Banijay Rights, Touchdown Films & Ovation Align for Artist to Icon

Banijay Rights, through its co-development deal with the U.K.’s Touchdown Films, has developed the celebrity biography series Artist to Icon in partnership with Ovation in the U.S.

The ten-part docuseries mixes archival content with interviews with insiders to delve into the biographies of such celebrities as Madonna, Robin Williams and Cher. Ovation will retain distribution rights in the Americas and Banijay Rights in rest of the world for Artist to Icon, which is currently in production and will be available for delivery later this year.

Scott Woodward, executive VP of programming and production at Ovation, said: “We’re pleased to be working yet again with Banijay Rights, and now with Touchdown Films. As an arts network, we’re always looking for dynamic and creatively-inclined projects and Artist to Icon is no exception. Charting the rise of some of the world’s greatest artists—actors, musicians and more—is a perfect fit for Ovation.”

John Osborne, founder of Touchdown Films, said: “Very few people become a global star, and fewer still achieve iconic status. In this new series, we will reveal some of the most extraordinary rises to fame the world has ever seen, exploring the crucial moments that accelerated their transition from ‘artist to icon.’ We’re thrilled to be working alongside Banijay Rights on this exciting new series for Ovation.”

Andreas Lemos, Banijay Rights’ commercial director for factual, added: “This innovative model means we do not have to wait for a fully-fledged commission to get a project greenlit. Via our deal with Touchdown, we have developed the series together with a leading U.S. broadcaster, enabling it to come to fruition via a co-production arrangement. Banijay Rights has a long-standing and close relationship with Ovation and we are delighted to be working with them on this exceptional series.”