‘Patrick Melrose’ With Benedict Cumberbatch to Air Across Asia

By Becky Davis

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Patrick Melrose,” the five-part, Emmy-nominated drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch, has been picked up across Asia, U.K.-based production and distribution company Sky Vision announced Monday. The miniseries will air on platforms such as iQIYI in China, BBC Player Asia in Malaysia and Singapore, Hotsar premium in India and CJ in Korea.

also announced a slew of other licensing deals, with Fox Network Group Asia snapping up Season 3 of moody Nordic thriller “Fortitude” and the historical fantasy show “A Discovery of Witches,” which is also set to air on Korea’s CJ.

BBC Player Asia and BBC First Asia have licensed “Save Me,” the six-part British drama starring and written by actor Lennie James. The BBC Player launched in Asia last year .

’s CCTV, which just launched its first 4K Ultra HD channel in October, picked up 15 hours of ultra high-definition content, primarily animal shows such as “Monkeys – An Amazing Animal Family.” About 300 additional hours of documentary programs like “Extraordinary Powers of the Human Body,” which look at experiments that test human physical and mental limits, have been sold to Chinese video streaming platforms such as bilibili.com.

“Asia has huge potential for us,” said Caroline Clarke, senior sales manager for Sky Vision in the region, expressing the company’s excitement that “so many of our shows have been picked up in this market.”