The glory days of peak TV, of blank cheque commissioning, open-ended series orders and blockbuster budgets, are well and truly behind us. But even with buyers tightening their purse strings, there’s still a hunger, and with the every-expanding global streaming market, a continually-growing demand for top-notch drama.
Ahead of MIPCOM Cannes — the number one global television market which runs October 21-24 — the supply side of the scripted business is also looking strong. From big-budget period pieces to quirky indie gems, from glossy period pieces to gritty urban drama, the offerings this year are broad and deep.
Budget constraints mean there will be fewer moon-shot deals at this year’s MIPCOM — proceedurals, thrillers and star-driven projects will have an edge over riskier, niche-focused fare — but for producers who know how to crunch the numbers, there is business to be done.
Here is The Hollywood Reporter‘s hot list of the top 15 scripted shows heading to the Croissette.
World Divided
Pitch A must-watch for public broadcasters and other high-minded buyers, World Divided combines historical drama with rare colorized archival footage in an exhaustingly-researched retelling of major world events from WWII to the 1960s, told through the lives of six key figures: Nikita Khrushchev, Wernher von Braun, Golda Meir, Hedwig Höß, Joan Hinton and Frantz Fanon. Their personal and political struggles illuminate the divisions that shaped the post-war world.
Commissioning Broadcasters ARTE, ARD, ORF, CT
Sales Looks International
Suits: L.A.
Pitch The spin-off series to one of the world’s biggest shows will be a true non-brainer for broadcast buyers. The La-La Land version follows Ted Black (Green Arrow star Stephen Amell), a former prosecutor who reinvents himself as a powerful Los Angeles lawyer with a firm specializing in criminal and entertainment law. Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis, Bryan Greenberg and Troy Winbush co-star.
Commissioning Broadcaster NBC
Sales NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution
The Sanctuary
Pitch A high-concept comedy that could attract attention from streamers or niche networks, The Sanctuary, developed by L.A.’s Happy Accidents and New Zealand’s Kevin & Co for Warner Bros. Discovery NZ follows an eccentric American tech billionaire who goes into hiding in New Zealand after discovering his app was bought by Russian-affiliated military contractors.
Commissioning Broadcaster None
Sales Happy Accidents
Icebreaker
Pitch Pay-TV and streamer buyers may warm to this Finnish supernatural thriller, winner of the MIPDRAMA 2024 top series honor. The plot follows Finnish coast guard officer Sanna Tanner as he leads rescue mission to a stranded icebreaker, only to discover a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances potentially linked to vengeful sea spirits.
Commissioning Broadcaster Elisa Viihde
Sales About Premium Content (APC)
Outrageous
Pitch Networks looking for a touch of posh could do worse than check out this 6-part BBC drama. Based on Mary Lovell’s biography The Mitford Girls, Outrageous follows the scandalous lives of six aristocratic sisters in 1930s British high society who will cross paths with some of the most acclaimed, and notorious figures in history. Created by Sarah Williams, it stars Bessie Carter, Joanna Vanderham, Joshua Sasse and James Purefoy.
Commissioning Broadcasters UKTV, Britbox International
Sales BBC Studios
Saint-Pierre
Pitch A police procedural set on French islands of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the tiny French-owned islands off the southern coast of Newfoundland. Exiled Inspector Donny Fitzpatrick solves crimes in this isolated fishing community together with local deputy Geneviève Archambault. Produced by Hawco Productions for CBC Canada.
Commissioning Broadcaster CBC
Sales Fifth Season
The Embers
Pitch A twisty French crime series for the high-end binge crowd. In 1995, Lidia, a driven young detective, is sent to the small town of Péranne in the French Riviera and teams up with Jean, a disillusioned local cop haunted by memories of the Algerian war, to investigate the brutal murder of an imam, who was found scalped in his mosque. Twenty-five years later, Lidia, now a powerful politician in Paris, returns to Péranne to find Jean has vanished and there’s a new murder, eerily similar to the first — with Jean as the prime suspect.
Commissioning Broadcaster CANAL+
Sales Studiocanal
Sk8 or Die
Pitch This drama anthology series is targeting streamers and niche networks looking for more street cred. Each Sk8 or Die season will explore skateboarding culture through the life stories of some of its most compelling personalities, starting with the life of New Zealand grinder Lee Ralph, who rocketed to the top of the sport in the 1980s only to quickly vanish from the scene. F9 actor Vinnie Bennett and Keisha Castle-Hughes of FBI: Most Wanted are set to star in the in-development project that has skating legend Tony Hawk and Jackass alum Steve-O on board as executive producers. It’s created by Tom Hern and Halaifonua Finau. Directors Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe join for the 6-episode first season, commissioned by Sky New Zealand Originals.
Commissioning Broadcaster Sky New Zealand Originals
Sales Tavake
Iris
Pitch Created by Neil Cross (Luther), and directed by Terry McDonough and Sarah O’Gorman, this Sky Original thriller stars Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves) as enigmatic genius Iris Nixon, who steals a world-changing code from philanthropist Cameron McIntyre (The White Lotus‘ Tom Hollander) and goes on the run.
Commissioning Broadcaster Sky
Sales Fremantle
Scrublands: Silver
Pitch Based on Chris Hammer’s novel, Scrublands: Silver is a solid bread-and-butter crime drama with an Aussie touch, as we follow journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold), who returns to his coastal hometown to find his partner Mandy (Bella Heathcote) suspected of murdering his childhood friend. As Martin investigates, he uncovers long-buried secrets about Port Silver and his past. Produced by Easy Tiger (Colin from Accounts) and Third Act Stories.
Commissioning Broadcasters Stan Australia / Nine Network
Sales Sphere Media
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Pitch Networks and streamers can’t get enough of the based-on-a-true-story historical drama and this one, which follows the relentless journey of Dr. Jim Swire (Colin Firth), who fought for truth and justice after losing his daughter in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, combines a political drama with a deeply personal story.
Commissioning Broadcasters Sky, Peacock
Sales NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution
Cat’s Eyes
Pitch This French art thief thriller follows three sisters who reunite to steal a painting connected to their father’s mysterious disappearance. As they become art thieves, they’re pursued by police captain Quentin Chapuis, unaware one sister is his lost love.
Commissioning Broadcaster TF1
Sales Newen Content
Reunion
Pitch This more emotional take on the thriller genre could have broad appeal, particularly for public broadcasters and streamers. The BBC production tracks Daniel Brennan (Matthew Gurney), a deaf man seeking redemption and truth after being abruptly freed from jail after committing a horrible crime. Set in Sheffield and created by deaf writer William Mager, it’s a bilingual series in BSL and English and co-star Anne-Marie Duff, Eddie Marsan, and Rose Ayling-Ellis.
Commissioning Broadcaster BBC
Sales BBC Studios
Generation Z
Pitch Ben Wheatley, director of Meg 2 and Free Fire, brings his darkly comic sensibilities to the small screen in this coming-of-age tale set in a world where the old literally eat the young. Starring Sue Johnston, Anita Dobson, and Robert Lindsay.
Commissioning Broadcasters Channel 4, ZDF Neo
Sales All3Media International
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
Pitch When only the absolute best will do: This six-part historical drama, the sequel to 2015 multi-Emmy nominated miniseries reteams Oscar-winner Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell with Damian Lewis’ King Henry VIII in the final entry in Hillary Mantel’s acclaimed historic trilogy. Jonathan Pryce, Timothy Spall, Hannah Steele and Harry Melling co-star.
Commissioning Broadcasters BBC, PBS
Sales Banijay Entertainment
Source: Hollywoodreporter
