‘Van Der Valk’ Returns: Marc Warren To Star In Remake From ‘The White Princess’ Producer Company & All3Media Int’l
EXCLUSIVE: Safe and Mad Dogs actor Marc Warren will star in a remake of classic British detective drama Van Der Valk after The White Princess producer Company Pictures and the international arm of All3Media partnered.
Company and All3Media International are adapting the series that first aired in 1972 and ran for five seasons. Midsomer Murders writer Chris Murray is writing a three-part series of feature length episodes.
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The show follows as a street smart and unapologetic Dutch detective navigates the lively and enigmatic city of Amsterdam, solving mysterious crimes using astute human observation and inspired detection.
The original series, which was produced by Thames Television for ITV, starred Barry Foster as Dutch detective Commissaris Piet/Simon Van Der Valk. It was loosely based on the novels by Nicolas Freeling. Warren will play the detective.
The show will be filmed on location in Amsterdam, and All3Media International is on the brink of securing major co-commissioning partners after negotiating with a select group of broadcast partners. The revamp came about after the distribution division realized that a number of international broadcasters were keen on the 90-minute drama, which sits neatly into many global two-hour drama slots, even though there was slightly less demand in English-speaking territories.
Van der Valk will be produced by Michele Buck (Agatha Christie’s Poirot) and All3Media International boss Louise Pedersen, who oversees sales of the company’s slate of dramas including detective titles such as Midsomer Murders.
Pedersen said, “Van der Valk is a fantastic example of our proactive scripted development and investment strategy. We are confident that there is global demand for top quality procedural detective stories and, as the queen of detective shows, Michele Buck and her team at Company Pictures are brilliantly placed to deliver us a fantastic new series in this genre.”
Buck added, “Van der Valk is one of television’s most iconic detectives and it is my great pleasure to bring him back for a 2019 audience. The drama will centre on three key ingredients: a distinctive central character, stunning settings and engaging crime stories. Partnering with All3Media International will ensure we deliver a new detective drama brand that holds strong appeal for viewers worldwide.”
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