Five Lines Up Marketing Spot for U.S. Crime Dramas

LONDON: Talent from crime dramas distributed by three Hollywood studios will share the spotlight in a single marketing spot for British broadcaster Five.

The U.K. terrestrial said it had "pulled off a world coup by securing the agreement of rival Hollywood studios" for their talent to all feature in the spot, titled “The Drama Continues.” It features the participation of CBS Television Studios with Lawrence Fishburne and Marg Helgenberger from CSI, Gary Sinise from CSI: New York and Mark Harmon from NCIS; Warner Bros. with Simon Baker of The Mentalist, and ABC Studios with Joseph Fiennes from FlashForward. The stars were exclusively filmed for the spot by Five. The marketing initiative also features existing footage of David Caruso from CSI: Miami. The shoot took place in Hollywood last month on the set of each of the five series. Five says this is first time that Warner Bros., CBS Television Studios and Disney’s ABC Studios have agreed jointly to release their key talent to participate in the filming of a single promo.

Nol Davis, Five’s creative director, notes: “The participation of different actors from different shows made by different Hollywood studios in a single marketing spot is unprecedented. But the studios and the stars themselves recognize that Five is the home of U.S. drama on British TV and like us they see the importance of celebrating that.”