REELZ Becomes U.S. Broadcast Home for The Real Story of…

LONDON/CANNES: REELZ has come on board as the exclusive U.S. broadcaster for the new original series The Real Story of… (working title), from U.K. factual producer World Media Rights.

The tentatively titled 6×1-hour series reveals the true stories behind some of the most famous Academy Award-nominated movies from recent years, separating fact from fiction. The Real Story of… combines dramatic recreations with news archive footage of the actual events and eyewitness testimony. The series will delve into the true stories behind films such as American Sniper, Unbroken, The Face of an Angel, Donnie Brasco and Munich.

The show represents World Media Rights’s first production for REELZ. It is executive produced by REELZ’s senior VP of programming, Steve Cheskin and World Media Rights’s creative director, Matthew Barrett. ITV Studios Global Entertainment will distribute the series internationally, excluding the U.S.

“We’re delighted to be working with The REELZ Network on this series, which harnesses our expertise in original research and drama reconstruction,” said World Media Rights’s CEO Alan Griffiths, who negotiated the deal with Cheskin. “This will be a great series as the real stories behind many movies are often stranger and more interesting than how Hollywood portrays them.”