Lionsgate & Debmar-Mercury Acquire The Conners

Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury have signed a deal with Werner Entertainment to represent The Conners across streaming and domestic syndication.

The Worldwide Television Distribution Group will handle global distribution across SVOD, AVOD, basic cable and FAST of the ABC series, while Debmar-Mercury will oversee domestic syndication. The deal covers all five seasons of the series, as well as the rights to future seasons following ABC’s first window.

The Conners has already been renewed by ABC for a sixth season after ranking as the network’s top-rated scripted series. The show garnered 4.9 million viewers in its season finale, with an adult 25-54 audience of 3.6 million.

The Roseanne spin-off stars Sara Gilbert, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Lecy Goranson.

“We’re proud to be selected by a great force in television like Tom Werner and Werner Entertainment to bring this incredible property to buyers around the world,” said Jim Packer, president of worldwide television distribution at Lionsgate. “This agreement shows Lionsgate’s ability to marshal all of its resources, combining the strength and prowess of our global distribution with Debmar-Mercury’s unparalleled syndication expertise in support of a remarkable brand and series.”

“In the tradition of some of the most successful, longest-running multi-cam sitcoms, The Conners promises to be a great addition to TV stations’ lineups and will offer a proven competitive advantage to broadcasters for years to come,” noted Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus, co-presidents of Debmar-Mercury. “Tom Werner, together with Marcy Carsey and their creative team, have been responsible for many of the mega-comedies that helped build the broadcast business in the U.S. We are excited to be able to team with Tom and with Jim Packer’s global distribution team on The Conners.”

“Lionsgate’s global reach and success across all platforms makes us extremely confident they will successfully bring The Conners to audiences worldwide,” Werner added.