Sky Vision to Showcase True North Titles, New Dramas at MIPTV

LONDON: Sky Vision will be taking five new True North titles to MIPTV, where it will also be presenting a slate of high-profile dramas.

Sky Vision acquired a majority stake in True North in January, and now the company is showcasing five new series from the British indie. This includes Climbing the Property Ladder, a factual-entertainment series following people as they put their cash (and plenty of blood, sweat and tears) into property developing, all for the hope of profit. Also part of the package are Park Life, set against a backdrop of some of England’s most beautiful landscapes; A1: Highway Patrol, a high-volume factual series for BBC One filmed on the U.K.’s longest road; Mystery of the Man on the Moor, a one-hour feature documentary revealing the story of an unknown man found dead on Saddleworth Moor in the north of England with no ID and no obvious cause of death; and First Day at Big School, a one-off documentary that looks inside the lives of 4-year-olds as they embark on their first day at school.

Barnaby Shingleton, the director of entertainment and factual at Sky Vision, said: “The distribution team at Sky Vision is really excited about our new relationship with True North and it’s great that we can kick it off with such a great catalog of new programs. True North has a fantastic reputation for producing strong factual singles and series, and we’ll be working closely together to ensure that their content reaches the widest audience possible.”

Marc Allen, the managing director of True North, said: “It’s great to get our relationship with Sky Vision off to such a strong start with these titles. Big series and high-quality single films have always been in the DNA of True North and so this is a perfect slate to set the tone for our collaboration going forward.”

Also part of the Sky Vision MIPTV slate, the Sky Atlantic drama Riviera comes from creator Neil Jordan and stars Julia Stiles. Set on the French Riviera, the series “effortlessly melds glamor and incredible storytelling,” says Shingleton. “The high caliber of the on-screen and off-screen talent in Riviera will be instantly appealing to international buyers.”

The company is also presenting Don’t Ask Me, which engages the audiences with real-time interactivity. “Don’t Ask Me is a further sign of Sky Vision’s push into prime-time entertainment,” says Shingleton. “We’re excited to work with the very best partners in each territory to bring this format to audiences across the globe.”

The drama Bad Blood, meanwhile, is based on a true story and is inspired by the book Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto’s Last War from crime experts Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso.