World Screen

LONDON, April 23: Zone Reality has commissioned British indie Rival Media to produce a pilot for a new reality series titled Stupid Laws, to be distributed by Zone Distribution. The pilot will go into production in late spring, and will …

BARCELONA, April 23: RAI Trade, the commercial arm of Italian broadcaster RAI, has acquired the merchandising rights for Italy to the animated girl-skewing series Lola & Virginia from Spain’s Imira Entertainment. In further licensing deals, Panini is set to launch …

LONDON, April 23: BKN has sold its animated kids’ series Zorro: Generation Z to a range of international broadcasters, including Telecinco and Clan TV/TVE in Spain. Additional broadcasters who have recently come aboard for the series include POP Channel in …

LONDON, April 23: BBC Worldwide has appointed three new licensees for its live-action preschool series In the Night Garden, including Golden Bear Products to manufacture and distribute a nursery range for the brand across the U.K. Scheduled to launch in …

TORONTO, April 23: The Banff World Television Festival (BWTVF) has unveiled a new award for its pitch competition, the Discovery Channel/NFB Feature Documentary Pitch. The best pitch in the Pitch It! Feature Documentary will receive a C$15,000 cash development prize …

TORONTO, April 23: Citytv has ordered up another season of the one-hour drama Murdoch Mysteries from Shaftesbury Films. Based on Maureen Jennings’ detective novels, Murdoch Mysteries is set in 1895 Toronto and centers on the world of William Murdoch, a …

LOS ANGELES, April 23: PorchLight Home Entertainment will launch a new label under the banner PorchLight INSPIRE, which will feature family and children’s entertainment with faith-based messages. The first title set to be released under the new label is Adventures …

LUCERNE, April 23: The 48th edition of the Rose d’Or Festival has unveiled the names of the 20 jury members responsible for viewing and voting on the 75 programs nominated for this year’s Rose d’Or Awards, as well as the …

NEW YORK, April 23: RHI Entertainment’s two-hour original movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, an updated version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, will make its U.S. television debut during ION Television’s RHI Movie Weekend block on Saturday, May 17. …

LOS ANGELES, April 23: A third season of The Tudors has been commissioned by Showtime to premiere in 2009, with production slated to begin June 16 in Dublin, Ireland. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who stars as King Henry VIII, will return …