New NZ Deals for Agatha Christie Fare

SYDNEY, November 6:
Granada International Australia has sold a number of first-run British dramas,
including Agatha Christie's Marple and
Poirot, to New Zealand's Prime
Television.

Prime has also taken on
season three of Lewis, a detective
series set
in the Oxfordshire countryside, and Hornblower,
a series of epic films based on C.S. Forester's adventure stories. Also heading
to Prime are the documentary series Inside
the World's Most Powerful, a science show about the world’s most powerful
natural forces, and new episodes from the reality strand Homes From Hell, which shows the worst-case scenarios that can come
from moving houses. The new fourth season of Agatha Christie's Marple sees Cranford's
Julia McKenzie taking
over from Geraldine McEwan in the title role, while David Suchet returns as
the fictional detective Hercule Poirot in the latest collection of stories based on the works of
Agatha Christie.

Karen
Bieleski, the channel manager of Prime Television, commented, "We're very
pleased to have acquired some of the best-quality U.K. dramas available today,
which we know will have a strong appeal to Prime’s audience. In particular, Lewis, Agatha Christie's Marple and Poirot
fit perfectly into our popular Weekend Murders slot.”

Augustus
Dulgaro, ITV Global Entertainment's senior VP of sales for Australia, New
Zealand and Japan, added, "It's great to continue doing business with
Prime. We're delighted they have picked up these successful drama series, which
we know will work well for them."

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski