BBC One & France Télévisions On Board New Cop Drama

LONDON: A new eight-part drama series is in the works for BBC One and France Télévisions, Death in Paradise.

The series, from Robert Thorogood, is produced by Red Planet Pictures and Atlantique Productions, in association with BBC Worldwide and Kudos Film and Television. Death in Paradise follows Richard, a quintessential English cop who gets posted to the Caribbean island of Sainte Marie. Each week he goes about solving an intriguing murder, with the assistance of exotic local Camille. The filming is set to take place in Guadelupe, and the post-production will take place in London.

Tony Jordan, executive producer for Red Planet Pictures, commented: "I’m thrilled that we’ve brought the BBC and FTV together for this project, we are all on the same page creatively which has made the process much easier and it will be a show that plays well on both networks. It’s not just a ground breaking deal, it’s also a platform for creatives from both regions to collaborate and to explore ways we can work together in the future."

Polly Hill, executive producer for the BBC, said: “Death in Paradise is a wonderful mix of a fish out of water tale and great crime puzzles. We are thrilled to be making this with Red Planet and FTV and to be bringing Robert’s wonderful scripts to screen. We hope it will prove a real treat for the BBC One audience next year.”

Sophie Gigon of France Télévisions added: “This is a great example of our international co-production work, based on the universal theme of crime investigation with a comedy touch. We’ve combined English and French creative talent to aim for a production that will be light-hearted but meaningful. We are thrilled, this is our first ever drama series co-production with BBC and BBC Worldwide, and hopefully the first of many.”

Ben Donald, executive producer for international drama at BBC Worldwide, remarked: “I am delighted France Télévisions has come on board to co-produce this superb title. France Télévisions has long been a valued co-production partner of BBC Worldwide in the factual genre and we are thrilled to break new ground by bringing them together with BBC Drama and Red Planet Pictures on this series.”

Klaus Zimmermann, the CEO of Atlantique Productions, noted: “It’s very rare to come across a concept like Death in Paradise that has the potential for a co-production between different countries. This joint development and production between the U.K. and France is unique and will most certainly be the first of many. Cross-border productions, creatively and economically, will increasingly become a reality and as producers it is part of our job to encourage and stimulate broadcasters and talent to explore these opportunities.”