Chopper Squad Joins ALL3MEDIA Catalogue

LONDON: ALL3MEDIA International has acquired the rights for the observational documentary series Chopper Squad, following rapid-response helicopter paramedics, from Great Southern Television.

Set in New Zealand, the show features three major incident strands per episode, with key characters driving the story line. Each team features an experienced paramedic, a pilot and a crew member. The show launched this week on TV2 New Zealand under the name Rescue 1.

Maartje Horchner, ALL3MEDIA’s head of acquisitions, said, “Chopper Squad is an extremely well made rescue series—with a compelling balance of high action, with amazing aerial shots over awe-inspiring scenery, and the humor and character of the men who save lives.”

Prior to the series commission, two of the show’s key crew members had their own encounter with the chopper rescue team. Martin Cleave, the show’s producer, and his brother John Cleave, the editor of the show, both found themselves rescued in separate incidents within months of each other.

Martin Cleave commented, "This is not a negative show that focuses on deaths and tragedy—it is a celebration of the rescues, great characters and great storytelling with an upbeat feel to it. After an accident in March last year in which I broke my neck and drowned, I was choppered out of Cape Reinga and revived by the Rescue Helicopter Services. Ironically, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter winched my younger brother off Great Barrier Island seven months prior, having fallen off the back off a Ute and plummeting ten stories down a cliff face. He was found, eight hours later, face down in a status 1 condition fearing for his life. Making the show was important to me on a professional level, but also on the personal. They brought me back from the dead and these people are miracle workers, without them I wouldn’t be standing here today."