Fremantle Scores Global Sales for The Responder

Fremantle has sold the BBC drama The Responder throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Africa.

Starring Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock, Breeders, Fargo), The Responder follows a crisis-stricken, morally-compromised urgent response officer tackling a series of night shifts. The series debuted on BBC One on January 24 and garnered a seven-day audience of 7.6 million.

Broadcasters that have boarded the series are Disney+ (Italy), Canal+ (France, Poland, Africa), Magenta TV (Germany), Movistar (Spain), RTL (Hungary), Pickbox (Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro), Cosmote TV (Greece), Viasat (Russia and CIS), Rozhlas A Televize (Slovakia), BritBox (North America), TELUS Presents (Canada), SBS (Australia) and MNET (Africa). The DVD and EST rights were picked up by Dazzler for the U.K. and Ireland.

The Responder, produced by Fremantle-backed Dancing Ledge Productions, was written by Tony Schumacher and directed by Tim Mielants (Peaky Blinders, The Terror, Legion).

“To partner with such an exciting mix of esteemed international buyers is a testament to the strength of this series—police drama like no other that promises to surprise, excite and challenge audiences with its truly captivating and heartfelt narrative and world-class acting led by Martin Freeman,” said Rebecca Dundon, VP of scripted at Fremantle. “We have no doubt that this is just the beginning for this truly remarkable series, a show that has become a firm favorite amongst critics and audiences both here in the U.K. and around the world.”

Laurence Bowen, executive producer for The Responder and CEO of Dancing Ledge Productions, said, “We’re thrilled The Responder will be resonating with audiences around the world. The authenticity, boldness and universality to Tony’s writing make him one of the great new screenwriting stars, and having Martin capture that authorship and then transport it onto the screen is what makes the series very special. This is a police series for our times.”