Showcase: Cineflix Rights

A focus on acquiring proven successful and returnable factual and entertainment brands such as Château DIY from Spark Media Partners and the hit Voltage TV format Tempting Fortune has resulted in significant revenues during the past year for Cineflix Rights. This is a core focus for the coming year, too, according to Richard Life, senior VP of acquisitions and co-productions—“seeking out and securing rights to new returners plus nurturing and building on the international success of these brands.”

Regarding factual, Life says that true crime remains in demand but in different formats for different buyers and slots in the schedule. “The trend is for younger-skewed themes that immerse viewers in the cases and shows that feel modern and stylish and rely less on re-creation and more on actual footage or social media,” he adds. “Our new series Spring Break Murders for A+E Networks (U.K.) and Bell Media (Canada) was greenlit with this demand in mind. It highlights how every year, while millions of students and young adults migrate to holiday resorts and decompress in a first brush with independence, for some, it will be their last great adventure.”

Life also points to returnable aspirational and escapist series such as the established international hit Château DIY. To this end, Cineflix Rights has also acquired international rights to the long-running Channel 4 daytime hit A New Life in the Sun, produced by True North, which it is launching at MIPCOM. “This series has proven a strong pull for audiences looking to be inspired and entertained by people like them who are trying to reinvent their lives, particularly in sunny climes,” he says.

As for scripted, in a time of market contraction and fewer risks being taken, demand is coming through for more tried-and-tested genres such as crime and thrillers “that channels and platforms know how to market effectively to drive big audiences,” says Tom Misselbrook, senior VP of scripted sales and development. “We always seek originality in our scripted slate, so it’s about finding a good balance of series that will excite our buyers but also feel distinct and fresh, and we feel our MIPCOM lineup does just that.”

The scripted slate is led by Virdee, a new crime thriller for BBC One adapted from the book franchise by A.A. Dhand and produced by Magical Society. Staz Nair takes up the title role of Harry Virdee, a Bradford-based detective with a chaotic personal life who must hunt down a serial killer.

Heart Attack, from producers of The Walking Dead and Invincible, is a dystopian thriller for Fuji TV from Skybound Entertainment and ROBOT. Set in a post-pandemic Japan, it follows as a segment of the population develops supernatural abilities and must come together to fight for their existence and freedom against the persecution led by the government.