DRG Renews Pact with Three River, Seeks Drama Co-Pro Partners

LONDON: DRG has renewed its first-look deal with Three River Fiction for a further two years, and is looking for new co-production partners for dramas in development.

Three River Fiction currently has some 15 to 20 projects in active development. This includes several adaptations, having recently acquired a 15-book estate of Golden Age crime fiction, written originally in the 1930s by John Bude. Crime novelist and screenwriter Colin Bateman (Murphy’s Law, The Journey) is attached and has written the pilot script, Ticket to Murder. Direct development funding was given by DRG.

There are two further major projects in funded development: a dark reimagining of the Robin Hood story created alongside Justin Pollard (Vikings, Tudors), and a sci-fi series created and written by Richard Smith (Trauma).

DRG is currently exploring co-production interest in these titles, while Three River Fiction is talking to U.K. broadcasters and expects to be in production on at least two of these series in 2017.

“The Three River Fiction team has used its considerable skill and experience to develop an ambitious and exciting slate of dramas,” said Noel Hedges, the executive VP of content and acquisitions at DRG. “These fantastic stories, and their vision for them on the screen, have secured both incredible writing talent and early funding; we now believe that these titles will secure co-production partners and go on to do very well on the international stage. We had no hesitation in renewing our first-look deal and keeping Three River Fiction as part of DRG’s growing producer family.“

Jonathan Drake, the managing director at Three River Fiction, added: “It’s an exciting time for drama. We are developing big adaptations, some ambitious genre pieces, and some historical series with genuine scale and ambition, all with a clearly defined and unmistakable DNA.

“DRG has played an integral role in developing our business to date and we are naturally delighted that we can continue working with the team. Their enthusiasm and belief in our projects matches our own and we have every confidence that their representation, combined with in-depth knowledge of the international drama marketplace, will see these ideas leap from the page to the screen.”