TV Drama In-Demand: Crime

As part of our new TV Drama In-Demand reports, we’re highlighting hot properties in crime: Banijay Rights’ The Hunt for a Killer, ZDF Enterprises’ Standing Tall, Dori Media International’s Dumb and Nippon TV’s Your Turn to Kill.

The Hunt for a Killer

Commissioned By: SVT
Produced By: Yellow Bird in co-production with SVT and Film i Skåne
Cast: Anders Beckman, Lotten Roos, Håkan Bengtsson, Rasmus Troedsson
Writers: Helene Lindholm, Lotta Erikson
Rights Available: Worldwide rights from Banijay Rights.
Description: A 6×45-minute true-crime drama about the unwavering journey of police detectives who turned against the authorities and revolted against corruption and never gave up—eventually solving an impossible crime.
Pitch Perfect: In March 1989 the murder of 10-year-old Helen Nilsson traumatized a nation.  When Helen vanished, there were around 20 suspected pedophiles living in Hörby. The Hunt for a Killer follows police officers Per-Åke Åkesson and Monica Olhed, who led an investigation team that solved numerous homicides in Southern Sweden and who would eventually, against all odds, find Helen’s killer. The drama is due to launch this autumn.
Sales Contact: Chris Stewart, Commercial Director, Scripted.

Standing Tall

Produced By: Publispei for Rai
Cast: Alessandro Gassman, Maya Sansa, Andrea Sartoretti, Luigi Fedele
Writers: Leonardo Fasoli, Maddalena Ravagli, Monica Rametta, Massimo Bavastro
Rights Available: All rights worldwide outside of Italian territories from ZDF Enterprises.
Description: Tells the story of a father’s investigation into his son’s alleged suicide. Hunting for the truth about a death that isn’t at all what it might appear to be proves to be a veritable obstacle course for Valerio, who is dead set on obtaining justice, but it will also prove to be his last chance to come to terms with his troubled past, both as a man and a father. A painful redemption to reclaim a bond that not even death can break—between a father and a son. The crime/suspense drama is available in 4×100-minute or 8×50-minute formats.
Pitch Perfect: “Directed by Gianluca Maria Tavarelli (The Young Montalbano, Maltese), Standing Tall is a powerful crime series that follows a former policeman’s unofficial investigation into his son’s death, whom he hadn’t seen for years,” says Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama. “A suspenseful topic that not only parents can relate to.”
Sales Contacts: Mirela Nastase, Director, ZDFE.drama; Sebastian Krekeler, Director, ZDFE.drama; Yuliya Fischer, Director, ZDFE.drama; Susanne Frank, Director, ZDFE.drama.

Dumb

Produced By: Dori Media Darset for HOT
Cast: Bat Hen Sebag, Muki-Dani Niv, Moshe Ashkenazi, Shani Klein, Miki Alon, Ruth Asarsai, Yakov Daniel, Lior Raz
Writers: Bat Hen Sebag, Shay Capon
Rights Available: Exclusive distribution rights by Dori Media International.
Description: A crime drama about a frustrated and stoned 30-year-old actress who goes undercover as a student in high school trying to help her arrested ex-boyfriend, who was charged with drug dealing. Three seasons available for a total of 75 35-minute episodes.
Pitch Perfect: Continued success in ratings, sales and awards over three seasons. Dumb is a strong crime drama with a story and characters that are international and therefore can be adopted everywhere in the world. Rampensau, Dumb’s German remake, produced by UFA Serial Drama and aired on Vox, is also a huge success everywhere.
Slot Winner: For the original Israeli series: 46 percent of HOT’s subscribers have watched; it reached HOT’s top three in views in all three seasons; and has logged over 20 million VOD views. All three seasons won best daily drama at the Israeli TV Awards ceremony and it was selected to the EMF in the Berlin Film Festival 2017 and Panorama in Series Mania 2017. Rampensau, the German remake, was Vox’s best original production since Red Band Society in the relevant target group of 14 to 49 and over-performed the channel’s time-slot average by 23 percent.
Sales Contacts: Carolina Sabbag, VP, Sales, Dori Media Distribution; Maria Perez Campi, Director, Sales, Dori Media Distribution Argentina; Camila Premet, Sales Manager, Dori Media Distribution Argentina; Haikal Jamari, Sales Manager, Southeast Asia & Pacific, Dori Media International.

Your Turn to Kill

Commissioned By: Nippon TV; catch up and “another story” episodes on Hulu Japan.
Produced By: Nippon TV
Cast: Tomoyo Harada, Kei Tanaka, Nanase Nishino, Ryusei Yokohama
Writers: Yasushi Akimoto (original idea), Mitsunori Fukuhara (scriptwriter)
Rights Available: Worldwide, from Nippon TV.
Description: Directed by Noriyoshi Sakuma, Naoko Komuro, Tsuyoshi Nakakuki and Hidemi Uchida, with Hiroe Suzuma as producer and Kenji Ikeda as executive producer. A death threat suddenly arrives, kicking off a chain of senseless murders: “It’s your turn.” This modern crime drama consists of 20 60-minute episodes, with two seasons commissioned back-to-back.
Pitch Perfect: The hit series that caused a social phenomenon all over Japan. Heightened discussions, and even studies on who the real killer is, caused a social media hype that increased the weekly ratings and views on streaming platforms. The title was even nominated for buzzword of the year. Your viewers will do the same!
Slot Winner: The series finale scored 12.9 percent average individual ratings, where the annual prime-time average in 2019 was 6.9 percent. Negotiations for adaptations in different countries are also ongoing.
Sales Contact: Keisuke Miyata, International Business Development, Nippon TV.