Mipcom News Roundup: Viacom Sales, Germany’s ‘Survivor,’ Scandi Noir and More
By Jamie Lang
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – In today’s Mipcom roundup, reflecting a jam-packed day of announcements, Viacom boasts big sales, Germany’s a ‘Survivor,’ Nordics plot murder, Fremantle sells to Saudi Arabia and Vienna gets bloody.
Viacom Intl. Announces Wave of Sales
Announced on Monday, Viacom International Studios (VIS) has signed sales deals for three titles before the French market. Nickelodeon’s “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” an updated animated version of the IP, has sold to China, the Middle East and Albania. The series is currently rolling out in more than 170 countries on Nickelodeon’s networks. The “Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis,” a ratings hit for the network in the U.S., has been acquired by broadcasters in Russia, Australia, Israel and Finland. And finally, MTV’s new reality gameshow format “True Love or True Lies?” which launched with great success in the U.K. has been picked up by Nordic Entertainment Group in Finland and Denmark.
Germany Goes Wild
One of the world’s most successful reality TV properties and a pioneer in “unscripted” reality TV, “Survivor” will get a German adaptation after Vox and TV Now secured the rights to the format from the Banijay Group. The series’ format has already been adapted for more than 40 territories worldwide and is in its 37th series in its native market, the U.S. European versions have been successfully produced in France, Italy, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands. The German version of the series will be produced by Banijay Productions Germany, launched in February of this year, with all rights for the “Survivor” remaining with Banijay Group.
ZDF, Dynamic Television, ndF, Sequoia and TV 2 Denmark Plan a Murder
Dynamic Television and ndF announced that German public broadcaster ZDF has joined as a co-producer on their upcoming crime series “The Sommerdahl Murders.” Based on the Scandinavian crime novels of Anna Grue, which have sold over 750,000 copies, the series looks to slot into the current cannons of Nordic Noir. Set along the coast, the series turns around a series of murders being investigated by detective Dan Sommerdahl and his best friend Detective Superintendent Fleming Torp. Series is written by Lolita Bellstar (“Lulu & Leon”), and will begin filming in Spring of 2019 with its premiere coming at the end of that year.
Fremantle Sells Formats to Saudi Arabia
Fremantle announced it had reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s M for Media which grants exclusive production rights in the region to Fremantle formats and will see the company representing Fremantle’s catalog in Saudi Arabia, where they will look to find broadcasters for many of the company’s programs. The Fremantle catalog includes many of the world’s most popular unscripted formats such as “The X Factor,” “Got Talent,” “Family Feud,” “The Price is Right”; the list goes on and on. Recently, M for Media has demonstrated its ability to adapt popular international formats with their local adaptation of James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke.”
Endor Productions, Mr Film, Red Arrow Studios Intl. Announce “Vienna Blood”
Based on the best-selling novels of Frank Tallis, the three-part limited series is adapted by “Jericho” and “Sherlock” writer Steve Thompson and directed by Academy Award and Emmy nominee Robert Dornhelm (“Anne Frank: The Whole Story”) and Umut Dat (“Cracks in Concrete”). Production is slated to begin this month in Vienna, with the three feature episodes based on the first three of Talllis’ “Liebermann Papers” novels. Series boasts an ensemble cast lead by Matthew Beard (“The Imitation Game”) who plays a young protégé of Sigmund Freud. The finished series will be distributed worldwide by Red Arrow Studios International. Austria’s ORF and Germany’s ZDF commissioned the series and will contribute as co-producers.
