold Call (Drama, 4x60 min./2x90 min.) Set between the worlds of haves and have-nots in Manchester, tells the story of the victim of a cold call fraud who plots to get her money back, and get revenge.

Worzel Gummidge (Drama, 2x60 min.)

Inspired by the classic novels from author Barbara Euphan Todd, the tale of a witty, mischievous scarecrow who mysteriously comes to life.

The Movies (Doc., 12x60 min./6x120 min.) CNN original series explores American cinema through the decades and the cultural, societal and political shifts that framed its evolution, combining archival footage and interviews with leading actors, directors, producers, critics and historians.

Legacy List with Matt Paxton (Nonfiction, 6x60 min.) Captures the drama of downsizing as popular TV personality Matt Paxton and his

team of expert movers pack away a houseful of revelations. (Format rights also available.)

Griff’s Great Kiwi Road Trip (Nonfiction, 4x60 min.) British comedian and travel enthusiast Griff Rhys Jones is packing his bags, pulling on his hiking boots, and heading out into the wilds to explore New Zealand.

High Maintenance (Nonfiction, 8x60 min.)

Every engineering marvel, be it a structure, building or technological system, needs constant monitoring and maintenance to avert disaster.

My Father and Me (Doc., 1x96 min.) Maurice Broomfield was a factory worker turned industrial photographer. His son Nick Broomfield is one of the foremost names in documentary.

The Alexander Complex (Doc., 1x90 min./2x45 min.) The words “tomb of Alexander” draw one of the world’s foremost archaeologists and a team of experts on six expeditions to uncover the truth. One man holds the exact coordinates of the tomb entrance—will he give up the secret?

The Sheriff (Doc., 1x96 min.) A curious look at Trump’s America through the eyes of candidates throwing their hats into the ring during the 2018 Sheriff elections.

KONAMI CROSS MEDIA NY

O (1-212) 590-2100

Stand: R7.B12 Contact: Kristen Gray, GM, SVP, operations & business & legal affairs; Mark Kirk, SVP, digital; Jennifer Coleman, VP, lic. & mktg.; Jennifer Buzzelli, sales cnslt.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Season 2 (Animation, 46x30 min.) Duelists worldwide plug into LINK VRAINS to compete in fast-paced competition.

But this cyberspace is under attack by a team of hackers determined to destroy the virtual realm.

LACEY ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-646) 220-2507 m laceyent@gmail.com

w www.laceyentertainment.com Stand: VIP/Buyers Lounge Contact: Brian Lacey, pres.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Topo Gigio (Children’s, 52x11 min.) Topo Gigio makes his animated debut with a charming comedy series featuring an ensemble cast of characters in carefree and irresistible adventures.

Kiva Can Do!

Kiva Can Do! (Children’s, 52x11 min.) Kiva, a young girl with a wonderful imagination, along with best friend Saul and her dog Angus, conceives adventures that bring them around the world and beyond.

Dinosaur King (Children’s, 79x22 min.) Featuring a fun-loving ensemble cast of kid characters combined with CG-animated dinosaur battles, this is a fantasy-adventure series that underscores the timeless appeal of dinosaurs.

America’s Dumbest Criminals (Light ent., 104x22 min.) Features stories and dramatic reenactments along with surveillance camera footage that proves that crime can be funny when the criminal is a victim of his own incompetence.

LGI MEDIA

(FORMERLY LOOKING GLASS INTERNATIONAL)

O (61-3) 5910-0751 m info@lgimedia.com

w www.lgimedia.com

Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions (Animation, 1x110 min.) A decade after the finale that bid farewell to the franchise’s original storyline, this movie marks the return of the original creator, the iconic hero and the classic characters idolized worldwide.

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie (Animation, 1x90 min.)

Heroic Yugi squares off against archrival Kaiba in an adventure even more dangerous when the imaginary monsters in their playing cards become real and an old evil enters the fray.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V (Animation, S1-3: 148x30 min.) Yuya Sakaki’s dream is to become the greatest “duel-tainer” in history–and he just might pull it off when he discovers a technique that lets him summon many monsters at once.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL (Animation, 146x30 min.) When aspiring duelist Yuma meets Astral, a mysterious visitor from another universe, it seems like destiny.

Yuma needs Astral to teach him how to duel, and Astral needs Yuma to help him regain his memories!

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (Animation, 123x30 min.)

Once the playground to legendary duelist Yugi Muto, the sprawling metropolis of New Domino City has since been transformed into a futuristic society where dueling has kicked into overdrive.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Animation, 155x30 min.) Follows a new generation of duelists at the Duel Academy—a highly competitive boarding school where pencils and books have been replaced by Duel Disks and monster cards.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Animation, 236x30 min.) Meet Yugi and his best buds Joey, Tristan and Téa, who share a love for Duel Monsters.

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 565

Stand: P-1.C86 Contact: Nha-Uyen Chau, fndr. & CEO; Sam Thompson, mng. dir.; Karen Lee, head, sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Cosmic Futurist (Science, 6x60 min.) NASA Chief Engineer and Futurist Jon Cowart explains the science behind the technological and experimental advances NASA is currently working on.

Spiky Gold Hunters (Reality, 6x60 min.)

Reveals one of New Zealand’s most dangerous jobs and gets a unique insight into the subculture of sea urchin fishermen.

Eye in the Sky (Natural history, 2x60 min.) Gliding over Australia’s diverse landscapes, captures this island continent from a heavenly perspective.

Innovation Nation: California (Science, 2x60 min.) California is known for being a hothouse for pioneering tech, but it’s also leading a revolution in other genres—from food to mindfulness to ecology.

Inside Saudi Arabia: Race to Change (People/places, 1x60 min.) A young prince and a team of female managers fight the odds to open their country with sports, the first female and male audience international pop festival and tourist visas online for the first time.

Irish Gangsters (True crime, 1x60 min.)

Bernard O’Mahoney returns to his home country to shine a light on the Irish underworld.

Eye in the Sky

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/26/19 7:12 PM Page 20

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TV LISTINGS

The Past Beneath Us (History, 3x60 min.) Two hundred years on from Raffles’ landing, archaeologists are unearthing new artifacts that reshape what we think we know about Singapore.

Yohji Yamamoto: Rebel in Black (Arts/culture, 1x60 min.) Ever since he shocked the world in the 1980s with his entirely black designs, Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto has remained at the forefront of the fashion industry.

Singapore Islands (People/places, 1x60 min.)

Traversing across Singapore’s waters, takes you on a journey beyond the Lion City to see Singapore, the archipelago.

Chasing the Sun (Travel/adventure, S2: 8x60 min.) Stephen Friedman narrates his travels and takes you on an adventure like you have never experienced before.

LIONSGATE ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-310) 449-9200 m general-inquiries@lionsgate.com

w www.lionsgate.com

Stand: C15.A8 Contact: Agapy Kapouranis, pres., intl. TV & digital; Alex Pappas, mgr., LatAm; Alice Dickens-Koblin, SVP, unscripted TV, Lionsgate & Starz; Amit Dhanuka, EVP, India ops.; Annie Yim, VP, AsiaPac; Chase Brisbin, VP, Canada SVOD sales; Gabriella Ballabio, sales agent; Gisela Minnberg, VP, alternative pgmng.; Jamie Phillips, mgr., intl.

TV sales; Jim Packer, pres., worldwide & digital dist.; Kara McKinney, dir., worldwide AVOD; Kevin Beggs, chmn., LGTV Group; Magdalene Cheung, mgr., dist.; Mark James, exec. dir., sales; Nazneen Sethi, head, sales, U.K.; Nicky Wood, SVP & head, EMEA; Phaedra Hargrave-James, mgr., intl. TV sales; Sarah Conroy, exec. producer; Sam Ellis, mgr., contract & sales; Sandra Stern, pres., LGTV Group; Scott Herbst, SVP, TV prod.; Suzy Feldman, SVP, worldwide TV mktg.; Thomas Hughes, EVP, worldwide digital dist.; Tyler Caldwell, dir., LatAm. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Drama, 12x60 min.) Zoey Clarke is a whip-smart computer coder forging her way in San Francisco. After an unusual event, she starts to hear the innermost wants and desires of the people around her through songs.

Manhunt: Lone Wolf (Drama, 10x60 min.) An anthology that chronicles one of the largest and most complex manhunts on U.S. soil—the search for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Bomber, Eric Rudolph.

Love Life (Comedy, 10x30 min.) The romantic comedy anthology will follow a different protagonist’s quest for love each season, with each episode telling the story of one of their relationships.

The Goes Wrong Show (Comedy, 6x30 min.)

Follows the fictitious Cornley Drama Society undertaking yet another overly-ambitious endeavor that is destined to be undermined by several over-acting screen-hogging actors.

Motherland (Comedy, 12x30 min.) Working mom Julia, single mom Liz and stay-at-home dad Kevin are desperate to win the approval of the Alpha Moms, led by queen bee Amanda.

Ramy (Comedy, 20x30 min.) Ramy Hassan is a first-generation Egyptian-American who is on a spiritual journey in his politically-divided New Jersey neighborhood.

Manhunt: Lone Wolf

Ambitions (Drama, 18x60 min.) Set in Atlanta, Georgia, centers around the intense rivalry between formidable legal eagles Stephanie Lancaster and Amara Hughes, former best friends from college who find themselves adversaries in both their personal and professional lives.

Florida Girls (Comedy, 10x30 min.) Follows four girlfriends who are partying below the poverty line in Small Town, Florida, trying to navigate their very relatable problems as they try to better their situation.

Chasing the Cure (Factual, 10x90 min.) A live factual format, anchored by Ann Curry. Each episode brings together a weekly broadcast with a 24/7 global digital platform in an effort to help people who are suffering from illnesses that are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or uncured.

The Real Dirty Dancing (Factual, 4x90 min.)

Eight celebrities revisit Dirty Dancing’s most memorable moves and moments, vying to be chosen to perform as Baby and Johnny in a one-off theatre performance back in their home country.

Christmas Crush (Holiday, 1x90 min.) A woman makes a Christmas wish for her neighbor to fall in love with her, but must enlist the help of her crush when her Christmas wish applies to the wrong neighbor.

MATTEL

O (44-207) 554-2500 m content_sales@mattel.com

w www.mattel.com

Stand: R7.B2 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures (Animation, S2: 26x22 min.) Watch as Barbie navigates school life and sports with her special blend of wisdom, warmth and can-do attitude. Filled with relatable stories and heartfelt moments, Barbie is ready to show the world once again: you can be anything.

MARVISTA ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-424) 274-3000 m sales@marvista.net

w www.marvista.net

Stand: R9.A9 Contact: Fernando Szew, CEO; Hannah Pillemer, head, creative affairs; Jody Cipriano, head, dist. & acq.; Deena Stern, head, mktg., comms. & acq.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Next Level (Young adult, 1x90 min.) A cross between High School Musical and Mean Girls, this dance musical hybrid comedy/drama stars some of the hottest Gen Z talent.

Next Level

Year of Spectacular Men (Romance, 1x90 min.)

Izzy has a bad case of pre-real-world millennial-itis and finds that when it totally feels like the end of your story, it’s often just the beginning.

Kindred Spirits (Thriller, 1x90 min.) A woman will stop at nothing to remove everyone from her beloved big sister’s life so she can finally have her sister all to herself.

Evil Intent (Thriller, 1x90 min.) An in-home private nurse inserts herself into a family as the caregiver of the disabled son with the intention to replace the mother through any means necessary.

Deadly Vengeance (Thriller, 1x90 min.) A single mother’s vacation fling with an 18-year-old turns deadly when his plan of revenge comes to life.

A Winter Song (Holiday, 1x90 min.) A woman strikes up a friendship with a homeless man and, through music, the two help each other reconcile with their families just in time for Christmas.

12 Pups of Christmas (Holiday, 1x90 min.) A woman tasked with finding homes for 12 abandoned puppies before Christmas finds love with her co-worker just in time for the holidays.

A Christmas Movie Christmas (Holiday, 1x90 min.) When two sisters’ Christmas wishes land them in an actual Christmas movie, they learn to enjoy the spirit of the holiday and find love in the process.

A Christmas Comeback (Holiday, 1x90 min.)

A mother-daughter singing duo are given the opportunity to create a new album for Christmas but must overcome their differences before their music careers are over for good.

Thomas & Friends

Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures: Magical Mermaid Mystery (Animation, 1x80 min.)

What starts out as a summer job at an epic waterpark in Malibu turns into an underwater mystery that has Barbie and her friends reuniting a lost baby whale with its family.

Barbie Dreamtopia (Animation, 26x11 min.) Enter a world of endless and whimsical adventures with Mattel’s newest animated preschool series.

Barbie Vlogger (Animation, 60x5 min.) Barbie shares information about her life, inspirations and favorite things. She loves to do silly challenges with her friends Ken, Harper, Ryan, and her sister Chelsea.

Enchantimals Tales of Everwilde S1 (Animation, 26x11 min.) Step into the fantastical world of the Enchantimals, a group of lovable half-animal, half-human girls who share a special bond with their cuddly animal besties.

Enchantimals Tales of Everwilde S2 (Animation, 13x5 min.) This season, the Enchantimals and their besties discover and explore an exciting new world full of wonder. A trip to Junglewood takes them out of Wonderwood and into a fantastical new land where they meet wonderful new friends.

Thomas & Friends (Digs & Discoveries + Steam Team to The Rescue) (Animation, S23: 20x11 min. & 3x22 min.) Thomas continues his global adventure, visiting Italy and Brazil. In his travels, Thomas experiences the thrill of discovery and the wonders of the past. And of course, Thomas spends time with his friends on Sodor as well.

Thomas & Friends Big World Big Adventures The Movie (Animation, 1x80 min.) Thomas is inspired to embark on an ambitious trip around the world, traveling across five continents, discovering magnificent new sights and cultures.

Wellie Wishers (Animation, 13x11 min.) A sweet and lively group of friends play in their whimsical garden. While the girls play, they learn about the natural world and experience the magic of their imaginations.

MEDIA RANCH

O (1-514) 315-4548 m sophie.ferron@mediaranch.tv

w www.mediaranch.tv

Stand: P0.A1 Contact: Sophie Ferron, fndr., pres. & exec. producer; Tanja van der Goes, SVP; Louise Juel Severin, VP, sales & acq., Scandinavia.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Watch! (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.) Mixes emotional and exhilarating world-class performances with a high-stakes game show.

566 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Get Lost Honey (Factual format, 30 min. eps.)

Three “live-at-home” young adults are forced to leave their nest and move into an apartment together. Will they make it on their own, or go back to mom and dad?

180 Days (Factual format, 30 min. eps.) Five university students attempt to find out what it really means to get old by living side by side with senior citizens in a nursing home for six months.

My Next Empire (Factual format, 6x36 min.)

Eighteen specially selected entrepreneurs will be tested to their limits as they compete for an investment of up to 10 million kroner (nearly $1.5 million) from one of the richest men in Denmark.

Judge for 1 Day (Factual format, 8x30 min.)

Eight ordinary people are given the opportunity to be judges for a day. Will their decisions match the real verdict?

Big Love (Factual format, 6x42 min.) Three couples, all who have gained major weight since they fell for each other, have agreed to be part of an experiment. Will eight months be enough for them to ditch their bad habits, and their extra pounds, to rekindle the spark?

1 Day, 2 Teams, 3 Animals (Wildlife format, 60 min. eps.) Two teams get 24 hours to find three endangered animals, before it’s too late.

Grocery Swap (Game-show format, 50 min. eps.)

Two home cooks who have never met swap groceries and kitchens to then compete to impress a celebrity judge with a meal. For the grand prize, they must guess each other’s identities based on the items they buy and the lifestyle they lead.

1 Day, 2 Teams, 3 Animals

Design Star (Talent competition format, 6x45 min.) Five furniture designers compete to have their winning piece produced and sold in stores.

Manipulator (Factual format, S1: 6x28 min., S2: 6x28 min.) Using shocking experiments, scientific data, sociology experts and the latest brain research, this series reveals how easily we are controlled and influenced.

MEDIACORP

O (65) 6349-8876 m tellmediacorp@mediacorp.com.sg

w www.mediacorp.sg/en/

Stand: P-1.E25/P-1.D26 Contact: Jesslyn Wong, lead, content dist.; Pamela Teo, snr. mgr., content dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Driver (Action/thriller, 22x30 min.) Jianyi changed his face and assumed a new identity.

However, no matter how hard he tries to run, he simply cannot outrun his past.

Coded World (Health/tech., 4x60 min.) Algorithms are everywhere today, using big data to change our lives. Anjan Sundaram travels the world to find out more about this coded revolution.

Beijing to Moscow (Idol/romance, 13x30 min.)

Kai Xiang lost his memory after an accident. He embarks on a remarkable journey from Beijing to Moscow to find out more about his past.

Undercover Asia 6 (Human/social interest, 6x30 min.) Shines a light on some of the darkest corners of our society, and digs deep into the most pressing issues of our time.

Forbidding No More (Travel, 13x60 min.) Are countries like Iran, Cuba and North Korea really that inaccessible? This series explores the culture and attractions in various difficult-to-access locations.

Wild City: Secret World (Wildlife, 1x60 min.)

Voiced by naturalist Nick Baker, a documentary on Singapore’s wildlife, documenting various species of animals that make their home in Singapore.

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 8:28 AM Page 21

TV LISTINGS 21 compare their coaching skills. An innovative cooking show in which chefs are teachers.

Cocinar Belleza (Culinary doc., 1x70 min.) Art experts and artists try to answer a complicated interrogation: Is it possible to cook beauty? Can a dish be considered as a piece of art?

Money Balls (Quiz show, 45 min. eps.) To win a fortune, all you need are four green balls. To lose a fortune, all you need are three red ones. Be smart, be bold and be lucky to win at this new fast-paced game.

MEDIATOON DISTRIBUTION Forbidding No More

All Is Well (Action/thriller, 40x60 min.) A power struggle ensues across the border while an insidious plot for revenge begins. A group of young people gets embroiled in the plot.

The Good Fight (Action/thriller, 20x60 min.)

Six young and restless fighters will learn to rise above themselves and bring their martial arts school back to its former glory.

Tipping Point (Environment, 3x60 min.) A global movement to reverse the damage and repair the Earth needs to gain momentum, or we risk destroying the very conditions that have enabled mankind to prosper.

In Search of the Frog Boys (Human/social interest, 2x60 min.) In a village in Daegu, five fathers are facing their worst nightmare. Five young boys go on a romp in the mountains.

They never return.

THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO

O (34-917) 285-740

O (33-1) 5326-3100 m info@mediatoon.com

w www.mediatoon-distribution.com Stand: P-1.E61 Contact: Jérôme Alby, mng. dir.; Livia Guffanti, snr. intl. sales mgr.; Mélanie Errea, sales & business affairs mgr.; Fanny Gilabert, sales & business affairs exec.; Clément Arnault, business affairs & new media; Benoît De Tauriac, dir., Citel dvpmt.; Claude De Saint Vincent, CEO, Media Participations; Laurent Duvault, dir., dvpmt.; Caroline Duvochel, deputy dir. general, Ellipsanime; Jérôme Leclercq, dir., Mediatoon Licensing; Julien Papelier, mng. exec. officer; Maia Tubiana, producer; Aude Rimbault-Joffard, mktg. & comms. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Sardine in Outer Space (Adventure, 52x12 min.) Follow Sardine, Little Louis and Captain Yellow Shoulder’s intrepid crew in their neverending fight against super villain Supermuscleman and his evil sidekick, Dr. Krok.

w www.themediaprostudio.com Stand: R7.N1 Contact: Javier Méndez, chief content officer; Laura Fernández Espeso, corp. dir. & head, TV; Beatriz Setuain, dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Head (Thriller, 6x50 min.) Who would you trust? That’s a question a group of scientists will have to sort out quickly if they want to survive the polar winter.

The Paradise (Thriller, 8x50 min.) “Little Finland” in Southern Spain. A detective arrives to help local authorities solve murder investigations. In a place so bright, the truth is hard to see.

Side Games (Thriller, S1: 8x50 min., S2: 8x50 min.) The story of the ambitious executive of a regional soccer team who will dive into a shady game of corruption and violence.

I’m Alive (Family thriller, 26x70 min.) After being sent back to Earth to hunt down his own murderer, Inspector Vargas learns that second chances don’t come for free.

The Paradise

Juan for President (Comedy, 8x30 min.) They were looking for a serious, charismatic politician.

Instead, they got Juan, a Minister of Agriculture aiming to reach the Presidency of the government.

The Dinner of a Lifetime (Gastronomic ent., 6x50 min.) Three Michelin-starred Chef Quique Dacosta invites celebrities to taste their memories. Each dish represents a concrete memory and the dinner tells their life story.

El Discipulo del Chef (Cooking, 24x90 min.)

Three renowned chefs will get the chance to

Tom and Lili

Tom and Lili (Comedy, 52x7 min.) Tom and Lili are two balls of energy living in their lively family restaurant. They are always making new plans to joke around, and take dynamism wherever they go, but disaster is never far behind.

Martin Morning (CGI comedy, 52x13 min.)

Every morning Martin wakes up as a new character. One day he could be an astronaut, the next a knight.

The Fox-Badger Family (Adventure/comedy, 52x12 min.) Dad Edmund and his twin boys lived together peacefully before the arrival of Margaret the fox and her daughter Rosie. But, when love is involved, their home is filled with happiness.

Bobby & Bill (Comedy, S2: 52x12 min.) Meet Bobby, a young boy, Bill, a cocker spaniel, and Caroline, his skateboarding tortoise. Follow these three buddies through lots of crazy adventures.

The Garfield Show (Comedy, 214x11 min.)

Garfield is a lazy, overweight cat whose main hobbies are chilling out, sleeping, watching TV and having fun. With his questionable ways, he’s bound to make you laugh.

The Minimighty Kids (Comedy/edutainment, S3: 78x8 min.) Helping your friends overcome life’s greatest hurdles is a big task, but it’s an even bigger opportunity to have fun. This series teaches children to accept themselves for who they are.

Lucas etc. (Comedy, 52x7 min.) Welcome to the life of one crazy step family. For Lucas, life is not always going to be easy, but he can count on his loyal friends and imagination to save the day.

Little Furry (Comedy, 78x7 min.) Little Furry is an endearing character who throws himself into extraordinary universes where anything is possible.

Yakari (Adventure/edutainment, 156x13 min.)

Yakari goes on great adventures in the wilderness with his best friends. He is the bravest little Sioux boy and has a magical gift.

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS (MGM)

O (1-310) 449-3000 m bgurstein@mgm.com

w www.mgm.com

Stand: R9.A30 Contact: Chris Ottinger, pres., worldwide TV dist. & acq.; Barry Poznick, pres., unscripted TV; Paul Bischoff, EVP, intl. dist.; Matt Vassallo, EVP, intl. TV dist.; Sarah Madigan, EVP & deputy COO; Scot Cru, EVP, global formats & unscripted content; Evan Scheffel, EVP, global head, dist. strategy & ops.; David Luner, EVP, worldwide TV mktg.; Alex Peschak, SVP, European TV dist. & acq.; Tomas Davison, SVP, intl. TV dist., LatAm & U.S. Hispanic; Greg Robertson, SVP, AsiaPac; Patrice Chogi, SVP, global formats & unscripted content; Caroline Edwards, VP, AsiaPac; Shaila Chopra, VP, intl. TV dist.; Lesley Drukker, VP, intl.

TV dist.; Deblina Charkabarty, VP, TV dist.; Peter Grant, VP, EMEA TV dist.; Ludo Attal, VP, unscripted TV & formats; Alexander Sasha Bushnell, VP, unscripted TV; Christina Lee: VP, comms.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS No Time to Die (Action feature film) Bond has left active service, but his old CIA friend Felix Leiter asks for help on a rescue mission that leads him to a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. Starring Daniel Craig.

The Addams Family (Animated feature film) The first animated comedy about the kookiest family on the block redefines what it means to be a good neighbor.

Legally Blonde (Comedy feature film) Reese Witherspoon will reprise her role as the beloved sorority sister-turned-lawyer Elle Woods.

Candyman (Horror feature film) Producer Jordan Peele’s spiritual sequel to the 1992 gothic horror film, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.

Respect (Bio. feature film) Starring Jennifer Hudson, traces Aretha Franklin’s tale from humble beginnings to one of the world’s most revered vocalists.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (Romantic comedy, 10x60 min.) From executive producer Mindy Kaling and starring Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, John Reynolds, Brandon Mychal Smith, Zoe Boyle, Sophia La Porta, Harish Patel, Guz Khan.

Fargo (Drama, S4: 10x60 min.) Set in 1950 America, two criminal syndicates strike an uneasy peace for control. Starring Chris Rock, Jack Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Whishaw, Jessie Buckley and Salvatore Esposito.

Perpetual Grace, LTD (Drama, 10x60 min.)

Young grifter James (Jimmi Simpson), teams up with the son of a pastor (Sir Ben Kingsley) and his wife (Jacki Weaver), to fleece his parents out of millions, but they turn out to be far more dangerous than he suspects.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (Gameshow format) Kids help adult contestants put their knowledge to the test with questions taken directly from an elementary school curriculum.

Generation Gap (Comedy quiz-show format) Family members of different generations answer questions about each other’s generations. This family show features a wide variety of pop-culture trivia and challenges.

MISTCO w www.mistco.tv Stand: P-1.N51 Contact: Aysegul Tuzun, VP, sales & mktg.; Maria Fernanda Espino Noguez, sales mgr., LatAm & Iberia.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Melek (A Mother’s Struggle) (Drama/romance, 100x45 min.) About a mother who sacrifices everything for her children and her fight to protect them.

My Champion (Drama/romance, 100x45 min.)

After his wife passed away, Kafkas, a boxer, decided to give up everything. When he learns that his son has the same disease that claimed his wife, it is time for him to come back for the last round.

My Champion

Hold My Hand (Romance drama, 151x45 min.)

The love story between Azra and Cenk starts with a tragedy but later becomes fortune.

Beloved (Romance drama, 66x45 min.) In the midst of an emotional labyrinth, Aziz and Feride must not only overcome the challenges of old love interests but must face the consequences of secrets brought to light.

The Circle (Crime drama, 61x45 min.) The story of two brave young men in a dark world. Cihangir (Serkan Cayoglu) and Kaan (Kaan Yildirim) are dragged into a game created by the mafia, money and death.

Resurrection: Ertugrul (Drama, S1-5: 448x45 min.) In this story from the 13th century, our hero Ertugrul, the father of Osman, is struggling to find a home for his tribe and the woman he is in love with.

The Last Emperor (Drama, S1-2: 189x45 min., S3: 100x45 min., S4: in prod.) Sheds light on the real-life story of the last, strongest Ottoman Emperor, Abdulhamid Han, who faced many schemes to dethrone him.

The Prisoner of Love (Romance drama, 227x45 min.) The story of two young people who end up in a contractual marriage while hating each other.

One For All (Youth drama, 22x120 min.) Based on a true story of an ice hockey coach and his small-town team, which reach the European Championship.

MONDO TV GROUP

O (39-06) 8632-3293 m silvia.darchivio@mondotvgroup.com

w www.mondotvgroup.com

No Time to Die

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 567

Stand: P-1.N1/P-1.M2 Contact: Matteo Corradi, pres. & CEO; Paolo Zecca, chief prod. officer; Luana Perrero, head, content sales; Alessandro Venturi, intl. sales mgr.; Theo Kouroglou, intl. sales mgr.; Valentina La Macchia, dir., consumer products; Silvia D’Archivio, mktg. & comms. mgr.; Maria B. Fois, GM, Mondo TV Iberoamerica; Dimitri Papanikas,

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 8:29 AM Page 22

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TV LISTINGS

intl. sales & coprod. mgr., Mondo TV Iberoamerica; Francesca Mandolini, mktg. & comms. exec., Mondo TV Iberoamerica.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS MeteoHeroes (2D comedy adventure, 52x7 min.)

Six ordinary kids discover that they have extraordinary powers over the weather in a show that raises awareness of pollution and climate change.

Fat Legs

Fat Legs After a breakup, aspiring actress Anna travels to Paris to the home of her best friend, Jean.

Beyond the Mask The leading mercenary for the British East India Company has just been double-crossed and is on the run in the American colonies.

Sissi the Young Empress

House of Talent (Comedy/lifestyle web series, 260x10 min.) Twenty of Italy’s best-known teen influencers share a home.

Robot Trains (Comedy adventure CGI, S1-2: 84x11 min., S3: 52x11 min. in prod.) The new adventures of the trains who can turn into robots to protect Rail World and its energy supplies.

Sissi the Young Empress (CGI comedy adventure, S3: 26x11 min.) Adventure, romance and magic with the free-spirited, strong-willed princess and her many animal friends.

Invention Story (CGI comedy, 52x11 min.) The story of a fox named Kit, a talented inventor, who makes lots of friends and a few powerful enemies among the rabbit inhabitants of Carrot Town.

YooHoo to the Rescue (CGI comedy adventure, 52x11 min.) YooHoo and his crew travel from the magical forest of YooTopia to Earth to confront threats to nature and wildlife, meet endangered animal species and make new friends.

Heidi Bienvenida (Live action, S1-2: 120x45 min.) Comedy, friendship, romance, music, fashion and fun: the adventures of the happy, carefree girl who leaves her beloved mountain home to live in the big city. Feature film coming soon.

Bat Pat (2D comedy adventure, 52x11 min.) A spooky adventure-comedy series in which Bat Pat and friends try to unravel the mysteries of the scary creatures that lurk in and around their hometown of Fogville.

MULTICOM ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

O (1-310) 693-8818 m info@multicom.tv

w www.multicom.tv

Stand: R7.F28 Contact: Irv Holender, chmn.; Niloo Badie, head, sales & dist.; Jesse Baritz, dir., content acq. & dvpmt.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS TheArchive (Channel) Dedicated to aficionados and lovers of story, craft and silver screen fun, representing rare, retro and 4K restored films and classic TV. TheGrapevine (Channel) With hundreds of documentaries, specials and unscripted series on every subject from around the world, including food, travel, politics, religion, pop culture, crime, current events and social issues.

The Remarkable Life of John Weld The true story of John Weld, who went from stuntman during Hollywood’s golden era to journalist, novelist and many other lives while sharing adventures with some of the most influential, writers, actors, politicians and industrialists of the 20th century.

For Now Australian siblings grieving the death of their beloved parents while trying to build a future for themselves are joined by a group of friends on a fun road trip up the Californian coast.

Blood 13 A reckless female detective faces a gruesome crime scene in a basement bathroom during a murder investigation. To bring the killer to justice, she risks everything.

NBCUNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

O (1-818) 777-1300

w www.nbcuniversal.com Stand: P4.C4 Contact: Belinda Menendez, pres. & chief revenue officer, global dist. & intl.; Don McGregor, EVP, sales liaison, intl. dist.; Bill Vrbanic, EVP, global dist.; Rob Bell, EVP, intl. new media; Justin Che, mng. dir., AsiaPac, dist. & networks; Chris Taylor, mng. dir., MD, dist. & networks, Australia & New Zealand; Rajiv Dhawn, SVP, sales liaison, Asia; Carolyn Stalins, SVP, intl. dist., EMEA; Liz Avery, SVP, sales liaison, U.K., Eire, MENA, Israel, Turkey, Russia & CIS; Maxim Mikhailov, SVP, sales liaison & mng. dir., corporate Russia; Sven Noth, SVP, sales liaison, GAS & CEE; AnneLorraine Villeroy, SVP, sales liaison, France & Africa; Pierre Weisbein, SVP, sales liaison, LatAm; Chloe van den Berg, SVP, head, kids & family ent.; Olivia King Canter, VP, sales liaison, kids & family ent.; Liisa Tikka, VP, sales liaison, kids & family ent.; Paul Mayanja, VP, sales liaison, Africa; Eliza Milbank, VP, sales liaison, Italy; Tamara Misert, VP, sales liaison, Spain & Portugal; Örjan Olsson, VP, sales liaison, Nordics; Karen Wrankmore, VP, sales liaison, U.K., Eire & Israel; Doug Davis, VP, sales liaison; Victor Dangond, VP, sales liaison, LatAm; Ben Cowling, VP, sales liaison, Benelux, Greece & CEE; Chloe Packman, VP, sales liaison, U.K. & Eire.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Bluff City Law (Drama, 10x60 min.) Brilliant lawyer Sydney Strait (Caitlin McGee) fights to change the world alongside her father Elijah (Jimmy Smits) at his celebrated Memphis law firm.

Council of Dads (Drama, 10x60 min.) Facing an unexpected health crisis, a loving father brings together a group of trusted role models to help raise and support his family.

Almost Family (Drama, 13x60 min.) An only child (Brittany Snow) has her life upended after learning that her father conceived numerous children during his career as a fertility doctor.

Bluff City Law

Duncanville (Animated, 13x30 min.) From Amy Poehler and animation legends Mike and Julie Scully comes a new animated family comedy about an average 15-year-old and his friends and family.

The Baker and the Beauty (Drama, 9x60 min.)

An unlikely romance blossoms between a humble Miami baker (Victor Rasuk) and an international superstar and fashion mogul (Nathalie Kelley).

Resident Alien (Drama, 10x60 min.) A crashlanded alien (Alan Tudyk) assumes the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor while attempting to complete his secret mission on Earth.

Devils (Drama, 10x60 min.) A star trader seeks out the truth about the people he works for in this international conspiracy thriller set in the world of global finance.

Cobra (Drama, 6x60 min.) When a natural disaster threatens the U.K., the government’s crisis response team must handle the emergency while managing their personal and professional lives.

The Capture (Drama, 8x60 min.) Conspiracy thriller follows an arrested soldier fighting to prove his innocence in the face of seemingly indisputable video evidence.

Stateless (Drama, 6x60 min.) This characterbased drama tells the stories of four strangers whose lives intersect at a refugee detention center in the middle of the Australian desert.

NEW DOMINION PICTURES

O (1-757) 923-1300 m kristen.eppley@newdominion.com

w www.newdominion.com

Stand: R7.A11 Contact: Nicolas Valcour, CEO; Kristen Eppley, EVP, dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS A Haunting (Paranormal/docudrama, 105x60 min.) Between the world we see and the things we fear there are doors. When they are opened, nightmares become reality.

A Haunting

FantomWorks (Reality, 70x60 min.) Every week, old cars come with new obstacles, including irate owners, personality clashes, cost overruns, parts problems and walkouts.

The FBI Files (Docudrama, 121x60 min.) Journey deep into the world of criminal investigation, revealing the intense and dramatic situations, capturing a violent offender and bringing justice to the victim.

The New Detectives (Docudrama, 121x60 min.)

Profiles the work of renowned forensics experts and criminal investigators and the techniques they use to solve murders and other crimes.

Navy SEALs: Untold Stories (Docudrama, 7x60 min.) The U.S. Navy SEALs face battle savagely but in secret. Based on first-person accounts, this miniseries includes seven actual, classified missions, from planning through preparation to heart-stopping execution.

Special Forces (Docudrama, 4x60 min.) A new breed of warrior has emerged to fight a global plague of coups, kidnappings and assassinations: the commando. Follow these international super soldiers on actual covert missions as they take on the world’s worst villains.

Boys of H Company (Doc., 1x104 min.)

Through compelling first-person accounts, dramatic recreations and archival footage, this docudrama follows in the boot steps of the boys of H Company as they fight one of the costliest battles in U.S. history.

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NHK ENTERPRISES

m yamada-sh@nhk-ep.co.jp

w pf.nhk-ep.co.jp

Stand: P-1.C51 Contact: Akira Ichikawa, GM; Fumina Koike, deputy mgr.; Chie Muto, exec. mgr.; Akiko Nakano, exec. mgr.; Shuji Yamada, snr. mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS An Artist of the Floating World (Drama, 1x89 min. 8K/4K/2K) Oscar nominated Ken Watanabe stars in this 8K drama based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Witness a floating world of memories and a man’s journey to face his past.

An Artist of the Floating World

Amazing Dinoworld (Science/tech., 2x49 min.) This two-part series recreates in gorgeous CGI the amazing world of dinosaurs.

Dynamic Genomes (Science/tech., 2x49 min.)

Cutting-edge research has found genes are much more flexible than we think. They can change over short periods of time, with dramatic effects.

Mysterious Planet (Nature, 5x48 min.) Discover the spooky creatures of the Mayan underworld, from the haunt of pumas and the Mars-like Andes.

The New Emperor and Empress (Current affairs, 1x49 min.) May 2019 marked the date of ascension for the new Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Take a closer look into the new royal couple.

Guiding for Glory (Human stories, 1x49 min.) Performances at the Paralympic Games are astounding spectators with every succeeding competition. The program follows two world-record-holding pairs as they prepare for 2020.

JAPANGLE (Children’s/education, 15x20 min.)

Introduces the beauty of Japan with stunning 4K images. Discover fresh perspectives on Japan, a land of wonders.

Bodypedia (Children’s/education, 17x10 min.)

A kids’ program on the human body. Each episode includes 1- to 4-minute segments, some animated, others using subtle comedy.

Created by top talents in Japan.

Natsuzora: Natsu’s Sky (Drama, 156x15 min.)

As a youth, Natsu discovers the world of animation. She is enthralled and starts on her path to become a pioneer female animator in a burgeoning industry.

The Bittersweet Tale of Otaku (Drama, 8x29 min.) Twenty-something Ai is tired of social media and frenemies. She coincidently finds the weird and wonderful world of “underground idols,” a realm rife with otaku passion.

NIPPON TV

O (81-3) 6215-3036 m nippontv-ibd@ntv.co.jp

w www.ntv.co.jp/english

Stand: P-1.F55 Contact: Kenichi Hirose, board dir. & operating officer; Atsushi Sogo, pres., intl. business dvpmt.; Shigeko Cindy Chino, associate mng. dir., intl. business dvpmt.; Yuki Akehi, head, mktg., intl. business dvpmt.; Akihiko Harazono, format sales/mktg., intl. business dvpmt.; Fusako Nagashima, head, formats, intl. business dvpmt.; Sadato Usami, format sales, intl. business dvpmt.; Tom Miyauchi, format sales, intl. business dvpmt.; Sayako Aoki, format sales, intl. business dvpmt.; Keisuke Miyata, sales & lic.,

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 12:35 PM Page 23

TV LISTINGS 23 intl. business dvpmt.; Aina Kusajima, sales & lic., intl. business dvpmt.; Konomi Sasaki, sales & lic., intl. business dvpmt.; Takuya Honda, Red Carpet Survival game-show dir., prod. dept.; Fumiya Watanabe, dir., prod. dept.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Red Carpet Survival (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.) Contestants act as bodyguards who must safely escort a VIP. Their mission is to make the VIP stay on the red carpet, no matter what.

Sokkuri Sweets (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.) Celebrities try to spot sweets and pastries that look identical to objects in real life. Once they decide, there’s only one way to find out: by taking a big bite.

Block Out

Block Out (Ent./game-show format, 60 min. eps.)

Two teams of four, each with their backs literally against a wall, battle it out in a variety of physical games. The team who keeps the most players on the ledge for the longest wins the game.

Beat the Rooms (Ent./game-show format, 60 min. eps.) In each episode, two teams of four try and “beat” two game rooms, each one holding missions that test their ability to overcome crazy physical or mental obstacles.

Your Turn to Kill (Mystery, 20x60 min./scripted format) A newly-married couple, having just bought their first home, are convinced that a happy and peaceful life is about to begin until people in their building suddenly start dying.

Mr. Hiiragi’s Homeroom (Drama, 10x60 min./format) Holding 29 students captive, a teacher will do anything to find out the truth behind the suicide of a classmate a few months ago.

Fake Affair (Romance, 10x60 min.) A lonely 32-year-old woman who has never had a serious relationship meets a handsome younger man on a plane. She lies to him by saying she is married and the two embark on a “fake affair” that turns into a passionate love story.

Voice (Action/suspense, 10x60 min.) A brilliant detective who has a knack for sensing things and the head of the Emergency Command Center who is also a phenomenal voice profiler work together to respond to 110 calls, relying only on the “voice” that pleads to live as a guide to solving crimes.

NTV BROADCASTING COMPANY

O (7-495) 725-5718 m sales@ntv.ru

w sales.ntv.ru/soap/

Stand: R7.E65 Contact: Timur Weinstein, general producer; Marina Kataya, head, sales; Anastasia Lisova, CMO; Olga Bayramova, PR dept. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Casting Lady Justice (Crime drama/comedy, 20x48 min.) She is an investigator but dreams of being an actress. She realizes that her place is with the police, but it takes courage to admit that.

Reluctant Hero (Crime drama/comedy, 10x48 min.) A loser is diagnosed with inoperable tumor that shrinks when he commits heroic, selfless acts. Now he helps the police with the most dangerous cases.

Brass Sun (Drama, 6x48 min.) A war series about young army musicians, who have no combat skills but must protect innocent civilians from guerillas.

ONE LIFE STUDIOS

O (91-22) 2676-6377 m connect@onelifestudios.in

w www.onelifestudios.in

Shepherd

Shepherd (Crime drama/comedy, 48x48 min.)

A classic police procedural featuring a detective and his dog.

Blown Away (Drama, 16x48 min.) A sudden explosion destroys a residential building. Only ten people survive and start their own investigation into the real reasons behind the blast.

Five Minutes of Silence (Action drama, 34x50 min.) After becoming a reluctant member of an emergency response team, a young man finds his calling saving lives in harsh mountain conditions.

Invisible Target (Crime drama, 16x50 min.) A genius with a photographic memory escapes his mafia bosses and starts a new life as an insurance salesman.

Dinosaur (Crime drama/comedy, 20x48 min.)

An original criminal drama with comic elements built on a controversy between a father, a former famous safecracker, and his newly found son, a police investigator.

Secret for a Million (Format) The show where celebrities reveal their personal secrets for a cash prize.

Dr. Driver (Medical drama, 40x48 min.) Former ER doctor working as an ambulance driver must find his way back to practicing medicine again because he only wants to help people.

ONE ANIMATION

O (65) 6273-1785 ext. 526 m michele@oneanimation.com

w www.oneanimation.com

Stand: P-1.D26/P-1.E25 Contact: Sashim Parmanand, CEO; Michele Schofield, SVP, content dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Oddbods (Non-dialogue comedy, 180x7 min./3x22 min./600x1 min.) Twice- nominated for an International Emmy Award, follows the adventures of seven different, fun and funny friends who celebrate individuality and acceptance.

Antiks (Comedy, 52x2 min.) Goofball minimaldialogue comedy following two sibling ants, Joey and Boo, with an appetite for food, mischief and minuscule levels of mass-destruction.

Insectibles (Comedy adventure, 52x11 min.)

Zak and his grandfather are accidentally exposed to Gramps’ Shrinkinator and befriend his grandfather’s bionically-modified insects in pint-sized adventures of mega proportions.

Rob the Robot (Educational adventure, 104x11 min.) Incorporates a developmentally appropriate curriculum for preschoolers based on indepth educational research.

Insectibles

Stand: P-1.E57 Contact: Rahul Kumar Tewary, producer/mng. dir.; Siddharth Kumar Tewary, founder/chief creative; Sonal Gupta, snr. dir., content & alliances; Smriti Chandel, mgr., content & alliances; Mausam Punjabi, mgr., content & alliances.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Chandragupta Maurya (Costume drama, 260x30 min.) The saga of a reluctant boy and an adamant teacher who together created a united India against foreign invaders and protected it from an internal enemy, King Dhananand of the Nanda Dynasty.

Porus (Costume drama, 299x22 min.) King Porus, one of the most iconic rulers of ancient India, defends his motherland against Alexander the Great.

Porus

Kingdom of Shani (Action adventure 3D, 24x24 min.) Shani, Yam and Yami beat mythological super villains while battling their own personal demons.

Chaamp (Sports drama, 1x155 min.) The journey of Shiba from a poverty- and grief-stricken 14-year-old to a full-grown successful boxing champion.

Kilkariyan (2D animation, 20x10 min.) Brings to life folklore and lost legends to impart important life lessons.

Herbs & Spices (Food/lifestyle, 16x24 min.)

Teaches viewers the healing benefits of spices and herbs along with the right way of using them in Indian recipes.

ORANGE SMARTY

O (44-1273) 359-030 m info@orangesmarty.com

w www.orangesmarty.com

Stand: P-1.G63 Contact: Amy Kemp, head, sales; Lynn Lugsden, head, formats.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Real Prime Suspect (Crime, 10x60 min.)

Jackie Malton, the inspiration behind the multiaward-winning drama Prime Suspect, reexamines some of the most intriguing British and American murder cases.

Paul O’Grady’s Little Heroes (Human interest, S1: 6x30 min., S2: 6x30 min.) A celebration of the little heroes who come through the hospital doors of the iconic Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Stacey Meets the IS Brides (Current affairs, 1x45 min.) Stacey confronts the contentious issue of how the West should respond to those who joined IS and the complex ethical dilemma facing Western society: what do we do with the IS brides?

Stacey Dooley Investigates: Face to Face with the Bounty Hunters (Current affairs, 1x58 min.) Stacey joins the modern-day outlaw hunters and explores how this $14-billion-ayear business in the U.S. is taking advantage of people’s desperation for their own freedom.

Prisoner’s Wives: Visiting Hours (Human interest, 1x60 min.) Shows a portrait of family life through the eyes of the women who keep it all together with resilience, humor and strength while the man of the house is inside.

Sex, Drugs and Murder (Crime, 1x47 min.) Investigates the ever-increasing usage of GHB,

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 569

sometimes called the date rape drug, and reveals the epidemic scale of abuse within the gay male community, which has resulted in rape, murder and the livestreaming of sexual abuse.

The Real Prime Suspect

The Great Hotel Escape (Human interest, 20x60 min.) Former hoteliers and Gogglebox stars Steph and Dom follow those risking their life savings to turn their dream of running a hotel into a reality.

The Great Train Robbery: The Hidden Tapes (Crime, 1x47 min.) Through tape recordings made by one of the key masterminds of the Great Train Robbery, this documentary reveals mysteries that have remained hidden for the last 56 years.

Coast vs Country (Lifestyle, S3: 25x47 min.) Sara Damergi and Kerr Drummond are now joined by Kirsty Duffy and David Bull as potential buyers decide between a coastal or countryside property.

Discover London (Travel, 6x60 min.) New areas of London are explored, delving deeper into the cultural history of one of the world’s greatest cities.

ORF-ENTERPRISE

O (43-1) 87878-13030 m contentsales@orf.at

w contentsales.orf.at

Stand: P-1.L1 Contact: Armin Luttenberger, head, content sales intl.; Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, sales dir., GST & dist. investment; Monika Kossits, sales mgr., TV; Johannes Stanek, sales mgr., TV; Alexandra Hopf, sales mgr., TV; Mario Leonhardsberger, digital content dist. mgr.; Franka Giesemann, sales mgr., VOD & home ent.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Empire of the Vineyard (Wildlife, 1x52 min.)

The life in the vineyards is an empire fought every day. The documentary shows the life and survival of animals living in vineyards.

Corsica—Mountains in the Sea (Wildlife, 1x52 min.) Corsica is the perfect habitat for Europe’s mouflons, the Corsican red deer, salamanders, tortoises, the famous hybrid pigs and many other faunal species.

Richard the Lionheart (History, 1x52 min.)

Explores the questions and mysteries that surround Richard I through reenactments of crucial moments in his reign and interviews with leading historians.

Suburbia—Women on the Edge (Series, 40x48 min.) The plot around the witty housewives goes into round four and continues one year after the thrilling finale of the third season.

Walking on Sunshine (Series, 20x45 min.)

The series is set in the weather department of a TV station and is about the people who forecast the weather every day.

Corsica—Mountains in the Sea

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 8:30 AM Page 24

24

TV LISTINGS

Tatort (TV movies, 24x90 min.) In Timber! and Workout, the two new crime movies in this hit show, the detectives Eisner and Fellner are again looking for clues in criminal cases.

AHA! Museum of Adventures (Kids, 13x15 min.) The youngest audience can get to know fascinating objects from many fields such as history, technology or nature and learn exciting stories about them.

Gipsy Love—Bühne Baden (Operetta, 1x125 min.) Zorika’s engagement to the charming but very reputable Jonel is imminent. But she’s much more attracted to the seductive, spirited gypsy violinist Jószi.

The Magic Flute—St. Margarethen Open Air Opera (Opera, 1x165 min.) This year’s “Opera in the Quarry” offers a spectacular magical backdrop for Mozart’s parable on love and reason.

The Land of Smiles—Mörbisch Festival 2019 (Operetta, 1x187 min.) Perhaps the most impassioned of all operettas, which never fails to touch the hearts of every member of the audience.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES WORLDWIDE TELEVISION LICENSING & DISTRIBUTION

O (1-323) 956-5000 m lisa_kramer@paramount.com

w www.paramount.com

Stand: R7.N7 Contact: Dan Cohen: pres., worldwide home ent. & TV dist.; Lisa Kramer, EVP, intl. TV lic.; Erica Adler, SVP, LatAm sales; Michael Armstrong, EVP, worldwide TV lic. & ops.; Jonathan Greenberg, SVP, regional sales, AsiaPac; Stephanie Shinkoda, dir., sales, Canada.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Looking for Alaska (Drama, 60 min. eps.)

Based on the book by John Green, follows Miles “Pudge” Halter as he tries to gain a deeper perspective on life, and Alaska Young, who will change his life forever.

PALATIN MEDIA

O (49-89) 4520-6780 m andresen@palatinmedia.com

w www.palatinmedia.com

Contact: Bernd Schloetterer, mng. dir.; Karin Ruedinger, sales dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Spides Can young Nora uncover the largest conspiracy ever and save the world from the alien invasion? Or is she the key to humanity’s doom?

Evolution of Driving Racing legends and international automobile experts present the essential, legendary and groundbreaking car models and explain the myth of the greatest dream cars of all time.

Backfired, When VW Lied To America A small team at the tiny West Virginia University uncovered a massive scandal at Volkswagen: the use of encoded emission defeat devices.

Secrecy Two families. One secret. relentless vengeance. The life of a successful doctor is torn into pieces by a tragic accident. A well-kept secret comes to light.

The Uwe Boll Story A look behind the lens at the most hated man in Hollywood. Anybody who says they hate Uwe Boll doesn´t know Uwe Boll.

Hip-Hop Evolution MC and journalist Shad Kabango meets with hip-hop’s biggest stars to retrace how it became the world’s most popular music.

Paradise Lost (Mystery, 60 min. eps.) Follows a psychiatrist who moves with her family from California to Mississippi only to uncover shameful secrets that change the lives of everyone involved.

Angel of Darkness (Drama, 60 min. eps.) Set one year after The Alienist, Sara Howard enlists the help of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and John Moore to hunt down an elusive killer.

The Great (Drama, 60 min. eps.) A genre-bending, anti-historical ride through 18th century Russia following the wildly comic rise of Catherine the Nothing to Catherine the Great.

Yellowstone (Drama, 60 min. eps.) A prominent ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.

O (44-207) 981-9801 m sales@passiondistribution.com

w passiondistribution.com

In the Name of the King Based on the popular video game, the passionate epic adventure follows the hard life of a farmer to a mighty mission to save his family.

Welcome to Willits Deep in the Northern California woods, the residents struggle to fight off the repeated attacks and abductions by mysterious creatures that have plagued them for years.

BloodRayne Based on the popular video game, this sexy “Damphir” is part human, part vampire, all woman. Rayne is haunted by childhood memories of seeing her mother viscously raped and murdered.

4K Documentaries Includes Adventure Yellowstone, America, Aquarium, Blue Ocean Life, Australia, Borneo, Candle of Peace, Coral Reef Paradise, Hawaii, Myanmar, Serengeti, yoga, relaxing programs, Fireplace, meditation.

Secrets of Royal Travel (Doc., 2x60 min.)

Tells the inside story of the traditions and protocols of the British monarchy on the move.

Bridging the Expanse (Doc., 6x60 min.) Celebrates the world’s most iconic bridges, exploring the remarkable feats of engineering from early history through to the present day.

World’s Most Expensive Cruise (Doc., 4x60 min.) Offers exclusive access and behind-thescenes insight aboard the most luxurious ship ever built.

Emily Atack: Adulting (Fact-ent., 4x60 min.)

Actress and comedian Emily Atack is struggling with the next phase of her life. Although busier than she’s ever been, Emily’s 30th birthday is just around the corner and she’s desperate to make sense of her chaotic existence.

PBS INTERNATIONAL Looking for Alaska

PASSION DISTRIBUTION

Spides

Twice the Life for Half the Price

Stand: P4.C18 Contact: Emmanuelle Namiech, CEO; Nick Rees, COO; Nick Tanner, dir., sales & coprod.; Sean Wheatley, head, acq.; Agnes Mbye, snr. sales mgr.; Eliana Barbosa, sales mgr.; Alexa Dubard, sales mgr.; Tom Burton, sales mgr.; Michelle Choi, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over (Doc., 6x60 min.)

Celebrated journalist Stacey Dooley explores modern life by spending 72 hours in the company of a wide range of extraordinary characters and families Secrets of the Superfactories (Factual, 8x60 min.) Fact-filled series will lift the lid on production at these superfactories, exploring how everything from everyday product to iconic design is made.

Twice the Life for Half the Price (Lifestyle, 6x60 min. & format) Presenter Kate Humble joins families who are looking to change their lives in a big way.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Ent., 8x60 min.) For a decade, RuPaul’s Drag Race has entertained fans around the world with its mix of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. Now RuPaul has made the trip across the pond in search of a British queen.

O (1-617) 208-0747 m semarks@pbs.org

w pbsinternational.org

Stand: P-1.G66 Contact: Andrea Downing, copres.; Tom Koch, VP; Germaine Deagan Sweet, mng. dir., coprod. & drama acq.; Tracy Beckett, dir., pgm. & media acq.; David Matthews, dir., acq.; Betsy LeBlanc, dir., sales; Anna Alvord, snr. sales mgr.; Nanci Church, sales mgr.; Sarah Marks, mktg. & strategy mgr.; Jamie Van Houten, account mgr., education & intl.; Richard Kingsbury, GM, PBS America; Katie Cook, head, pgmng., PBS America.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Country Music (Arts/culture/history, 9x60 min./7x120 min. & 1x150 min.) This series from Ken Burns explores the history of country music, from its deep roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed to its worldwide popularity.

The Serengeti Rules (Natural history, 1x60 min./1x90 min.) Travel back in time, from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools, with a group of scientists who make surprising discoveries that transform human understanding of nature and ecology.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (Current affairs, 2x60 min.) A year since the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, this film uncovers the Crown Prince’s vision for the future, his handling of dissent and his ties to Khashoggi’s murder.

The Violence Paradox (Science, 2x60 min.) Take a tour through history and the human mind to uncover how and why rates of violence have diminished steadily since the dawn of civilization.

Raúl Juliá: The World’s A Stage (Arts/culture, 1x60 min./1x90 min.) Discover the life and career of Raúl Juliá, the charismatic actor and humanitarian known for versatile roles on stage

570 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

and screen, from Shakespearean plays to The Addams Family.

On the President’s Orders (Current affairs, 1x60 min.) The story of President Duterte’s campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the story.

Dead Sea Scroll Detectives (Science, 1x60 min.) New technologies help scientists decipher the Dead Sea Scrolls, fragile parchment relics written around the time of Christ that include the oldest known version of the Hebrew Bible.

Gorongosa: A New Hope in Wild Africa (Science, 1x60 min.) Through the lens of Gorongosa, explore the most important and urgent question of our time: how can we sustain Africa’s human population and save its remaining wild places?

College Behind Bars (Current affairs/social issues, 2x60 min./4x60 min.) The story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees in a rigorous and effective prison education program.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (Arts/culture, 1x60 min./1x90 min.) A plastic surgeon and selfproclaimed artist seizes the spotlight for daring plastic-surgery performances.

PINK PARROT MEDIA

O (1-647) 906-7660 m sandrine@pinkparrotmedia.ca

w www.pinkparrotmedia.ca

Contact: Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT Snowsnaps (Animation, 52x5 min./26x11 min.) Four best friends flip their world on its head in high-energy, visually-driven, snappy comic escapades. Watching them gives us an irresistible urge to join them and play outside.

Snowsnaps

PORTFOLIO ENTERTAINMENT

O (1-416) 483-9773 m sales@portfolio-ent.com

w www.portfolioentertainment.com Stand: P-1.A0 Contact: Joy Rosen, CEO & cofndr.; Lisa Olfman, CEO & cofndr.; Donnie MacIntyre, VP, sales & business dvpmt.; Marianne Culbert, VP, prod.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Hero Elementary (Preschool animation, 40x22 min./80x11 min.) Welcome to Hero Elementary, a school where young superheroes learn to master their unique abilities and take on some day-saving action.

Doomsday Brothers (Comedy, 26x22 min.) In a mutation-riddled apocalypse, two dysfunctional survivalist brothers are hired to become protectors of their rural hometown.

Archons (Horror/thriller 1x90 min. 4K) A group of young adults are being stalked by unseen creatures in the wilderness.

Cyberchase (Educational animation, 114x30 min.) In a classic good-versus-evil battle, kids go on a wild ride through cyberspace where they are challenged to use the power of math.

Freaktown (Comedy animation, 52x11 min./26x30 min.) Best friends Ben Bones and Lenny are living “la vida Freaky” in Freaktown, a crazy place where ghouls, mutants, misfits and oddities are welcome.

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 8:31 AM Page 25

TV LISTINGS 25

Hero Elementary

Do You Know? (Preschool, 75x15 min.) YouTube sensation Maddie Moate makes the leap from the internet to TV to answer some of the world’s most pressing questions from preschoolers.

Modern Classic (Comedy/drama, 1x90 min.) A darkly satirical movie that follows two young filmmakers on a strange and disastrous journey to make their first feature film.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!

(Preschool animation, 80x30 min./160x15 min. & 4x60 min. movies) Dr. Seuss’ beloved Cat in the Hat leaps from the page to the screen to take audiences on extraordinary adventures fueled by curiosity and imagination.

Addison (Preschool animation, 50x11 min.) At only 7 years old, Addison, a determined and resilient inventor, heads on comical yet brainteasing adventures in her neighborhood.

You Gotta Eat Here! (Food/travel, 150x30 min.) Comedian John Catucci is on a quest to find the most delicious, mouthwatering and over-the-top comfort foods.

PRIMEWORKS DISTRIBUTION

O (603) 7726-6333 ext. 10025 m lynnazlina@mediaprima.com.my

w www.primeworks.com.my

Stand: P-1.E14 Contact: Lyn Nasihin, GM; Andrea Lok, mgr., content sales & aggregation; Saiful Shahiran, head, prod., ops. & content dist.; Puteri Rene Shahnie, team lead, content dist.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Ejen Ali the Movie (Action/adventure animated feature film, 1x90 min.) Young Ali has come a long way since he first became a spy (by accident) for the secret agency MATA. Adiwiraku 2 (Drama, 1x90 min.) A true story about a teacher who attempts to discipline a bunch of mischievous students by coaching them for a cricket match without knowing a thing about the sport.

Sangkar (Action/martial arts, 1x90 min.) The road to redemption for a fighter who seeks forgiveness from the very man he destroyed.

Orang Itu (Drama, 1x110 min.) A mother returns to the city that scarred her 30 years later. A prejudiced restaurant owner chases her away from his premises, not realizing that their paths in life would be entangled from that moment on.

Jerunei (Action/adventure, 1x90 min.) Inspired by rituals of sacrifice that date back to the 13th century, tells the story of Dr. Sani and a team that goes in search of his wife, who went missing during an expedition to study a particular Jerunei (totem pole).

Ratu Kala Jengking (Fantasy/thriller, 1x90 min.)

A curse is put upon a young maiden who seeks everlasting beauty. Although the men in her village cannot resist her enchanting looks, each man she marries is found dead the next morning.

Ejen Ali the Movie

Best In The World—Japan (Lifestyle/travel, 10x30 min.) Travel to the Far East to discover the culture, history, and most importantly, the food of this extraordinary island nation.

Nur (Romance/drama, 19x60 min.) A forbidden love between a religious speaker and a prostitute invites resistance from his family. Will the couple be able to stand for their love and overcome the challenges ahead of them?

My Sensei Nyonya (Family drama, 30x60 min.) As the Zheng family prepares for a marriage in the family that will help boost business, an unassuming Lin Ya Lei joins the kitchen staff.

Unbeknown to the family, a secret plan is in the works to expose dark secrets.

The Prophet’s Legacy Unearthed (Doc., 15x30 min.) Takes a look at the remains of the Prophet Muhammad that are enshrined in Jordan and Turkey.

RAINBOW

O (39-071) 7506-7500 m info@rbw.it

w www.rbw.it

Stand: R7.H2 Contact: Iginio Straffi, fndr. & CEO; Joanne Lee, COO; Cristiana Buzzelli, SVP, content & lic.; Andrea Graciotti, head, sales, TV series, movies & coprod.; Silvia Quintili, content sales mgr.; Simone Borgarelli, content sales exec.; Perugini Nicolò, sales exec.; Paola Verdenelli, head, prod.; Lorena Vaccari, VP, global mktg.; Silvia Conti, head, comms.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 44 Cats Season 1 (CGI comedy, 52x12 min.) The adventures of the Buffycats, four special musician cats, always ready to play new songs and help all friends in need with their Noodle Power.

where they follow their dreams and discover secrets that change their lives forever.

Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends—TV Movies (Live-action comedy, 2x50 min.) In these TV movies, set between Milan and Paris, Maggie and Bianca fight to keep their home, help their father and investigate a school disaster.

World of Winx (Action/mystery 2D, S1-2: 26x23 min.) As talent scouts for WOW!, the Winx fairies travel the world searching for talented kids to prevent the mysterious Talent Thief from kidnapping them.

RECORD TV

O (55-11) 3300-4022 m emendes@recordtv.com.br

w www.recordtvnetwork.com

Stand: P-1.K63 Contact: Delmar Andrade, intl. sales dir.; Edson Mendes, intl. sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Jezebel (Telenovela) Tells the story of a Phoenician princess who uses her beauty and seduction power to achieve all she wants.

Topíssima (Telenovela) A contemporary telenovela that delves into the feminine universe and brings the struggles of a modern woman to the surface: work versus love life; independence versus solitude; maternity versus career; aging versus aesthetics; illegal abortion versus deaths; among others.

Jesus (Telenovela, 196x45 min.) For the first time the trajectory of the man who changed mankind will be told in its entirety.

Leah (Series, 9x45 min.) At age 8, after the death of her mother during Rachel’s birth, Leah is forced to take responsibility for the care of the newborn sister.

Apocalypse (Telenovela) A story of love, spirituality and redemption in portraying one of the most controversial topics in the Holy Bible: the end of times.

Topíssima

Club 57

44 Cats Season 2 (CGI comedy, 52x12 min.)

The Buffycats are back with new funny missions along with their furry fellows, always ready to find creative ways to save the day.

Winx Club Season 8 (Adventure/action 2D, 26x23 min.) The Winx fairies embark on a cosmic adventure that will lead them to the farthest reaches of the Magic Universe to save the stars from going out.

Club 57 (Live-action comedy, 60x45 min.) Coproduced with Nickelodeon, the time-traveling stories of science-lover Eva, catapulted back to 1957 and falling in love with JJ among music, dance, friendship and incredible time leaps.

2 Happy Farmers (Comedy edutainment CGI, 52x7 min.) Two lovely bears run a country farm and guide kids to the discovery of farming activities among funny gags with their team of animal friends.

Pinocchio (Adventure comedy CGI, 52x13 min.) A fresh adaptation of timeless Pinocchio’s adventures set in our day, a bridge target show combining fantasy, friendship and big adventures.

Regal Academy (Comedy toonshade CGI, S12: 52x23 min.) Fairytale heroes and their grandkids come to life at Regal Academy, where Rose Cinderella and her friends combine their hero life with magic studies.

Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends (Liveaction comedy, S1-3: 78x23 min.) Maggie and Bianca meet at the Milan Fashion Academy,

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Dignity (Thriller, 8x52 min.) A thriller inspired by the real-life story of a mysterious German sect, established by a former Nazi soldier in Chile.

The Bank Hacker (Crime thriller, 8x50 min.) A teenager joins a team of expert con men and commits a daring bank heist in this high-stakes, character-driven thriller.

The Rich and Lazarus (Telenovela, 187x45 min.) A love triangle develops between childhood friends Asher, Joanne and Zach, who will also have to deal with the invasion of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.

The Promised Land (Telenovela, 179x50 min.) After Moses’ death, Joshua, the new leader of the Hebrews, must fulfill a difficult mission ordered by God: to command the 12 tribes of Israel in their conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land.

The Slave Mother (Telenovela 151x60 min. 4K) The tale of the light-skinned slave girl who was obsessively pursued by Mr. Leôncio won over the world; none of this story would have happened without the characters of this series.

Moses and the Ten Commandments (Telenovela, 242x60 min.) The story of Moses, from his birth to the arrival of his people in the Promised Land, through the Red Sea crossing and the encounter with God on Mount Sinai.

RED ARROW STUDIOS INTERNATIONAL

O (49-89) 9507-7303 m sales@redarrowstudios.com

w redarrowstudios.com/international Stand: P4.C14 Contact: Bo Stehmeier, pres.; Tim Gerhartz, SVP, global sales; Alex Fraser, EVP, acq. & content investment.

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 571

Dignity

Dog’s Most Wanted (Fact-ent./reality, 10x45 min.) Legendary bounty hunter Duane ‘The Dog’ Chapman goes after his biggest targets yet in this new reality series.

Meat the Family (Ent. format) Topical new social experiment that explores what happens when a family’s dinner comes to stay.

How much do we know about the animals we eat?

Beat the Channel (Ent. format) Two popular presenters get the chance to win a 15-minute live broadcast slot where anything goes.

Cult of Personality (True-crime factual, 6x48 min.) The terrifying legacies of history’s most notorious cult leaders, from Charles Manson to David Koresh. Includes an exclusive interview with Manson family members.

Block Out (Ent. format) The new physical game show that challenges contestants to stay on the wall—or have a great fall.

Serial Psyche (True-crime factual, 5x48 min.)

A journey into the twisted minds of the world’s most dangerous serial killers. Combines insightful commentary with interviews from leading experts in their fields.

Vienna Blood (Drama, 3x90 min./6x45 min.)

New crime drama set in 1900s Vienna, where cultures and ideas collide in the city’s cafes and opera houses, from acclaimed screenwriter Steve Thompson.

RIVE GAUCHE TELEVISION

O (1-818) 784-9912 m marine@rgitv.com

w www.rgitv.com

Stand: P-1.H75 Contact: Jon Kramer, CEO; Marine Ksadzhikyan, SVP, dist. & dvpmt.; Tomas Silva, VP, intl. sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Very Scary People (Crime, 24x60 min.)

Chronicles the lives of some of the most frightening, diabolical characters in recent history.

Each individual is chronicled in two-hour-long episodes tracing their criminal acts and the eventual road to justice.

I Saw The Unknown (Paranormal, 10x60 min.)

Features stories of people recounting how they lived through terrifying experiences of unexplained phenomena, transporting the audience into what it would have been like to experience these frightening happenings firsthand.

Don’t Sleep (Format) Each season starts with 16 contestants who are eliminated one-by-one. The last person to stay awake wins the final prize.

Bullseye (Format) Challenges families to work together to navigate a multi-level stage, answering questions about global pop culture phenomena relevant to the local territory.

My Misdiagnosis (Medical doc., 26x60 min.)

Each episode features two cases told by the people who were misdiagnosed, their friends, family and doctors.

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/27/19 12:36 PM Page 26

26

TV LISTINGS

RUSSIA TELEVISION AND RADIO/SOVTELEXPORT

O (7-495) 955-8920 m ref.ste@vgtrk.com

w sales.vgtrk.com

Bullseye

Something’s Killing Me (Medical doc., 18x60 min.) Examines puzzling behaviors and diseases that result in near-death struggles. Each episode chronicles a race against time to discover what, or who, is killing the patient.

Homicide’s Elite (Crime, 24x60 min.) Features the most baffling, shocking and heartbreaking cases Detectives David Quinn and Vince Velazquez have worked in their combined 50 years on the street.

Donal MacIntyre’s Murder Files (Crime, 26x60 min.) Renowned undercover reporter and crime journalist Donal MacIntyre examines the most horrific and fascinating crimes.

Trace of Evil (Crime, 52x60 min.) Explores and reconstructs some of the most intriguing criminal cases of the past two decades, where technology has changed the course of the investigations and brought the guilty to justice.

Egg Factor (Docureality, 10x60 min.) Follows the journeys of intended parents who need the help of egg donors in order to have a baby.

Stand: R7.E1 Contact: Julia Matyash, dir., Sovtelexport; Maria Dorokhina, head, intl. sales, worldwide, except CIS & Baltics; Ekaterina Grigorieva, head, sales, CIS & Baltics; Elizaveta Shcherbakova, mgr., intl. sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Ekaterina. Pretenders (Historical drama, 16x52 min.) 1774. The rule of Ekaterina is threatened. Numerous pretenders appear with claims to the throne. Her personal life also is troubled.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (w.t.)

(Drama, 1x100 min.) The movie tells everything about the world of labor camps and how a man survives there against all odds.

Godunov (Historical drama, 17x52 min.) Sixteenth century. The mysterious death of the heir to the throne ends the rule of an ancient dynasty.

For the first time, the Russian people elect a Tsar. It is Boris Godunov.

RTVE

O (34-91) 581-7827 m mjesus.perez@rtve.es, antonio.perez@rtve.es

w www.rtve.es/commercial Stand: R7.L15 Contact: María-Jesús Pérez, intl. sales dir.; Rosalía Alcubilla, sales mgr.; Tony Pérez Bonilla, sales mgr.; María José Loranca, sales exec.; David Priego, sales exec.; Cecilia Lera, trade shows & promo. exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Malaka (8x60 min.) Crime thriller centered around two events: the disappearance of the daughter of an important entrepreneur from Malaga and the emergence of the new drug “Gold,” which is threatening to upset the existing balance between two rival drug gangs.

Promises of Sand (6x70 min.) A story of love and friendship pushed to the limit. An exciting journey of no return to a territory where everything, including life and death, is negotiable and where the protagonist has to choose between loyalty and passion.

Central Market (190x50 min.) A slice of life itself, seen through the personal, romantic and working relationships between the people who live and work in a market in a major city.

Never Give Up

Never Give Up (Drama, 8x52 min.) Elena is happy and doesn’t suspect that she is making her friend Irina very jealous. Irina is willing to do anything to ruin Elena’s life.

Blackout (Crime drama, 11x44 min.) In turbulent 1990s Russia, a veteran of the SovietAfghan war comes home to find a completely different country—morally devastated and drowning in crime.

Two Tickets Home (Drama, 1x94 min.) Lyuba is an orphan. She learns that her father is alive and he is in prison for her mother’s murder. She decides to kill him.

Anna Karenina (Drama, 8x42-47 min.) The late 19th century. Russian high society. St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a reckless love affair with the dashing count Alexey Vronsky.

Salyut-7 (Space, 1x44 min.) The space flight to the Salyut-7 station is a unique case in cosmonautics history. The cosmonauts brought the uncontrolled vehicle back to life.

Solzhenitsyn: Repentance (Bio./culture, 1x64 min.) The last interview of Alexander Solzhenitsyn about the future of Russia and the world in the 21st century. He shares his most private thoughts.

Saving Heritage (Culture, 1x44 min.)

Pushkin’s family estate and the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky monastery were almost destroyed. Savva Yamshchikov, famous Russian restorer, saved their unique historical appearance.

The New Legends of Monkey

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Art Ninja (40x26 min., 15x20 min.) This BAFTA nominated Dot to Dot Productions series for CBBC is a top-five-rating, new-look art show for kids interested in experimenting with modern art techniques.

Bo & To’s Family (54x5 min./3.5 min.) Stopmotion series starring Bori, Toto and Mozzi. Our three eccentric rescue cats live above a café with their barista “servant” and have fun entertaining his customers and hanging out with other neighborhood animals, especially when reality turns to fantasy.

Gigglebug (52x5 min.) Based on the awardwinning mobile app of the same title, this series is set in an enchanted forest with a little bug with an irresistible laugh.

Horrible Science (10x26 min.) Based on the famous Scholastic books, this scripted “show within a show” comedy stars Ben Miller.

Monty & Co (52x11 min.) A musical puppet sitcom series for preschool children featuring a blended family living together in a house above their bring, buy and mend shop.

Operation Ouch! (Kids, 99x26 min.) This ongoing, double BAFTA-winning, Emmy-nominated factual-entertainment show helps kids combat their fears of the hospital by showing them how amazing the human body is at fixing itself.

Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter (26x26 min.)

The International Emmy Award-winning animated series from Studio Ghibli, based on the book by Astrid Lindgren.

The New Legends of Monkey (20x26 min.)

Live-action adventure kids’ and family series about a young girl who discovers a lost statue of the Legendary Monkey King, an ancient god who has been imprisoned for 500 years.

Together they will bring an end to demonic rule and restore balance to the world—or so they think.

Tik Tak (104x5 min.) Toddler show that stimulates children’s cognitive development in a relaxed, simple way. The use of non-verbal, nonnarrative imagery, music and games focuses on colors, shapes, objects, animals and the context surrounding them.

SILVERGATE MEDIA

O (44-207) 151-0081 m contact@silvergatemedia.com

w silvergatemedia.com

Contact: Ron Allen, EVP, commercial; Lisa Macdonald, SVP, consumer products & TV sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Octonauts (Kids 2-6, S5: 26x11 min., 26x1 min. & 1x22 min., total: 142x11 min. & 10x22 min.) This preschool animated TV show airs in over 120 territories. New land-based spin-off series in production, with launch expected from end of 2020.

SERIOUS LUNCH

O (44) 7769-710992 m sales@seriouslunch.co.uk

w www.seriouslunch.co.uk

Promises of Sand

Stand: P-1.A82 Contact: Genevieve Dexter, CEO; Leila Ouledcheikh, dir., global sales.

Peter Rabbit

572 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Hilda (Kids 6-11, S1: 13x22 min., S2: 14x22 min.) Co-produced with Mercury Films, this animated series follows the adventures of a fearless blue-haired girl as she travels from her home in a vast magical wilderness full of elves and giants to the bustling city of Trolberg, where she meets new friends and mysterious creatures.

Peter Rabbit (Kids 2-6, S1: 50x11 min. & 3x22 min., S2: 52x11 min. & 2x22 min.) Follows the adventures of Peter and his friends in the British countryside as they encounter real dangers, overcome obstacles and outsmart predators, all while finding fun and excitement in the most unexpected places.

SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL

O (1-202) 261-1700 m ideas@smithsonianchannel.com

w www.smithsonianchannel.com

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Britain in Colour (3x60 min.) Britain’s turbulent 20th century is brought back to vivid life by colorizing archives.

America’s Hidden Stories (5x60 min.) Archeologists, forensic scientists and historians investigate and uncover new truths about some of the most dramatic and notorious events and people in American history.

America’s Hidden Stories

Black in Space (1x60 min.) One of the great untold stories of the 20th century: the Cold War competition between two superpowers to put the first black man in space.

America in Color (6x60 min.) The landmark colorized archival series that brings history back to life returns with episodes about Alaska, immigration, natural disasters and the crimes of the century.

Apollo’s Moon Shot (6x60 min.) The story of America’s moon program told through rare, newly-restored archival film, interviews, and Apollo artifacts at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

Mystic Britain (6x60 min.) Comedian Clive Anderson and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota explore Britain’s mystical past. From strange tombs to twisted skeletons, the landscape reveals ancient rituals and sacred beliefs.

The Hunt for Eagle 56 (3x60 min.) The last American warship sunk off the U.S. coast in WWII is discovered by divers. They prove it was attacked by a rogue German U-boat.

Jaguarland (1x60 min.) A relatively small part of Brazil’s Pantanal, known as Jaguarland, is home to the largest and highest density of jaguars found anywhere in the world.

Volcanoes: Dual Destruction (1x60 min.) Eyewitness footage helps tell the scientific and human story of the recent eruption of two powerful active volcanoes, Kilauea in Hawaii and Fuego in Guatemala.

An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates (8x60 min.) Host Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, gives an allaccess pass to the amazing architecture, aristocratic inhabitants, treasures and secrets of some of Britain’s most impressive estates.

*LIST_1019.qxp_LIS_1006_LISTINGS 9/26/19 7:12 PM Page 27

TV LISTINGS 27

SPI INTERNATIONAL

O (1-212) 673-5103 m info@spiintl.com

w spiintl.com

Stand: R8.C17 Contact: Loni Farhi, pres.; Berk Uziyel, CEO; Bogusław Kisielewski, pres., mngmt. board.; John Mattie, chief content ops. mgr.; Revi Benshoshan, dir., acq.; Almudena Campo, content sales mgr., Spain, Portugal; Alexandra Puiu, SPI content sales specialist; Murat Muratoglu, head, dist.; Georgina Twiss, mng. dir., Western Europe & Africa; Filipe Barbosa, sales exec.; Haymi Behar, CMO; Hatice Olcay, mktg. dir.; Bob Brach, snr. acq. mgr.; Magdalena BłasiakBielińska, acq. dir.; Hubert Ornass-Kubacki, head, content sales; Malgorzata Lucinska-Sikora, content acq. mgr.; Rafal Freyer, pgmng. dir., ZOOM TV; Agata Papis-Maniecka, mktg. dir., Kino Polska; Benan Güz, brand mgr.; İge Mergen, key account mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS TDC (Timeless Drama Channel) The first global Turkish drama channel includes nine globally acclaimed Turkish TV series.

TDC (Timeless Drama Channel)

FilmBox Offers a variety of content from major studios and independent production companies for a wide audience.

Film1 Premium movie channels and VOD service in the Netherlands offering Dutch and international productions.

Mister Mayfair (Musical gangster comedy) Tells the tale of Max Mayfair, a former New York gangster who’s now living the good life in Mayfair, London, rubbing elbows with a glamorous crowd, when he is surprised by the arrival of his heretofore unknown granddaughter, Barbara.

FightBox Worldwide channel presenting a compilation of the finest combat sports from around the globe, all on one channel.

FunBox A state-of-the-art TV channel featuring breathtaking visual content which delivers the ultimate Ultra HD experience.

DocuBox Unforgettable collection of fascinating and award-winning documentary features, exploring the mysteries, presenting beauty of our planet, wildlife, world culture and history.

Fast&FunBox Offering action-packed adrenaline sports, from car racing and motocross to snowboarding and skateboarding; a large variety of disciplines, shows and competitions from all over the world.

Gametoon Dedicated to gaming content created by gamers for gamers.

FashionBox World’s first native-HD fashion channel. Top models, top designers, top brands, hottest catwalks, shopping shows and all the latest news from the fashion world.

STAR MEDIA

O (7-499) 356-5400 m office@starmediafilm.com

w starmediafilm.com

Stand: R9.A23 Contact: Maria Grechishnikova, VP, sales & intl. projects; Nadia Rekhter, head, intl. projects dept.; William J. Peck, intl. sales cnslt.; Vlad Ryashin, gen. producer.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Pleasure Principle (Thriller/detective, 10 eps.)

Three different police officers investigate mysterious murders in four post-communist cities: Warsaw, Prague, Odessa and Leipzig. They soon come to the conclusion that all four murders are connected and have to work together to solve the crimes.

Detective Anna

Cold Shores (Thriller, 8 eps.) A rich heiress, Maria Sorokina, goes missing after a quarrel with her husband. Boris Novinsky, head of the police station, entrusts this case to a young detective, Alina Novinskaya, his daughter.

Just Sex, Nothing Personal (Romantic comedy, 1x98 min.) When Serhiy asks his girlfriend to marry him, he is met with a sound rebuff and an unflattering critique of his poor performance in bed. Brokenhearted, Serhiy takes a macho decision to spend the New Year holiday with his friend in Prague.

Ancestral Land (Drama, 16 eps.) An epic family saga set in the Russian Urals before, during and after WWII, centered on two brothers and two sisters with a multitude of complex relationships between them.

Detective Anna (Drama/sci-fi, 56 eps.)

Nineteen-year-old Anna, living at the end of the 19th century in the town of Zatonsk, discovers that she can communicate with the spirits of the dead, allowing her to solve crimes.

The Rurik Dynasty (Docudrama, 8 eps.) Founded by the eponymous Varangian prince, the Rurik dynasty ruled the territory of Kievan Rus from 882, and later, several neighboring principalities, including the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

Where Truth Lies (Drama, 8 eps.) After 15 years of happy family life, Kseniya begins to suspect her husband of cheating. What begins as a fleeting thought gradually develops into an obsession, pushing the woman to conduct her own investigation.

The Reckless (Detective drama, 12 eps.) Two women find themselves hostages locked in the trunk of an SUV full of money. After escaping, they are pursued as suspects in a series of highprofile crimes.

Awake (Drama, 12 eps.) Pavel Mokhov gets into a car accident after which he finds his life to have been torn into two parallel realities: in one of them, his son Kirill has survived the car crash, while in the other his wife Svetlana. Every day he alternates between these two worlds.

The Closer (Detective drama, S4: 16 eps.)

Aleksandra, who has been on maternity leave, decides to return to work, solving the most difficult cases.

STUDIO 100 MEDIA

O (49-89) 960-855-0 m distribution@studio100media.com

w www.studio100media.com

Stand: R7.C15 Contact: Hans Bourlon, CEO, Studio 100; Martin Krieger, CEO, Studio 100 Media; Barbara Stephen, CEO, content; Dorian Bühr, head, global dist.; Tanja Aichberger Schätzle, snr. sales exec.; Petra Keil, dir., channel & pgm. mngmt.; Katell France, mng. dir., Studio 100 Animation; Anja Van Mensel, CEO, Studio 100 Benelux; Benny Salaets, dir., content dist., Studio 100.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 100% Wolf—Legend of the Moonstone (CGI comedy adventure, 26x22 min.) Freddy Lupin, heir to a line of werewolves, was in shock when on his 13th birthday his first “warfing” went awry, turning him into a poodle. Enrolled in the Howlington Academy, Freddy is going to try to prove that despite his appearance, he still has the heart of a werewolf.

Heidi (CGI adventure, S1-2: 65x22 min.) Old and new adventures of the happy and communicative orphan girl who handles all challenges of everyday life with a smile.

Tip the Mouse (CGI preschool comedy, S1-3: 104x7 min.) From the best-selling children’s book series, little Tip is pure fun and curiosity for preschoolers. Season three now available.

Wissper (CGI preschool adventure/comedy, S1-2: 104x7 min.) Wissper is a little girl who can talk to animals. She can sense their feelings and thus she can help animals around the world.

Arthur and the Minimoys—The Series (CGI adventure/fantasy, 26x24 min.) Arthur found the world of the Minimoys and visits his friends Selenia and Betameche. This time the King of the Minimoys is organizing the resistance against tyrant Malthazar.

Maya the Bee (CGI preschool adventure, S1-2: 130x13 min.) Two seasons featuring exciting adventures with Maya, the little bee who is so unlike any of the other bees, and her very best friends.

Mia and me (Fantasy/adventure, S1-3: 78x23 min.) The adventures of Mia and her friends in the magical land of Centopia, where they have to protect unicorns from all kinds of villains.

100% Wolf—Legend of the Moonstone

Drop Dead Weird (Live-action comedy, 26x24 min.) Three Aussie kids trying to fit into their new hometown are harboring an enormous secret: their parents are zombies.

Random & Whacky (Live-action comedy, 15x24 min.) Comedy series about a top-secret agency that solves the problems faced by real-life kids.

Ghost Rockers (Live-action mystery, 209x12 min. & 1x92 min.) In teenage soap-style, five friends with big dreams and a raw musical talent discover haunted spirits of an old rock band that help them turn the tide.

STUDIOCANAL

O (33-1) 7135-3535 m stephanie.bro@studiocanal.com

w www.studiocanaltvseries.com

Stand: P1.A1 Contact: Françoise Guyonnet, exec. mng. dir., TV series; Anna Marsh, EVP, intl. dist., films & TV series; Sabina Khan, sales dir.; Sarah Mottershead, snr. sales mgr.; Chloé Vidal, snr. sales. coord.; Claudia Ramos, jnr. sales exec.; Rola Bauer, mng. dir., STUDIOCANAL TV; Sandra Munivrana, sales asst., STUDIOCANAL TV; Jonas Bauer, head, intl. acq. & coprod.; Stéphanie Bro, SVP, mktg. & publicity; Hooman Afshari, EVP, dist., STUDIOCANAL Germany; Julia Heber, head, digital dist., STUDIOCANAL Germany; Milena Thomsen, key account mgr., free & pay TV, STUDIOCANAL Germany; Katheryn Needham, head, TV & digital sales, U.K. & Ireland; Jessica Singleton, snr. sales mgr., TV, U.K. & Ireland; Imrun Islam, snr. mgr., digital sales, U.K. & Ireland;

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 573

Laure de Boissard, SVP, TV/SVOD, France; Zelda Camilleri, TV sales mgr., France; François Ragueneau, TV sales mgr., France; Camille Soudan, sales coord., France; Louisa Bayles, head, TV sales & digital, Australia; Lionel Balzan, head, acq., video, TV, new media, France.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS On Death Row (True-crime drama, 4x60 min.)

Pablo Ibar is wrongly sentenced to death for a triple homicide. This is the 25-year fight of a man to prove his innocence.

Savages (Thriller, 6x60 min.) The first presidential candidate of Algerian descent is shot on the night of the election, bringing turmoil to two families and the entire nation.

On Death Row

War of the Worlds (Sci-fi, 8x60 min.) After scientists detect a transmission from another galaxy, aliens attack the Earth. The subsequent fallout exposes the characters as they navigate a new, dangerous world.

The Collapse (Drama, 8x15 min.) An anticipation anthology focusing on the limits of industrial society. What would become of society if essential resources became scarce?

ZeroZeroZero (Action/crime drama, 8x60 min.)

Follows a cocaine shipment from the moment a powerful Italian cartel purchases it to its packaging in Mexico and shipment across the Atlantic.

The Lawyer (Thriller, S2: 8x60 min.) Frank and Sara are trying to move on with their everyday lives. Waldman, who survived the shooting, is still putting a threat on their lives.

Baron Noir (Political drama, S3: 8x60 min.)

The final season of the prestigious Canal+ Creation Originale that delves deep into the dark side of power and ambition with an engaging storyline.

The Adventures of Paddington (Family animation, 52x11 min. & 1x22 min. Christmas special) A new version of a familiar bear. A heartwarming show about being curious, being good, and being part of a loving family.

Possessions (Thriller, 6x60 min.) Natalie, a young French woman living in Israel, is accused of murdering her husband on the night of her wedding.

Shadowplay (Thriller, 8x60 min.) Max McLaughlin is an American cop arriving in Berlin in the summer of 1946 to create a police force in the aftermath of war.

SUNRIGHTS

O (1-646) 284-9801 m info@sunrights-inc.com

w www.sunrights-inc.com

Stand: P-1.C15 Contact: Daichi “David” Wakabayashi, COO; Natasha Gross, TV sales & lic. dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Beyblade Burst (Boys 6-12 2D action, 51x22 min.) Tells the story of Valt Aoi and his friends, a group of passionate Bladers who follow their dreams on an unforgettable journey to the top.

Beyblade Burst Evolution (Boys 6-12 2D action, 51x22 min.) The enthusiastic and determined protagonist Valt travels to Spain after being scouted by a prestigious Spanish Bey club, where he and his friends must fight to make it to the World League.

Beyblade Burst Turbo (Boys 6-12 2D action, 51x22 min.) This season, more action-packed than ever, introduces Aiger Akabane, a wild child who sets out to earn a chance to unseat Valt and claim the title of World Champion.

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TV LISTINGS The Horn Quartet (Kids/family 2D, 2x26 min.)

In the course of an amusing trip to the beach, four cows will discover freedom in an unknown world that extends far from their meadow.

Puffin Rock (Preschool comedy 2D, 78x7 min.) Set on a beautiful island off the Irish coast.

Nature and wildlife are central to the stories of Oona and Baba, a cute sister and brother puffling pair.

Clay Time (Preschool edutainment 2D, 30x3 min. & 30 live tutorials) The show invites 3- to 5year-olds to develop their imagination with a universal activity: modeling clay.

Beyblade Burst Turbo

Beyblade Burst Rise (Boys 6-12 2D action, 26x22 min.) Follows new protagonist Dante Koryu and his partner, Ace Dragon, as they set off for Japan, the birthplace of Beyblade. The path to glory won’t be easy for these two; plenty of tough competitors and Gamma Beys stand in their way.

SUPERIGHTS

O (33) 516-500-016 m sales@superights.net

T&B MEDIA GLOBAL

O (66-2) 288-0481-5 m info@tandbmediaglobal.com

w www.tandbmediaglobal.com

Stand: R7.K8 (Boat Rocker) Contact: Pinyada Ratanasungk.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Tasty Tales of the Food Truckers (Animated adventure comedy, 52x11 min.) Three animal friends travel the world in their souped-up, sentient food truck, cooking amazing food, making awesome new friends.

w www.superights.net

Stand: R7.K28 Contact: Nathalie Pinguet, deputy mng. dir., sales & acq.; Pedro Citaristi, sales mgr.; Jérômine Ader, sales mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS That’s Joey (Kids comedy 3D, 52x11 min.) Faster than the speed of light when it comes to quick jokes and snappy comebacks, bursting with imagination; this little boy is irresistible.

Tasty Tales of the Food Truckers

FriendZspace (Animated adventure comedy, 52x11 min.) Human kids explore the universe to make friends with alien kids.

TELEFILMS

TCB MEDIA RIGHTS

w www.telefilms.com.ar

O (44-203) 970-5577 m office@tcbmediarights.com

w www.tcbmediarights.com

That’s Joey

Maelys’ Mysteries (Kids adventure comedy 2D, 52x11 min.) Maelys is a 10-year-old girl eager to solve mysteries with the help of her best friend, Lucien.

Pat the Dog (Kids cartoon comedy 3D, 141x7 min., 10x1.5 min. & 4x22 min.) Tells the daily adventures of an ordinary little dog, Pat, and his owner, Lola. Pat would do anything to save Lola’s day.

Helen’s Little School (Preschool comedy 3D, 52x11 min.) Follows 5-year-old Helen and her unruly toy students in this not-soordinary class, where they will discover that helping and listening to each other is the best way to learn.

Zibilla (Preschool 2D, 1x26 min.) Zibilla is different and children at school don‘t accept her.

When she unintentionally falls into an exciting adventure and meets a wild lion, she gains the self-confidence to roar back.

Ralph & the Dinosaurs (Preschool edutainment 2D, 26x5 min.) Follow Ralph’s adventures in the world of dinosaurs and have fun learning or refreshing your ideas about what you think you already know.

Bo Bear (Preschool/family live action, S1: 26x5 min., S2: in prod.) In each episode, a kid faces a new situation that could sound difficult or challenging, but with the help of Bo Bear, it becomes a life-learning lesson.

access to the organization’s leader, Andrew Cohen. Featuring 25 years of archive and student testimony.

Inside Phuket Airport (Reality/ent., 10x60 min.) This landmark series gives insight into the inner workings of one of Asia’s busiest transport hubs, capable of handling millions of passengers per year.

Kathy Burke: All Woman (Doc., 3x60 min.)

Kathy Burke travels around the U.K., asking all sorts of questions about the lives of women today, and giving us revealing insights into her own personal experiences.

Lords of the Ocean (Reality/ent., 13x60 min.) Matt and Robin fight the sea in the world’s deadliest workplace: the North Atlantic. It’s a 24-hour, high-stakes operation with a team of divers, ROV pilots and salty sea captains.

Murder Lies & Alibis (Crime/investigation, 5x60 min.) Explores true crimes that are powerfully etched in the Australian public’s psyche— told by the surviving victims, eyewitnesses, investigators and perpetrators.

Shipwreck Secrets (History, 6x60 min.) We join teams of explorers, investigators and experts as they discover, identify and uncover the truth about some of the most fascinating shipwrecks on Earth.

Towies (Reality/ent., S1-2: 20x30 min.) The highway to Queensland’s Coast is Australia’s deadliest, and when things go wrong one of the country’s largest towing companies is there to pick up the pieces.

World’s Greatest Palaces (History, 10x60 min.) This series takes a behind-the-scenes look through the corridors of power in ten of the most opulent and historic royal residences on Earth.

Stand: R8.D3 Contact: Paul Heaney, CEO; Dina Subhani, dir.; Jimmy Humphrey, head, acq. & coprod.; Hannah Demidowicz, commissioning editor; Nicola Davey, acq. & coprod. exec.; Claire Runham, acq. & coprod. exec.; Simona Argenti, snr. sales mgr.; Holly Newey, snr. sales mgr.; Holly Cowdery, sales mgr.; Lenneke De Jong, sales mgr.; Claire Lowe, commercial & business affairs dir.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS $50m Art Swindle (Doc., 1x90 min.) We tell the remarkable story of art dealer Michel Cohen, who swindled over $50 million from the art establishment and went on the run, never to be seen again.

Hitched in Vegas (Reality/ent., 10x60 min.)

In the wedding capital of the world, follows couples from across the globe as they tie the knot—Vegas style.

How I Created a Cult (Doc., 3x60 min.) Examines the inner workings of a cult through exclusive

TERRA MATER FACTUAL STUDIOS

O (43-1) 87003-0 m office@terramater.at,

sven.westphal@terramater.at

w www.terramater.at

Stand: R7.C30 Contact: Sabine Holzer, head, specialist factual; Sven Westphal, snr. intl. coprod. mgr.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Next to Nature (Nature, 1x50 min.) From remote mountains and forests to distant islands, in the face of the inexorable spread of modernity, this film portrays cultures and people that continue to celebrate life “next to nature.”

Mad Match—Nature’s Strangest Relationships (Nature, 1x50 min.) From desert to jungle; they may take advantage of others or live in symbiotic harmony; our planet is filled with every possible type of strange, wild relationship.

A Natural Affair—The Human/Nature Connection (Nature, 1x50 min.) We humans have a fascinating and occasionally somewhat surreal relationship with the animals and even plants that surround us. How can we profit and learn from each other?

O (54-11) 5032-6000 m telefilms@telefilms.com.ar Stand: P-1.C2 Contact: Tomás Darcyl, pres.; Ricardo Costianovsky, CEO; Juan Parodi, dir., The Magic Eye; Humberto Delmas, sales mgr.; Alejandro Carballo, sales mgr.; Mariana González Pistiner, mktg.; Gonzalo ClaimanVersini, dir., Diamond Films España; Bruce Boren, CEO, Thr3 Media Group.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Midway (Feature film) Real-life saga about the Battle of Midway, a most stunning clash by air and sea which marked a heroic feat of naval warfare and pivoted the Allies toward victory in the Pacific Theater during WWII.

Midway

Hitched in Vegas

21 Bridges (Feature film) Chadwick Boseman stars in this action thriller produced by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo about a disgraced NYPD detective thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers.

The Current War (Feature film) Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Feature film) Film directed by André Øvredal, produced by the Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro and based on Alvin Schwartz’ bestselling trilogy of books.

Hustlers (Feature film) Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

574 WORLD SCREEN 10/19

Under Cover—Every Body Needs a Coat

Panda Goes Wild (Nature, 1x50 min.) Here is the extraordinary story of a panda born and raised in the safety of captivity, only to be released into the wild to face unknown dangers.

A Song for Love (Nature, 1x50 min.) Skywalker Gibbons, a newly discovered primate, have an unusual ritual: they sing to court! But what if the gibbons are too far apart to hear their mates call?

Under Cover—Every Body Needs a Coat (Nature, 1x50 min.) We’ll explore how fur, feathers, scales and shells in the animal kingdom have evolved, and what purpose they serve.

Escobar’s Hippos (Nature, 1x50 min.) African hippos running riot on the streets of Colombia.

They are dangerous escapees from the eccentric zoo of former drug baron Pablo Escobar. Expert vets now try to save the situation.

The Alps—Wild Mountains, Extreme Lives (Nature, 2x50 min.) The Alps, perceived as a world apart, where time stands still. Astonishing nature and wildlife in mesmerizing images: this series tells a dramatic story of survival in an ever-changing world.

Gorillas Close Up (Nature, 1x50 min.) We follow primate researcher Martha Robbins and her team into Gabon’s remote rainforests, where they have gained the trust of a group of wild, elusive Western Lowland Gorillas.

Born in the Rockies (Nature, 1x50 min.)

We follow the lives of three courageous animal families as they struggle to survive in one of the most challenging habitats on Earth— North America’s Rocky Mountains.

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TV LISTINGS 29

THE STORY LAB

m hello@storylab.com

w www.storylab.com

Contact: Michael Iskas, pres., The Story Lab Global; Fotini Paraskakis, EVP, ent.; Luci Sanan, SVP, acq. & business dvpmt.; Erik de Winter, SVP, Northern Europe; Malgorzata Gudel, VP, sales, CEE & France.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Undercover Twins (Dating/reality format, 7x60 min.) Identical twins go looking for love as one person. But will their perfect match spot the difference?

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Hey Fuzzy Yellow (Preschool hybrid edutainment/emotainment, 26x21 min.) An unconventional curriculum-designed show to equip children with 21st century skills, with an approach that mirrors the parenting values of millennials.

Agent 203 (Bridge CGI action comedy, 26x22 min.) A coming-of-age adventure featuring a strong and independent female lead on a quest to save the universe and find her mother.

C.S.Eye (Bridge live-action detective comedy, 26x22 min.) Meet Sam, the daughter of a veterinarian on a mission to find out what stories lie behind the animals that her mother treats in her practice.

TV ASAHI CORPORATION

O (81-3) 6406-1952 m ml-intl-contact@tv-asahi.co.jp

w www.tv-asahicontents.com/en

Undercover Twins

I Want To Have Your Baby (Fact-ent./reality format, 6x45 min.) Couples or single individuals make a final attempt to fulfil their dreams of parenthood with the help of a stranger.

Pulling With My Parents (Reality format, 6x45 min.) When swiping right no longer works, it’s for the parents to take control of their children’s love-lives to find “the one.”

The Sound (Talent/game-show format, S1-2: 11x90 min.) Contestants battle each other to showcase their improvisation skills and mimicry of wellknown movies, TV shows and characters.

No Sleep No Fomo (Reality/lifestyle/travel format, 8x60 min.) Two celebrities are dropped into an amazing city with just the weekend to complete the ultimate bucket list.

Don’t Say It, Bring It! (Game-show format, 20x30 min.) Contestants are forbidden from answering questions with words. Instead they need to bring the object that best answers the question to win.

You Are Not A Loan (Fact-ent. format) Groundbreaking social experiment where a town pools their debt to see if they can wipe out £500,000 of debt in just 12 months.

Ninja Warrior (Game-show format, 60 min. eps.) Family entertainment show where hundreds of competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course to become the one left standing.

TOON2TANGO

O (49-151) 237-10-321 m info@toon2tango.com

w www.toon2tango.com

Stand: P-1.N1/P1.M2 Contact: Hans Ulrich Stoef, CEO; Jo Daris, chief content officer.

Agent 203

Stand: R7.H6 Contact: Yumi Shimizu, head, content sales; Nakamura Mayumi, head, format sales; Takahiro Kishimoto, head, animation; Maiko Sumida, head, animation sales & dvpmt.; Sachiko Yoshida, sales exec., animation; Setsuko Yoda, intl. business; Yoshiyuki Sugimoto, head, animation sales; Shuji Maeda, content sales; Ippei Tanaka, content sales.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Doraemon (Animation, 1,074x22 min.) Longrunning animation series about a cat-like robot, Doraemon, from the future helping an elementary schoolboy, Nobita, using out-of-this world gadgets. (New episodes in production).

Shin chan (Animation, 820x22 min.) The comedy animation about a 5-year-old mischievous kindergartner, Shinnosuke Nohara, and his family and friends.

Super Shiro (Animation, 48x5.5 min.) Slapstick chase comedy series inspired by the Shin chan franchise, directed by Masaaki Yuasa, the Crystal Award Winner at Annecy 2017.

Doraemon

Barangay 143 (Animation, 26x22 min.) A collaboration between Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Malaysia and Singapore with an all-star Filipino voice cast about a young basketball player searching for his identity.

Sweet Kiss Bitter Kiss (Social-experiment format, 30/60 min. eps.) Social experiment with promising young actors and actresses. Will they really fall in love while rehearsing and filming romantic TV dramas?

Ranking the Stars (Talk/relationship format, 60 min. eps.) How do celebrities rank each other on a variety of topics, and why? How do their rankings match with surveys of 100 street interviews?

Time Shock (Quiz format, 60 min. eps.) For one minute, you must instantly answer the questions thrown at you, one after another. Test your reflexes, knowledge and stress tolerance.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (Sports, 130x60 min.) Plenty of action from the Japanese premier wrestling organization NJPW comes now with full English commentary.

Time Limit Investigator 2019 (Comedy/mystery, 8x60 min.) Third season of a popular series in Japan. Detective Kiriyama has come back from the FBI and investigates cases that have reached the statute of limitations as a “hobby.”

TVF INTERNATIONAL

O (44-20) 7837-3000 m harriet.armstonclarke@tvf.co.uk

w www.tvfinternational.com

Stand: R7.C40 Contact: Harriet Armston-Clarke, dir., dist.; Will Stapley, head, acq.; Lindsey Ayotte, head, sales; Julian Chou-Lambert, acq. mgr.; Catriona McNeish, snr. sales & acq. exec.; Oliver Clayton, snr. sales & acq. exec.; Sam Joyce, snr. sales exec.; Katie Bench, sales exec.; Serafina Pang, sales exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 100 Vaginas (Sex/relationships, 1x47 min.)

Artist Laura Dodsworth photographs the vulvas of 100 women to reveal the reality of their bodies and how this body part has shaped their lives.

Winter Road Warriors (Fact-ent., 28x22 min.)

Facing freezing temperatures, ice storms and white-outs, meet the Vanderzon family, who have been turning snow into cold, hard cash for 60 years.

COO, VIS Americas; Dario Turovelzky, SVP, global content; Federinco Cuervo, SVP; Rita Herring, SVP, content dist. mktg., Americas; Mercedes Reincke, VP, content dvpmt., LatAm; Guillermo Borensztein, VP, intl. content sales, Americas; Paula Kirchner, VP, content & acq., Nickelodeon brand, LatAm; David Urgell, SVP, strategy, content dist. mktg., SWEMEA; German Gorba, SVP, youth & music brands, SWEMEA; Elana Balmont, SVP/GM, Russia; Arran Tindall, SVP, content dist. mktg., UKNEE; Garbor Harsanyi, VP, content dist. mktg. & CEE country mgr.; Dan Fahy, VP, commercial & content dist., UKNEE; Jesper Dahl, GM, Nordics; Jules Borkent, EVP, content network strategy, Nickelodeon Intl.; Nina Hahn, SVP, Nickelodeon intl. dvpmt.; Layla Lewis, SVP, global acq. & content partnerships, Nickelodeon; Lauren Marriott, VP, intl. content sales; Laura Burrell, head, formats; Olivier Jollet, mng. dir., Pluto TV. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Hills: New Beginnings (Reality, 12x60 min.) Reunites the original cast members, alongside their children, friends, and new faces, and follows their personal and professional lives while living in Los Angeles.

Racing Wives (Reality, 8x60 min.) The series goes inside the personal and professional lives of racecar drivers’ wives as they support their husbands and friends both on and off the raceway.

Love & Listings (Reality, 8x60 min.) Suge Jacob Knight, son of Suge Knight, is determined to forge his own path and start his journey of becoming a real estate mogul in Southern California.

Eco-Eye

Weird Food Diaries (Food, 8x23 min.) Avid food traveler Rozz Lee goes in search of Asia’s most bizarre eats. From slimy swamp worms to crocodile ice cream, Rozz explores the stories behind the foods.

Gauguin: A Dangerous Life (Art, 1x60 min.)

With the rise of feminism, colonial studies and recognition of indigenous rights, this film reviews Gauguin afresh and asks questions about the artist’s role in perpetuating prejudices.

Eco-Eye (Science, 23x30 min.) From toxic air pollution to invasive aquatic species, explore the critical environmental issues impacting our world and the pioneering research and science combating them.

Indian Space Dreams (Science, 1x60 min.) With unique access, this film follows space scientists in Mumbai launching India’s first astronomical satellite.

Will their 15 years of hard work pay off?

Night Force (Fact-ent., 10x30 min./45 min.)

Discover what really happens in our factories, bakeries, printers and warehouses every night, while most of us sleep, to make sure the next day runs smoothly.

Digging for Britain (History, 29x80 min.) Join Professor Alice Roberts to explore the most exciting archeological finds from across Britain, from Iron Age chariots and Viking treasures to Roman burials.

Raffles: Remaking an Icon (Lifestyle, 2x48 min.) An exclusive invitation to go behindthe-scenes of Singapore’s grand hotel as it undergoes the most extensive restoration and renovation in its 130-year history.

VIACOM INTERNATIONAL STUDIOS

O (44-203) 580-2504 m programsales@vimn.com

w b2b.viacom.com

Stand: R7.K5/N7 Contact: Mark Whitehead, pres. & mng. dir., VIMN AsiaPac; Pierre Cheung, SVP & GM, VIMN, Greater China; Asif Ali, snr. dir., sales, AsiaPac; Hugh Baldwin, snr. dir., content, AsiaPac; JC Acosta,

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 575

Trevor McDonald’s Indian Train Adventure

Love & Hip Hop (Reality, New York: S1-9, Atlanta: S1-8, Hollywood: S1-6, Miami: S1-2) A reality soap opera which offers a deeper look into the lives, loves and everyday struggles of hip-hop heavy hitters and rising stars.

Trevor McDonald’s Indian Train Adventure (Factual) In the 1980s, Trevor McDonald made several trips to India as a foreign correspondent— now 30 years later, he returns to a country that has gone through a radical transformation.

VIACOM18/INDIACAST MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

O (91-22) 6697-7777

w www.indiacast.com

Stand: P-1.E73 Contact: Anuj Gandhi, group CEO; Govind Shahi, head, intl. business; Debkumar Dasgupta, SVP; Amar Trivedi, dir., AsiaPac; Keerthana Anand, snr. mgr., AsiaPac; Bhavishya Rao, associate dir., EMEA & Americas; Lasya Chand, asst. mgr., EMEA & Americas.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush (Sons of Lord Ram & Sita) (Costume mythology, 260x30 min.)

Unearths the journey of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita through the lens of their sons, Luv and Kush, and narrates how the sons become instrumental in bringing their estranged parents together.

Vidya (The Accidental English Teacher) (Family drama, 260x30 min.) What happens when an uneducated army widow suddenly becomes an English teacher?

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TV LISTINGS

Bahu Begum

Bahu Begum (Web of Love) (Drama, 260x30 min.) Azaan returns to his royal family in India and receives a proposal to marry his childhood friend, Noor. However, things get complicated when he brings Shayra, the love of his life, with him.

Chhoti Sardarni (The Brave Hearted) (Drama, 260x30 min.) Meher is coerced by her mother into marrying Sarabjeet, a widower with a 5-year-old child. But, much to her mother’s dislike, Meher is pregnant with her lover, Manav’s child. Can she stand up for her love and fight her own?

Gathbandhan (Romance/family drama, 260x30 min.) He is the quintessential local gangster, she aspires to be a tough cop. Raghu and Dhanak are worlds apart, but what happens when he falls in love with her at first sight?

Kesarri Nandan (Family drama, 142x30 min.)

Hanumant Singh is a patriarch whose only dream is to train his son to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

But what happens when instead of his son, his daughter takes it on her to fulfill her father’s dream?

Silsila (Romance, S1-2: 295x30 min.) Two best friends, one broken marriage, and a dangerously addictive affair. Follow the dramatic twists and turns in the lives of Mauli, her husband Kunal and her best friend Nandini.

Ishq Mein Marjawan (Romance/thriller, S1-2: 494x30 min.) She had the perfect life and the perfect man; little did she know that she was walking into the perfect trap. What happens when the man you love turns out to be a genius manipulator?

Bepannah (Romance, 186x30 min.) An impossible love story of two strangers brought together by destiny. Aditya and Zoya find love despite losing their spouses in an accident.

Naagin Season 3 (Fantasy, 103x60 min.) A mythical tale of vengeance in its purest form, where an Icchadhari (shape-shifter) Naagin (female serpent) avenges the death of her partner.

I Am The Night (Drama, 6x60 min.) From Emmynominated director Patty Jenkins and starring and co-produced by Chris Pine, a murder mystery inspired by an unsolved Hollywood crime.

The Last OG (Comedy, 20x30 min.) Hit comedy from co-creator Jordan Peele, starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish.

Search Party (Comedy, 30x30 min.) Dark comedy mystery about a group of four selfabsorbed 20-somethings who come together when a former college acquaintance mysteriously disappears.

Final Space (Animated comedy, 23x30 min.)

From writer, director and YouTube sensation Olan Rogers, this animated comedy centers on an astronaut named Gary and an adorable little green alien called Mooncake.

Infinity Train (Animation, 20x15 min.) Mysterious series about coding prodigy Tulip, and her strange adventure aboard a train with limitless carriages and a destination to who knows where.

Summer Camp Island (Animation, 40x15 min.) Oscar and his best friend Hedgehog navigate their way through their first sleep away camp, a magical destination.

Rick & Morty (Adult animation, 31x30 min.)

Follows the misadventures of alcoholic sociopathic scientist Rick and his easily influenced grandson Morty, who split their time between domestic family life and inter-dimensional travel.

4 Blocks (Drama, 13x60 min.) Centers on the powerful Toni Hamady, whose clan controls four blocks, their territory in one of Berlin’s most notorious crime districts.

Other Parents (Comedy, 7x30 min.) A bunch of hip parents aim to open a day care center.

O (49) 6131-9910 m info@zdf-enterprises.de

w www.zdf-enterprises.de

Stand: P-1.L2/M1 Contact: Fred Burcksen, pres. & CEO; Robert Franke, VP, ZDFE.drama; Ralf Rückauer, VP, ZDFE.unscripted; Peter Lang, VP, ZDFE.junior; Christine Denilauler, VP, mktg. & corp. comms.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Heirs of the Night (Kids live action, 26x26 min.)

Europe, 1889. The heirs of the five remaining vampire clans in Europe are brought together on the ship The Elisabetha to attend the newly created vampire school. Unlike their parents, they need to join forces and become stronger than ever in order to survive.

O (1-203) 352-8600 m wweintl@wwecorp.com

w www.wwe.com

Stand: R7.C31 Contact: Melody Yam, SVP, global content media dist. & business strategy; Stefan Kastenmueller, SVP, group GM, EMEA; James Frewin, snr. dir., content media dist., EMEA; George Quick, mgr., content media dist., EMEA; Thomas Sitrin, snr. dir., content media dist., affiliate relations.

O (44-20) 7693-1000

w www.warnermediagroup.com

Miracle Workers

ZDF ENTERPRISES

WWE

WARNERMEDIA

Stand: P0.A2 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Miracle Workers (Comedy, 7x30 min.) Heavenset workplace comedy stars Steve Buscemi as God and Daniel Radcliffe and Geraldine Viswanathan as two Angels trying to save Earth and answer a seemingly impossible prayer.

WWE AfterBurn (Sports/ent., 52x60 min.)

Weekly highlight program that chronicles the action from WWE SmackDown Live with postmatch analysis and exclusive updates.

Raw

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Raw (Sports/ent., 52x60 min./52x120 min./52x180 min.) Live, weekly, in-ring programs featuring edge-of-your-seat action and unpredictable drama, showcasing the largerthan-life WWE Raw Superstars.

SmackDown (Sports/ent., 52x60 min./ 52x120 min.) Live, weekly, in-ring flagship program featuring edge-of-your seat action and unpredictable drama, showcasing the larger-than-life WWE SmackDown Live Superstars.

Total Divas (Sports/ent., 12x60 min.) Reality series featuring the real women of WWE— go inside their personal lives like never before.

WWE BottomLine (Sports/ent., 52x60 min.)

Weekly highlight program that chronicles the action from WWE Raw with post-match analysis and exclusive updates.

Ottilie von Faber-Castell

Henrietta (Kids animation, 52x7 min.) Henrietta lives on a little farm together with the farmer and lots of other animals. Her favorite activity is to help the local postman deliver the mail.

Zoom, the White Dolphin (Kids animation, 104x12 min.) The hero of the 1970’s cult series makes his comeback. When Yann, a diving-mad teenager, meets Zoom, a mysterious and remarkably intelligent white dolphin, it is the start of an indestructible friendship.

The Jungle Book (Kids animation, 156x11 min.)

Rudyard Kipling’s most-loved characters come to life. Drama, excitement and adventure are mixed with a high element of comedy to tell the tales of Mowgli, his beloved mentor, Baloo, the wise bear, Bagheera, his panther buddy and the lazy rock-python Kaa. The Greatest Events of World War II in Colour (History/bio., 10x50 min.) Tells the story of World War Two through the ten most pivotal turning points in the conflict, illustrated with restored and colorized archive and supported by a global cast of historians.

Ancient Skies (Science/knowledge, 3x50 min.)

With CGI, landscape footage and some of the world’s most important astronomical artefacts, looks at the cosmos through the eyes of our ancestors, and charts our changing views of the cosmos throughout history.

Lost Kings of Bioko (Wildlife/nature, 1x50 min.) Off the coast of Central Africa lies an isolated island, covered by primeval rainforest and surrounded by dark ocean waters, inhabited by a greater variety of species than nearly any other place on Earth.

Ottilie von Faber-Castell (Drama/TV movie, 2x90 min.) At the end of the 19th century, after the sudden death of her father, 16-year-old Ottilie von Faber becomes the sole heir and her grandfather steers her into the family business.

Dead Still (Crime/suspense, 6x50 min.) A macabre comedy about the strange adventures of Blennerhasset and Molloy, Dublin’s most famed memorial photographers.

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The Wall (Drama, 3x90 min./6x45 min.)

Germany 1987. Two sisters and their grownup children find themselves on different sides of the political fence in a rapidly disintegrating East Germany.

ZODIAK KIDS

O (44-20) 7013-4431 m delphine.dumont@zodiakkids.com

w www.zodiakkids.com

Stand: C20.A Contact: Benoit di Sabatino, CEO; Ludovic Taron, COO, Zodiak Kids Studios France; Delphine Dumont, SVP, sales, acq. & coprod.; Julia Rowlands, VP, sales, acq. & coprod.; Cécile Cau, VP, sales, acq. & coprod.; Gary Milne, head, content dvpmt.; Gwen Hughes, COO, Zodiak Kids Studios; Steven Andrew, creative dir., Zodiak Kids Studios U.K.; Diane Bernier, sales & contracts exec.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Percy’s Tiger Tales (Preschool animation, 52x11 min., 4x26 min.) Every day, Percy and friends dress up as their favorite heroes and get into character, with imagination and a little help, they overcome any difficulty.

Cry Babies (Preschool animation, 100x5 min.)

Join the cute little babies with their big personalities as they explore this imaginative world where tears are magical and carry special powers.

Babyatrice (Family, 65x4 min.) Regardless of the situation, place or topic, Babyatrice rebuts and confronts without restraint from the top of her tiny tower; she has absolutely no filter.

Flatmates (Teen live action, 10x30 min.) The flatmates are getting to grips with the next stage of life as they wrestle with the expectations of trying to fulfil the “Millennial Dream.”

Lost in Oz (Animation, 26x30 min.) Dorothy needs magic to return to Kansas, but quickly learns that Oz is in the middle of the worst magic shortage in years.

Cry Babies

Gortimer (Live action, 13x30 min.) Gortimer and his friends’ curiosity leads them on adventures of self-discovery, where they encounter magical frogs, mysterious bookmobiles, blood moon eclipses, memory erasers and more.

Lilybuds (Preschool animation, 52x11 min.)

The Lilybuds are tiny, magical gardeners who live under our noses, undetected, in an urban oasis called Garden Park, working tirelessly and passionately to create colourful landscapes.

Super Agent Jon Le Bon (Animation, 49x90 sec., 2x7 min.) Agent Jon Le Bon and teammates race against the clock to take down bad guys, overcoming impossible odds as they rid the planet of evildoers.

Little Big Awesome (Animation, 13x30 min.) While having wonderful adventures around Townopolis, Gluko and Lennon help citizens live their best lives, even if helping sometimes causes more problems than it solves.

Lolirock (Animation, 52x26 min.) When Iris joins the girl group LoliRock, her life is changed forever, as a new world of music, mysteries and magical powers is revealed.

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

9 Story Media Group 197, 287 41 Entertainment 142, 143 A+E Networks 325, 395, 435, 440, 521 ABC Commercial 459 ABS-CBN Corporation 63 Al Jazeera 12, 13 Albatross World Sales 465 Alfred Haber Distribution 105 all3media international 1, 14, 15, 410, 411 Allspark 158, 159 AMC Networks 6, 7, 523 Ameba TV 211 Animasia Studio 267, 269 aQieve 419 Armoza Formats 382, 383, 397, 404, 405 Artist View Entertainment 49 Asia Video Summit 507 Asia TV Forum & Market 509 Atresmedia Internacional 539 Atresmedia Televisión 45 ATV 331 Audiovisual From Spain/ICEX 136 Australian Children's Television Foundation 231 BabyFirst 233 Banijay Rights 303, 399, 401 BBC Studios 388, 389 Bejuba! Entertainment 164, 165 Beyond Distribution 213, 215, 217, 327 Blue Ant International 477 Bomanbridge Media 514 Brightcove 118, 119 Busan Contents Market 513 CAKE 187, 189, 191 2, 3 Calinos Entertainment Canada Media Fund 79 Canal 13 Chile 85 Carsey Werner International 19 Cartoon Network 203 CDC United Network 542 Cisneros Media 243 CLPB Rights 445 Crown Media International Distribution 16, 17 Cyber Group Studios 144, 145, 298 Daewon Media 245 Dandelooo 166, 167 DHX Media 199, 201 Discovery, Inc. 423, 455 Disney Media Distribution Latin America 525, 527 Dori Media Group 135 DQ Entertainment (International) 247 Dynamic Television 205, 316, 317, 547 Eccho Rights 131, 314 Electric Entertainment 335 Entertainment One (eOne) 23 Entertainment One Family & Brands 150, 151 FilmRise 51 For Fun Distribution 154, 155 Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific 484, 485 Fremantle 379, 390, 430 Gaumont 371, 584 Gaumont Animation & Family 195 Genius Brands International 185 Global Agency 8, 9, 73, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 380, 381, 384, 385 Global Media Distribution 115 Globosat 162, 163, 436, 437 GMA Worldwide 71, 501 GoldBee 239 GO-N International 221 GRB Studios 53, 67, 369, 469 Green Gold Animation 289 Guru Studio 148, 149 Gusto Worldwide Media 499 HBO Asia 487 HBO Latin America 81, 531 Hoho Rights 209 Hunan TV 386, 387 International Academy of TV Arts & Sciences 297, 577 Incendo 345 Insight TV 441 Intellecta 87, 89, 347 Inter Medya 28, 29, 75, 304, 305, 392, 393, 516, 517

ITV Studios Global Entertainment Jetpack Distribution The Jim Henson Company JKN Global Media Kanal D International Keshet International Kew Media Distribution Kidoodle.TV Konami Cross Media NY Lacey Entertainment LGI Media (Formerly Looking Glass International) Lionsgate Entertainment Madd Entertainment MarVista Entertainment Media Ranch Mediacorp The Mediapro Studio Mediatoon Distribution Miramax MISTCO Mondo TV Group Multicom Entertainment Group NATPE NBCUniversal International Distribution New Dominion Pictures New Films International Newen Distribution NHK Enterprises Nippon TV NTV Broadcasting Company One Animation Orange Smarty ORF-Enterprise Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution Passion Distribution PBS International pocket.watch Polka Producciones Portfolio Entertainment Primeworks Distribution Rai Com Rainbow Record TV Red Arrow Studios International Rewind Networks Rive Gauche Television RTVE Russia Television And Radio/Sovtelexport Series Mania Serious Lunch Shaftesbury Silvergate Media Smithsonian Channel SPI International Star Media Studio 100 Media STUDIOCANAL Superights T&B Media Global TCB Media Rights Telefilms Terra Mater Factual Studios The Story Lab The Wit THEMA América Toon2Tango TV Alliance TV Asahi Corporation TV Azteca Internacional TV5MONDE Asia-Pacific TVF International Universal Cinergía Dubbing Viacom International Studios Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution Voxx Studios WarnerMedia WarnerMedia Asia Pacific Wonderphil Entertainment WWE ZDF Enterprises Zodiak Kids

10/19 WORLD SCREEN 579

156, 157 170, 171 169 32, 33 374 329, 451 343 223 225 227 443 312, 313 353 4, 5, 109, 146, 147 27 495 117 230, 232, 234, 236 35 323 291 583 553 20, 21 461 93, 95, 97, 99, 101 319 447 483 409 273 449 83 31, 321 10, 11 482 174, 175 429 237 284 107 152, 153 515, 518, 519 337 505 467 121 349 361 57, 172, 173 47 193 39, 473 133, 503, 541 333 160, 161 41 141 235 438, 439 529 475 391 551 537 207 111 241 55, 534 497 481 545 533 357 373 24, 25 491 91 59 43, 341, 457, 546 219

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WORLD’S END

IN THE STARS Almost every national constitution forbids the establishment of an official state religion. But this secular bent doesn’t stop people from looking to the heavens for answers to life’s most troublesome questions: Will I succeed? Will I find love?

Will I get a tattoo of Celine Dion’s face?

Every day, papers, magazines and websites worldwide print horoscopes— projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many people rely on these daily, weekly or monthly mes-

Kit Harington

Drake

KIM KARDASHIAN WEST

Global distinction: GoT’s Jon Snow.

Sign: Capricorn (b. December 26, 1986) Significant date: September 22, 2019 Noteworthy activity: While taking questions from

Global distinction: Reality-TV royalty.

Sign: Libra (b. October 21, 1980) Significant date: September 20, 2019 Noteworthy activity: While being interviewed on the

press backstage at the Emmys, the cast of Game of Thrones is asked about the controversy surrounding the show’s final season. “I still haven’t seen the show,” confesses Harington, who was nominated for best actor in a drama series for the season. “So that’s how I dealt with that controversy—I haven’t seen the final season but I know what it took to shoot it.”

Horoscope: “It isn’t important to achieve perfection, but you are determined to make a good showing. Take pride in your work and strive for each new attempt to be better than the last.” (tarot.com)

Foodgod : OMFG podcast, the star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians shares a few of the stops she made on her way to the hospital to give birth to her first daughter, North. The pre-birth pampering routine includes a trip to get a bikini wax and having a fresh manicure so her nail color is changed to pink.

Horoscope: “Live within your means and focus on what’s important to you; you’ll have no regrets as your day unfolds.” (mercurynews.com)

TOM HIDDLESTON

lives, some readers skip

Global distinction: Loki in Marvel’s The Avengers.

Sign: Aquarius (b. February 9, 1981) Significant date: September 18, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The British film and TV star is

The editors of WS recognize that these little pearls of random foresight occasionally prove pro phetic.

But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimize the science.

As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on significant dates, they could have avoided a few surprises.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

KIT HARINGTON

sages for guidance in their over them entirely.

Kelly Clarkson

KELLY CLARKSON Global distinction: First American Idol winner.

Sign: Taurus (b. April 24, 1982) Significant date: September 16, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The pop singer, who recently

shooting a fight scene for The Avengers with Thor actor Chris Hemsworth that requires Hiddleston to sell taking a strike across the face. Struggling to make the blow look real, he tells Hemsworth to actually hit him—and lives to regret it. “I went down like a stone,” he recalls on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Horoscope: “Sometimes it’s wise to employ the ‘fake it until you make it’ strategy.” (thestranger.com)

launched her own talk show, pays a visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the host tests her knowledge of celebs and interviewing skills.

When an image of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, pops up, Clarkson is stumped. After a hint from DeGeneres, Clarkson says, “Oh, she was on Suits. Actually, I love Suits. I don’t know why she doesn’t look like a Meghan to me. Maybe I’ll ask her about that.”

Horoscope: “When you try to come up with the answer and you draw a blank, throw it out.” (inquirer.com)

DRAKE

MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR

Global distinction: Rapper & former Degrassi star.

Sign: Scorpio (b. October 24, 1986) Significant date: September 20, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The musician and actor, who

Global distinction: American TV actor.

Sign: Pisces (b. March 1, 1974) Significant date: September 16, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The actor who rose to fame

recently produced the Netflix revival of Top Boy, makes it known that he wants to get a tattoo of Celine Dion’s face somewhere on his body. During an interview with iHeartRadio Canada, the iconic songstress urges him not to. “Please, Drake, I love you very much,” she says. “Can I tell you something? Don’t do that.”

Horoscope: “Be aware that any decisions which are made on or around this time will be final so don’t take decisions lightly.” (sallykirkman.com)

playing Zack Morris in the late ’80s/early ’90s teen series Saved by the Bell isn’t invited to join the show’s recently announced revival. Gosselaar, who is starring in the ABC freshman comedy mixed-ish, learns about the reboot in the trades. “Honestly, I was never approached,” he says in an interview. “I woke up to the news this morning with a kind of ‘huh’ response.”

Horoscope: “Try not to worry if you feel left out of what’s going on around you.” (theglobeandmail.com)

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