Ovation Bulks Up Schedule with FME Premieres

SANTA MONICA: Ovation and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) have set the U.S. premieres for the dramatic mini-series Laconia and What To Do When Someone Dies as well as the two-hour feature Holy Flying Circus for the channel’s new branded programming night, The Best You’ve Never Seen.

Laconia is written by Alan Bleasdale and was inspired by the true story of cruise ship turned troop ship that was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-156. What To Do When Someone Dies is based on the best-selling novel by Nicci French. The 3×1-hour production was originally made for ITV1 in the U.K. Holy Flying Circus is a re-imagining of the controversy surrounding the release of Monty Python’s 1979 film Life of Brian.

“We’ll use these exceptional scripted dramas to launch our Saturday night The Best You’ve Never Seen slot,” said Kris Slava, the senior VP of programming at Ovation. “What we looked for and found is extraordinary artistic storytelling that will make people sit up and notice. We’re exploring a range of themes—important cultural stories told in truly creative ways; stories based on literature; iconic stories steeped in contemporary art and culture. This group of really strong dramas will let people know that something special is happening Saturday nights on Ovation, and keep them coming back again and again. We turned to FME because of their international reputation for quality; we’re also working with a number of other top distributors of scripted shows. It’s the start of a new era for Ovation.”

Lisa Honig, FME’s senior VP of programming distribution for North America, said, “We are delighted to help bring these three fantastic shows, from FME’s slate of compelling U.K. dramas, to Ovation’s audience of 51 million homes across the U.S. for the first time. It’s testament to the quality of the programs that they have been chosen to launch the network’s The Best You’ve Never Seen night.”