MIPCOM: The Week in Drama

If the mantra is “back to basics” as the industry attempts to recalibrate to the new normal post-peak TV, the headlines coming out of MIPCOM reflect a surging demand for crime series and thrillers, a healthy appetite for proven scripted formats and a heyday for producers of high-volume, mid-budget series (namely, the Turkish distributors, which had a particularly buzzy week with a raft of events up and down the Croisette).

IP, of course, remains important. We heard that in Dan Cohen’s keynote session with World Screen’s Anna Carugati, where Paramount’s chief content licensing officer revealed that the company’s flagship NCIS franchise has generated some $4.5 billion in licensing revenues. Cohen and Carugati were joined on stage by Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, stars of the latest expansion of the CBS franchise: NCIS: Tony & Ziva.

In a session I moderated at the busy Producers’ Hub, Diego Londono, executive VP of media networks and content for EMEA at The Walt Disney Company, highlighted some of the upcoming scripted originals for Disney+ based on known IP, including Rivals. “It’s not essential, but you need to understand the elements that will allow you to cut through,” Londono explained. “Known IP helps. Rivals has a huge fan base in the U.K. This is Not Hollywood is based on [a true story], but A Thousand Blows is an original story from a fantastic creator. And it’s a genre we know has had success. So, it’s not essential, but we do love it.”

The session also featured Paolo Agostinelli, senior VP of affiliate and content distribution for EMEA at Disney, who touched on another critical theme reshaping the scripted landscape: a resurgence in co-pros and new approaches to exclusivity and windowing. “It made sense when we launched direct-to-consumer to protect this new screen by holding a good chunk of content almost exclusively to Disney+. Things have changed. Direct-to-consumer is in a different stage of its life cycle. The service is well established in more than 150 million homes across the world, which is a testament we did the right thing at the moment. There was a need to rebalance our distribution strategy, which is something we had planned from the very beginning. We want to maximize reach and believe in windowing between direct-to-consumer and third parties. Not only do we maximize reach, we have an opportunity to generate synergies and create further value. We can have an exclusive window on Disney+ and then license to third parties.”

He mentioned as an example Extraordinary from the U.K., which was licensed to ITV2 and ITVX just ahead of the season two drop on Disney+. “It raised the profile of season one and engaged fans in season two. We’ve done more than 20 such deals in the last few months.”

ZDF Studios used MIPCOM to announce the addition to its slate of the eco-thriller Lume, set against the wildfire crisis on the northern Portugal-Spain border. Reflecting a new approach to windowing, the series will be streamed on Max in Spain and Portugal and air on RTP and Televisión de Galicia (TVG), the public broadcasters of Portugal and Galicia, respectively.

With commissions on the downswing, broadcasters and platforms are looking to acquisitions to bolster their offerings, and as referenced earlier, crime dramas are certainly not losing their prime position in the market. All3Media International signed new deals for Goalpost Pictures’ mystery drama Black Snow with Prime Video in Africa and Acorn Media in Spain, among others, while the BBC in the U.K., Sweden’s TV4 and Finland’s MTV OY all opted for season two of the whodunit. All3Media International also inked agreements in key territories for Critical Incident, including in the U.S. with Hulu.

ARTE picked up seasons two and three of the Israeli thriller Manayek for France and Germany from Cineflix Rights, which also sealed a raft of deals for Whitstable Pearl and Irvine Welsh’s Crime, starring Dougray Scott. But speaking to the depth of that company’s slate, it also notched up deals on the Icelandic political saga The Minister and So Long, Marianne, which tells the love story of Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen.

Fremantle landed numerous global sales for the drama series Nightsleeper, taking the thriller into 147 territories worldwide, including Australia, Japan and Latin America.

Meanwhile, Turkish distributors made their presence known in Cannes last week with various events featuring high-profile talent from the country. Bariş Baktaş and Yağmur Yüksel spoke with World Screen’s Kristin Brzoznowski about their new series Vendetta, which Global Agency is distributing worldwide. Calinos Entertainment marked its 25th anniversary with the launch of Hidden Garden, bringing stars Ebru Şahin and Murat Yıldırım to Cannes. MADD Entertainment closed new deals for My Wonderful Life, Blooming Lady, Dirty Laundry and Margarita.

The vibrant Turkish production ecosystem is looking to the global market for new ideas; last week saw CJ ENM strike a pact with O3 Medya and DASS Yapım to adapt the hit Korean drama Queen of Tears in Turkey, with Eccho Rights on board to take the title globally. Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) secured remake option deals for two series, Forget Love and Tower of Sand, with the Turkish producer Fabrika Yapım. In other major scripted format news, All3Media International secured deals for four new versions of Two Brothers Pictures’ Liar, bringing the total number of treatments for the drama to 15. BBC Studios’ Doctor Foster—which topped K7 Media’s latest scripted formats report—is headed to Greece. Also in Greece, Nippon TV licensed the scripted format rights for its award-winning drama Mother to Alpha TV, marking the 11th global adaptation.

MIPCOM also highlighted Spain as the Country of Honour, marking a big week for the prolific scripted production territory. ICEX Spain Trade & Investment and Parrot Analytics revealed that content from the country generated $5.1 billion in global streaming revenues over the last four years. The Mediapro Studio inked deals for its new series Quiet, The Head, Express and Chromosome 21 across Europe, while in a Media Mastermind keynote session, Laura Fernández Espeso and JC Acosta highlighted the company’s English-language series ambitions in the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Onza Distribution closed deals for titles from its scripted catalog in Portugal, Romania, Croatia, Latvia and Mozambique.

The rising prominence of AVOD and FAST, and the potential for originals in that space, came up in numerous sessions across the week as producers and distributors seek new opportunities amid the downtown. Of note, Electric Entertainment unveiled ElectricNOW Originals, the streaming platform’s original programming for its AVOD and FAST streaming service. Electric also signed four new deals for its series Almost Paradise; licensed all four seasons of The Outpost to FilmRise for AVOD, FAST and SVOD rights; and closed deals globally for The Ark and The Librarians: The Next Chapter.

Catch up on these stories and more on TVDrama.com.