MIPCOM Spotlight: Paramount Global Content Distribution

The MIPCOM highlights from Paramount Global Content Distribution show the depth and breadth that the company is able to offer in the marketplace across drama, kids and factual.

Among the dramas on the company’s slate, Fire Country is inspired by star and executive producer Max Thieriot’s experiences growing up in northern California fire country. The series has “very strong characters and a procedural element set against a life-and-death backdrop that will resonate with viewers around the globe,” says Lisa Kramer, president of international licensing.

She calls Poker Face a “cinematic crime procedural series with a twist.” It marks the first TV series from director Rian Johnson and stars Natasha Lyonne.

The duo of Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer star in and executive produce Colin From Accounts. “This very funny comedy had buyers from all over the world laughing out loud at L.A. Screenings,” Kramer says.

“Our slate continues to grow, which allows us to expand our licensing deals with key clients across the globe,” she adds.

Also on offer is an expanded slate of kids’ content from Nickelodeon U.S. and International as well as Paramount+. Big Nate is based on an iconic American comic strip that has been published for over 30 years in 400 different newspapers. “The stories feature relatable middle-school antics, which appeal to kids from all parts of the world,” says Lauren Marriott, senior VP of content partnerships and brand strategy.

Rock Island Mysteries is a live-action show shot on Australia’s Gold Coast. Each episode features a different mystery, which 14-year-old Taylor and her friends try to solve with adventure and laughs along the way.

Blue’s Clues & You, meanwhile, continues its success with a fourth season of the newest iteration. The show is a “multigenerational hit,” Marriott says.

“We aim to be everywhere kids are, and our content licensing partnerships are as important as ever in achieving this,” Marriott notes.

The factual catalog includes Nothing Compares, a documentary feature on Sinead O’Connor that outlines her meteoric rise to global fame. “She’s an iconoclast known around the world with an absolutely fascinating life story,” says Marriott.

11 Minutes explores the raw human stories of people present at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, where a mass shooting took place.

Growing Up Grizzly provides a peek into the lives of two orphaned cubs, one left to fend for itself in nature and one raised in captivity.

Marriott adds, “Paramount Global Content Distribution now has one of the most diverse and largest factual slates at the market.”

The company has a format lineup that includes dating and reality, a music game show and a parlor game show. The Real Love Boat, for one, brings singles together to sail the Mediterranean on a luxury cruise ship while looking for love. “Like the beloved original scripted series, the indispensable crew members, including captain and cruise director, will play pivotal roles in the matchmaking and navigation of the romantic (and sometimes turbulent) waters ahead,” says Paul Gilbert, senior VP of international formats.

In Superfan, contestants compete in a fast-paced music-centric game show that tests fans’ knowledge about that week’s superstar. The show intersperses musical performances and gameplay.

Pictionary is based on the classic Mattel game of quick sketches and comedic guesses.

“Come and see us for the best shows in all categories,” Gilbert says.