VRT Belgium Picks Up Dramas from STUDIOCANAL

LONDON: VRT Belgium has inked a package deal with STUDIOCANAL that includes the drama series Midnight Sun, The Five and Crossing Lines season three.

Midnight Sun will premiere at the beginning of 2017 on VRT on the Canvas channel, which has been the Belgian home of top Scandinavian crime series since 2006. The eight-part thriller comes from directing duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein (The Bridge).

The Five is an original ten-part thriller from the New York Times best-selling author Harlan Coben. The third season of the crime drama Crossing Lines, meanwhile, stars Goran Visnjic (ER), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) and Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games).

Sven Van Lokeren, acquisition executive for fiction series at VRT, said: “We are very pleased to have acquired a standout package of event dramas for VRT and to continue our great partnership with STUDIOCANAL. We are certain that our viewers will be gripped from the start of each series.”

“Representing the best of global content, these three international dramas are produced with top-level creatives and talent and are certain to hook Belgian audiences,” added Katrina Neylon, the executive VP of sales and marketing at STUDIOCANAL. “We are delighted that Midnight Sun, which is a stunning example of the new Scandi style, will air on VRT’s Canvas, a channel which prides itself on innovative content, new story lines and unique storytelling. We’re also pleased to see the success of The Five and Crossing Lines continue in Europe; our international clients have been quick to recognize the strong potential of these contemporary series for prime-time schedules.”