The London TV Screenings Hot List: What Buyers Need To Know About The Global Distributors Selling ‘Paris Has Fallen’, Karl Lagerfeld, Clive Owen Shows
Welcome to Deadline’s London TV Screenings list, our definitive look at next week’s buzzy event taking Soho by storm. If you’re wondering who’s exhibiting, what’s on offer and want to dive deeper into the distribs’ strategy, we’ve done the hard work for you, presenting profiles from nearly 30 exhibiting sales houses. Below, check out profiles for the companies headed over from the States and other nations around the globe. Read on, and find all our London TV Screenings content throughout the week here.
The North Americans
DISNEY
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Key shows
Renegade Nell – Sally Wainwright-penned historical drama about a woman framed for murder who becomes a highwayman in eighteenth-century England.
Kaiser Karl (working title) – Gaumont show about the enigmatic and larger-than-life fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
The Long Shadows (working title) – Spanish story of a group of women whose stable, successful lives are suddenly shaken by the appearance of the mortal remains of one of their high school classmates.
Key genres: Premium scripted.
Strategy: Complementing its slate of U.S. TV series, Disney will introduce a slate of European-produced scripted shows spanning a variety of sub-genres. The slate will focus on shows in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, which are all available for second window after a period of exclusivity on Disney+.
Screening: Thursday, 12.30pm-4.30pm, Curzon Soho.
FIFTH SEASON
Key shows
Marilyn Manson: Unmasked – Lightbox and Rolling Stone doc examining the allegations against Marilyn Manson following Evan Rachel Woods’ testimony.
Tim Burton – A four-part series from Tara Wood (QT8: The First Eight) examining the work of the beloved auteur through the eyes of his frequent collaborators, including never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews from Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp.
Monsieur Spade – From Black Bear in conjunction with the Dashiell Hammett Estate for AMC, Clive Owen stars and produces this show following the infamous protagonist from The Maltese Falcon.
Key genres: Scripted, unscripted, feature docs and documentary series, reality, lifestyle and entertainment formats.
Strategy: Across the week, Fifth Season will showcase its premium slate of scripted and unscripted content through screening opportunities tailored for individual buyers, alongside a virtual presentation.
Screening: Tailored for individual buyers.
FOX ENTERTAINMENT GLOBAL
Key shows
We Are Family – Showcasing non-famous relatives of celebrities performing duets with their hidden famous family member, We Are Family features a studio audience comprised of 100 contestants playing through multiple rounds of clues and gameplay to win up to $150,000 each.
Grimsburg – Jon Hamm-starring animated comedy following a bizarre yet masterful detective in a mysterious town filled with peculiar characters as he hilariously navigates awkward family relationships.
Beat My Mini-Mes – Exhibiting a unique and large-scale set, the series features celebrity singers facing off while surrounded by talented children impersonating them.
Key genres: Unscripted music/celebrity competition show formats and adult animation.
Strategy: Fox Entertainment’s nascent worldwide content sales and distribution division is offering up innovative fare from the U.S. net’s linear and streaming platforms across a wide array of genres — from adult animation, comedy series, unscripted food and competition series, documentaries, and movies. As FEG returns to London, this year it highlights an adult animated series and two unscripted competition shows that it feels are ideal for format licensing.
Screening: Thursday, 1-4:30pm, Charlotte Street Hotel.
LIONSGATE
Key shows
Fake – Created by screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf with award-winning director Emma Freeman (The Newsreader), Paramount+ Australia’s series follows a story of deception involving Birdie Bell and rancher Joe (Asher Keddie, Nine Perfect Strangers).
The Rookie – Always a popular feature of the Lionsgate catalog, the network procedural spin-off is a regular at these markets.
Spartacus: House of Ashur – Big-budget upcoming Starz sequel that is sure to make a splash, from Steven S. DeKnight.
Strategy: Lionsgate is hitting the London TV Screenings with eOne content in its back pocket for the first time since acquiring the Canada-based mini-major last year. The company is focusing on three key content pillars this year, including Fake, an eOne series from Australia starring Asher Keddie. eOne network procedurals such as The Rookie also bolster the ranks, while the upcoming Spartacus series for Starz and Yellowjackets always attract attention.
Screening: Wednesday, 5.30pm-7.30pm, Ham Yard Hotel
NBCUNIVERSAL GLOBAL TV DISTRIBUTION
Key shows
Apples Never Fall: Drama based on the New York Times bestselling novel from Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers) examining the cracks in a seemingly perfect family starring Annette Bening, Sam Neill, Jake Lacy and Alison Brie.
Action: Explosive six-part docuseries from David Leitch and Kelly McCormick, featuring unprecedented behind-the-scenes footage of the stunt work on some of the biggest action movies, including the upcoming film The Fall Guy.
The Americas: Narrated by Tom Hanks and featuring a score by multi-Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, this event series on the wonders, secrets, and fragilities of the Americas is a project with wildlife heavyweight BBC Studios Natural History Unit.
Key genres: Drama, crime-mystery, action, premium documentary series.
Strategy: NBCUniversal will be focusing on conversations with European buyers and the Australian clients in attendance. Buzzy new series such as Apples Never Fall and Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent and upcoming films like Kung Fu Panda 4 and Despicable Me 4 will be touted to highlight the breadth and caliber of the content library.
Screening: Tuesday-Friday 9am – 1.30pm and 2pm-6.30pm, NBCUniversal’s London office, 1 Central St. Giles; St. Giles High Street
PARAMOUNT GLOBAL CONTENT DISTRIBUTION
Key shows
Coma – Provocative Channel 5 thriller from Roughcut and CBS Studios about a good man who does one bad thing, and the chaos that ensues.
Miss Fallaci – Based on events recounted by Fallaci herself, the show takes an intense and little explored time in the titular character’s life when she began travelling between New York and Hollywood to interview movie stars before becoming a war time correspondent.
Key genres: Drama.
Strategy: Paramount Global Content Distribution is looking to introduce its content including drama, comedy, international co-productions and factual to attendees, providing insights, information and positioning on what is being showcased.
Screening: Tuesday, 2pm-5pm, BAFTA Piccadilly.
SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Key shows
Red Eye – ITV show following London police officer DC Hana Li (Crazy Rich Asians’ Jing Lusi), who is escorting Dr Matthew Nolan back to Beijing where he has been accused of a crime but gets embroiled in a conspiracy.
Dope Girls – Bad Wolf-produced BBC drama inspired by a forgotten time in history when, after the losses of World War One, the streets of Soho were home to female gangs running the clubs, drugs and moonshine.
Insomnia – Left Bank’s Sarah Pinborough-adapted series following the story of successful career woman Emma Averill, which is one of the few Paramount+ international shows not to have fallen victim to the recent cull.
Key genres: Drama, unscripted formats.
Strategy: Sony Pictures Entertainment London Showcase 2024 is the launchpad for a scripted slate that will be brought in full to the LA Screenings later this year, featuring the likes of big BBC bet Dope Girls. The showcase will be a mix of EP and talent-led presentations and meeting opportunities with key creatives, as well as clips, sizzles, and full screenings of the slate.
WARNER BROS INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION PRODUCTION
Key shows
Bring the Drama – Eight wannabe actors take on the audition process of their lives by recreating iconic scenes from the UK’s most loved dramas in this BBC Two reality format. The most promising competitors get their showreel shared with potential agents.
Boys Like Boys – A dating reality format out of Taiwan in which eight gay men live in a luxury house together for a week. The promise of romantic surroundings, ‘Secret Talk’ phone calls and recorded messages, and games and date opportunities are designed to help love flourish.
My Family Mystery – Coming out of New Zealand, the unscripted show sees a host, researchers and experts attempt to solve family mysteries using just a single clue – perhaps a a birth certificate, diary or memento.
Key Genres: Formats
Strategy: Warner Bros Discovery’s international formats team will be presenting eight titles at its annual showcase. The focus has been identity shows that can build on established fan bases — Boys Like Boys, for example, could sit as a complement to popular WBITVP formats The Bachelor and First Dates on a schedule. The recent success of The Golden Bachelor on ABC has propelled a focus on extending existing franchises.
Screening: WBITVP Formats Showcase, Thursday, 10am, BAFTA
Rest of the World
BETA FILM
Key shows
Maxima – Follows the life of Argentinian-born Maxima Zorreguieta, who later became Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
Rise of the Raven – Big-budget epic drama series about Janos Hunyadi, the army commander who defeated the vast Ottoman army in the Battle of Belgrade in 1456.
Key Genres: High-end scripted drama.
Strategy: The German sales house welcomes key buyers in London to a presentation of upcoming international highlights. Clients can expect exclusive insights into Eagle Eye’s upcoming series, followed by a first look screening of Millstreet’s royal drama Maxima and a sneak peek of the highly anticipated period drama Rise of the Raven.
Screening: Tuesday, 9am-12pm, Century Club.
BLUE ANT STUDIOS
Key shows
Ghosting with Luke Hutchie and Matthew Finlan – Horror actors turned amateur ghostbusters Luke Hutchie and Matthew Finlan venture into some of the most iconic and scary locations Canada has to offer on their quest to discover if they are truly haunted.
Charles III: The Coronation Year – With exclusive inside access, Oxford Films follows King Charles and Queen Camilla through landmark moments of their first year, for the BBC.
Airborne – Offers an entrance into the diverse world of creatures that fly, glide and leap through the air.
Key genres: Natural History, history, crime, premium doc, factual entertainment, formats, lifestyle, kids & family, and adult animation.
Strategy: London Screenings has become a priority sales market for the rebranded Blue Ant Studios to launch new shows and, this year, it will be debut more than 30 titles. Additionally, the Canadian firm will have a centralized meeting hub at Kettners in Soho for meetings with existing and new buyers.
Screening: Thursday, 6pm-9pm, 76 Dean Street.
CINEFLIX RIGHTS
Key shows
So Long, Marianne – From Øystein Karlsen (Exit) and Jo Nesbø (Headhunters), show tells the legendary love story of Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen (Alex Wolff, The Line), and his muse, Marianne Ihlen (Thea Sofie Loch Næss, The Last Kingdom).
In Memoriam – Following the death of their father, three orphans, their spouses and a mysterious stranger are invited to the reading of his will in this Crave series. To their shock, they learn that none of them are due to inherit as much as one cent.
Key genres: Drama, factual.
Strategy: Canada’s Cineflix Rights will be unveiling its major new eight-part Leonard Cohen biopic with its first screening to buyers at the London TV Screenings, alongside a first look at upcoming French Canadian psychological thriller In Memoriam. Other highlights include Last King of The Cross, Whitstable Pearl and The Minister, alongside new seasons of returning factual brands.
Screening: Thursday, 3pm-6pm, Soho Hotel.
ECCHO RIGHTS
Key shows
Fallen – YA fantasy series from U.S. showrunner Matt Hastings based on a bestselling novel starring the likes of Alexander Siding, Sarah Niles, Jessica Alexander and Gijs Blom following a young woman who is sent to a cult-like correctional facility for a crime she doesn’t recall committing. She soon finds things are not what they seem.
The Inheritance – The most successful drama launch in the history of Paramount’s UK network Channel 5 following three siblings who are left reeling after the unexpected death of their father.
Granite Harbour Season 2 – A return for the BBC One/BBC Scotland cop drama starring Romario Simpson as a Jamaican sergeant working in the unwelcome cold climes of Aberdeen. He is this time pitted against gangsters working to create a potent new drug.
Key genres: Drama
Strategy: Having exited the CJ ENM fold last year, Ecco Rights is now fully integrated within new parent Night Train Media and is working with its owner to bring unique dramas to the international market. Boarding projects such as Safe Harbor early through Night Train has allowed the company to build finance plans for producers. Talent has been a big driver, and the company says it has the financial security to spend where necessary to attract co-production partners to projects at the early and stage create a strong package for buyers.
Screening: Cocktail with Bossanova, Wednesday 7-10pm, Century Club (invite only)
KESHET INTERNATIONAL
Key shows
Conflict – An international cast including Peter Franzén, Dylan Smith and Nadia Forde front this military thriller that explores a proxy war — where an enemy attacks a neutral country to provoke a wider conflict — in Europe, with Finland under attack and held hostage. The president is forced to follow her instincts to save her people and stop a global war.
Earthbound – A premium documentary series exploring ordinary people who have become extraordinary change makers, from Ritual Arts and Orlando Bloom’s prodco, Amazing Owl.
The Best Worst Thing – Keshet 12 drama about a a breast cancer specialist doctor who discovers a suspicious lump on her own chest on the same day she diagnoses ambitious politician with the disease. They embark on a shared treatment journey together and a secret romance develops between them.
Key genres: Scripted, premium factual, finished tape crime drama
Strategy: Keshet sees the Screenings as developing quickly into one of its most important events on the calendar. It has expanded to two events — one scripted and one unscripted — highlighting shows from the spring slate and providing a taster of upcoming 2024 and 2025 content. It is reporting “significant buzz” around action thriller Conflict and hopes are high for Eartbound, which is EPed and narrated by Orlando Bloom.
Screening: Wednesday, 12.30-3pm (scripted); 3-5pm (unscripted), Soho Hotel
RED ARROW STUDIOS INTERNATIONAL
Key shows
Forgiven – Powerful drama series from Yellow Film about love, domestic violence, shame and the culture of silence that keeps such stories behind closed doors – based on Laura Manninen’s bestselling novel.
The Country Doctor – The new high-volume daily soap with broad appeal, which sees stressed ER doctor and single parent Sarah relocate to a rural idyll to help heal the locals and resolve a deep secret.
Reality Backpackers – Adventure format that gives reality stars a reality check – as they are sent into the jungle on their own and must find their way back to a luxury villa.
Key genres: Scripted and formats.
Strategy: This year the sales team will be prioritizing one-on-one meetings in suites at the Covent Garden Hotel instead of holding an open screening. In addition to pitching completed shows, Red Arrow will also be continuing discussions with key clients about the format development slate.
Screening: Tailored to individual buyers.
STUDIOCANAL
Key shows
Paris Has Fallen – The first TV series from the Has Fallen franchise. When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce attacks a high-profile event with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent Taleb finds himself working with street-smart MI6 operative Zara Taylor to save the day.
Families Like Ours – The first TV drama series from BAFTA-winner Thomas Vinterberg, an apocalyptic show about a country that has to be evacuated due to floods.
Key genres: Premium drama, factual, animation.
Strategy: International productions are pivotal to Studiocanal and its global ambitions. The London Screenings will see the company present a line-up of what it says are significant new series across eight genres and in 16 languages, produced by award-winning creatives.
Screening: Tuesday, 12pm-4.30pm, The Ham Yard Hotel.
VIAPLAY CONTENT DISTRIBUTION
Key shows
All and Eva – Eva (Tuva Novotny) tracks down her sperm donor — and the encounter takes an unexpected turn in this six-part dramedy.
Rebus – Based on the best-selling books by Sir Ian Rankin, this series reimagines the title character as a younger Detective Sergeant (Richard Rankin) drawn into a violent criminal conflict that turns personal when his brother crosses the line into criminality.
All That She Wants: The Unbelievable Story of Ace of Base – Three-part docuseries following the untold journey of a chart-topping band through intimate diaries and unseen private footage, chronicling their unexpected ascent to stardom and the highs and lows that came with it.
Key genres: Drama, crime, thriller and non-scripted (music, true crime and sports documentaries).
Strategy: Viaplay Content Distribution is excited to showcase its diverse mix of content from crime dramas and dramedies to true crime, music, and sports documentaries. It will be stressing the wide appeal of its catalog, coming off the back of a tricky year for its parent, which has been hit hard by the financial downturn.
Screening: Tuesday, 9am-12pm, Soho Hotel.
NEWEN CONNECT
Key Shows
8 Months – Based on a best-selling Swedish novel by Magnus Montelius, the geopolitical thriller is set within a present-day world of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where corruption and double-dealing lurk around every corner.
In The Shadows – A dedicated political advisor finds his campaign to see his boss named President of France thrown into turmoil after it emerges the primary vote putting him ahead has been rigged,
Moresnet – A man returns to his mysterious childhood town after the death of his father and reunites with old friends. After they discover his murderer brother’s old diary, the group begin dying in suspicious circumstances in line with a darkly prophetic list written on its last page.
Key genres: Scripted, factual
Strategy: Newen Connect will be continuing with its campaign to be Europe’s leading non-English-language scripted distributor, while also showcasing projects in English. A focus on political thrillers comes in a year that researchers say will include the most elections in history, including in the U.S. and UK. Newen also sees the Screenings as a chance to secure early funding for new shows — vital in an era where production costs are rising and platforms are becoming more selective.
Screening: Tuesday, 3-4pm (factual), 4-6.30pm (scripted), 6.30-8pm (cocktails), Soho Hotel
OFF THE FENCE
Key shows
To Kill a Dictator – Unravels the plans and conspiracies that were set to rid the world of the most ruthless dictators in history.
Phenomena – Collaborating with Ivy League universities and premier medical institutions, show delves into cutting-edge scientific research to unravel the mysteries behind the phenomenon of energy healing.
Rising Phoenix Universe – Offers behind-the-scenes access to the Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024, Milan 2026 and LA 2028 paralympics, charting the story of the games.
Key genres: Science, impact, travel, and nature.
Strategy: The European distributor is aiming to show a variety of high-quality and impact projects delivered as a production company, co-production partner and distributor. Off The Fence’s slate brings a range of specialist factual and docs, along with its nature and wildlife heartland.
Screening: Tuesday, 4pm-6pm, Curzon Soho.
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