ZDF heads list of buyers for Beyond Paradise, BBC Studios unveils scripted slate

LONDON SCREENINGS: German pubcaster ZDF is among the global buyers which have acquired detective spin-off series Beyond Paradise. 

Produced by Red Planet Pictures for BBC One, it has also been snapped up by Mediaset in Italy, Sky in New Zealand, Britbox in the Nordics, Star Crime in Portugal, plus Cosmo and Atreseries in Spain. 

The deals were announced by BBC Studios, which also revealed a raft of other scripted sales. 

Chef drama Boiling Point (Ascendant Fox, Matriarch Productions, with Made Up Productions for the BBC) has been taken by M-Net and streamer Showmax in Africa, Cyprus’s CyBC, France’s Canal+, Finland’s YLE, Greece’s CINOBO, New Zealand’s TVNZ, and the Netherlands’ NPO.  

Crime drama Blue Lights (Gallagher Films & Two Cities, for BBC One), meanwhile, has been bought by M-Net and Showmax, SBS in Australia, BBC First in Canada, CyBC, Denmark’s DR, Estonia’s ERR, France’s Polar+, Latvia’s LTV, New Zealand’s Warner Bros Discovery ANZ & Three Now, the Netherlands’ NPO, Norway’s NRK, Britbox in the US, Spain’s Movistar+, and Sweden’s TV4. 

Blue Lights has also been taken by airlines Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Etihad. 

Finally, literary adaptation The Famous Five (Moonage Pictures for the BBC and ZDF) has been sold to M-Net and Showmax, Australia’s Stan, France’s TF1, Cosmote TV, Korea’s KT, Warner Bros Discovery ANZ and Three Now, plus BBC First for the Netherlands and Belgium. 

Nick Percy, president of global media & streaming at BBC Studios, said: “It’s great to see the global reach of these compelling drama series.” 

BBC Studios has also announced a slate of titles which will be unveiled to buyers at BBC Studios Showcase today and tomorrow in London. 

It includes crime thriller The Jetty (4×60’), produced by Firebird Pictures and starring Jenna Coleman (Wilderness); factual drama Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story (6×30’), from River Pictures in association with ZDF Neo; cancel culture dramedy Douglas is Cancelled (4×45’) by Hartswood Films for ITV in association with Sky Showtime; and comedy Spent (6×30’), produced by Various Artists Limited.