Globo & Sony Pictures Television Ink Multi-Series Deal

Globo and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) have entered into a multi-project deal to co-develop and co-produce two English-language scripted dramas, with a third project to be announced.

The first two projects in development, The Angel of Hamburg and Rio Connection, are based on true Brazilian stories. The limited series The Angel of Hamburg is based on the life of Aracy de Carvalho, a Brazilian clerk in the Consulate in Hamburg, married to the acclaimed writer João Guimarães Rosa and who secretly helped hundreds of Jews escape to Brazil during the Nazi regime in Germany. Rio Connection centers on the real-life story of the European gangsters who established Brazil as an organized crime hub for trafficking heroin into the United States in the 1970s.

SPT-backed Floresta is set to co-produce the new projects in partnership with Globo Studios. SPT will have global distribution rights outside of Brazil, while Globo plans to broadcast it on its free-to-air channel in prime time and on Grupo Globo’s platforms.

“We are extremely excited to team up with the production powerhouse Globo Studios on these three projects,” said Wayne Garvie, president of international production for Sony Pictures Television. “The Angel of Hamburg and Rio Connection are the latest examples of our commitment to tell compelling, locally relevant stories that have universal appeal and can resonate with audiences around the world. The ongoing collaboration between Sony and Globo to create premium English-language series from Brazil, a real first for both of us, has been a terrific meeting of creative minds, and we look forward to the production phase later this year.”

Carlos Henrique Schroder, CEO of Globo, added: “It is a great honor to be able to create and produce content in partnership with Sony Pictures, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. We are excited to venture into new challenges, exchange experiences with our new partner and potentially tap into new markets. The production of The Angel of Hamburg and Rio Connection is one more step Globo has taken in its pursuit of becoming an international player in the production of high-end drama and short-format content. We believe in the universal appeal of these stories and in the power they have to move audiences on a global scale.”