ITV Studios secures pre-sales for a number of new dramas in Asia Pacific

ITV Studios secures pre-sales for a number of new dramas in Asia Pacific

1st December 2021 - ITV Studios has today announced a host of deals in Asia Pacific for scripted content across its rich catalogue, including pre-sales for brand new shows Anne, The Ipcress File, Holding, Redemption, Our House and series two of Noughts + Crosses. 

Shows ranging from exciting new thrillers such as World Production’s ratings hit Vigil, evergreen returning titles like Endeavour and Vera and award-winning comedy series Schitt’s Creek, are also among those to land across the region.

Anne (World Productions), the story of Anne Williams, an inspirational mother who dedicated her life to campaigning for justice following her son’s tragic death at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in 1989, has been acquired by BBC Studios in Australia, Acorn TV in New Zealand and KT Corp in Korea. Meanwhile, TVNZ has pre-bought Our House (Red Planet Pictures), the edge of the seat thriller adapted from the international best-seller by Louise Candlish; series two of Noughts + Crosses (Mammoth Screen), based on Malorie Blackman’s award-winning young adult book series; Holding from Happy Prince Productions, based on Graham Norton’s acclaimed novel; and compelling new crime drama Redemption from Tall Story Pictures & Metropolitan Films - which has also been bought by Britbox Australia.

The highly-anticipated spy thriller from Altitude Film Entertainment, The Ipcress File, has been bought by Now TV in Hong Kong and the Seven Network in Australia, as well as Lionsgate Play in India and Southeast Asia and TFC in Japan, which has also acquired adrenaline-fuelled thriller Vigil, along with TVNZ and BBC Studios in Australia. Elsewhere in Japan, WOWOW acquired series six of World Productions’ globally-acclaimed Line of Duty as well as The Bay (Tall Story Pictures), Endeavour (Mammoth Screen) and Snowpiercer (Tomorrow Studios and Studio T), while AXN Mystery has licensed a number of titles including the character-driven drama from Silverprint Pictures, The Long Call, which was also picked up by SBS in Australia 

Also from World Productions, Showtrial has been picked up by the Seven network, TVNZ and Lionsgate Play for India and Southeast Asia. It has also been acquired by KT Corp as part of a long-running output deal that includes a range of shows, such as crime thriller The Tower, written by Patrick Harbinson and produced by Windhover Films and Mammoth Screen, returning hits Vera, Shetland (both Silverprint Pictures) and Endeavour, as well as comedies Jann (Project 10) and Spreadsheet (Northern Pictures).

A number of non-English language dramas have also been acquired. Series four of Beaubourg Stories’ crime procedural Balthazar will be seen on Acorn TV in Australia and New Zealand, U-NEXT in Japan and KT Corp, The Thin Blue Line (Anagram Sweden) has been licensed to SBS Australia and Mola TV in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; and Sky, Cattleya and Groenlandia Production’s epic Romulus will also be on Mola TV, along with SBS in Australia and Lionsgate Play India.

Meanwhile Eugene and Daniel Levy’s Emmy award-winning Schitt’s Creek (Not A Real Company Productions Inc. for CBC and Pop TV) also saw further sales. Coupang Play Korea has acquired series 4-6, with the entire series being sold to Netflix to stream in select territories in Southeast Asia, as well as Mola TV and TVNZ.

Augustus Dulgaro, Executive Vice President - Distribution, Asia Pacific at ITV Studios, said: “We are fortunate enough to have a muscular slate of new scripted IP from the best producers in the business. It is testament to the quality and commercial appeal of our content that it is finding a wide and appreciative response from buyers and audiences in the Asia Pacific region.”

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