London, UK – Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of TV series and feature films, STUDIOCANAL, has closed major drama deals in Australia and New Zealand it announced today.
A drama package including HARLAN COBEN’S THE FIVE, SECTION ZÉRO and BARON NOIR has been signed by SBS Australia, the country’s leading multilingual and multicultural network, to premiere on its video-on-demand service SBS On Demand, 30 June. Additionally, in New Zealand free-to-air network Prime has acquired THE FIVE.
HARLAN COBEN’S THE FIVE, an original 10-part drama thriller series for television by the nine-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, produced by RED Production Company (Happy Valley), will also make its free-to-air debut to Australian audiences on SBS 1 during the 3rd quarter of 2016. In New Zealand, THE FIVE will premiere on Prime on June 12. Following its world premiere on the UK’s Sky 1, the series launched in France, airing on the number one Pay TV channel, CANAL+, and most recently premiered on Israel’s top satellite service provider, YES DBS.
Also included in the package deal with SBS Australia is SECTION ZÉRO, a dark, edgy and violent political sci-fi thriller from César-nominated writer and director Olivier Marchal (Braquo). A CANAL+ Création Originale, produced by EuropaCorp Television, Bad Company and Umedia, the series premiered on CANAL+ this April.
Finally, the suspenseful, epic political drama and CANAL+ Création Originale BARON NOIR will make its Australian debut with SBS exclusively on its SBS On Demand platform on 30 June. From creators and writers Eric Benzekri and Jean-Baptiste Delafon (Maison Close), directed by Ziad Doueiri (L’Attentat) and produced by Kwaï, BARON NOIR premiered earlier this year to critical acclaim on CANAL+.
Marshall Heald, Director, TV and Online Content, SBS Australia, says, “Australian’s love high quality drama series and we’re committed to bringing them the very best the whole world has to offer – hand-picked and curated by our team of experts here at SBS. Gritty crime thrillers like THE FIVE, political dramas like BARON NOIR and dark sci-fi series like SECTION ZÉRO bring something fresh and exciting to our world drama slate. We’re thrilled to offer these three leading dramas from STUDIOCANAL to Australian audiences as part of SBS’s world drama package, free, in full and exclusive to SBS On Demand.”
Karen Bieleski, Sky TV’s Head of General Entertainment & Prime, says, “We’re excited to premiere Harlan Coben’s gripping new series, THE FIVE, on Prime this month. Packed full of suspense, intrigue and action, this is high quality drama that Prime’s audience will enjoy.”
Katrina Neylon, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, STUDIOCANAL, commented, “We’re very pleased to see leading broadcasters in Australia and New Zealand picking up this selection of our latest new content. With their compelling blend of contemporary, globally-relevant storylines and high quality production values, these series have attracted strong interest in the international market since their recent launch, underlining our position as the go-to distributor for primetime drama content.”
Elizabeth Trotman, CEO of STUDIOCANAL Australia/New Zealand, added, “All three series offer fantastically gripping drama showcased by some of the world’s leading talent both on and off screen, and we know they will keep viewers hooked from the very start. International scripted drama continues to be in strong demand across Australia and New Zealand, and I’d like to thank Tim Stuart, our EVP Digital & TV Asia Pacific, for brokering these deals for three titles that represent some of the best new content available in the global market.”
Additional sales STUDIOCANAL has completed with SBS Australia include the critically acclaimed series: Spotless, the dark, irreverent and edgy one-hour CANAL+ Création Originale drama series, produced by TANDEM Productions; and the pan-European commission from CANAL+ and Sky, The Last Panthers, produced by Haut et Court TV and Warp Films in co-production with SundanceTV, in joint distribution with Sky Vision.
ABOUT HARLAN COBEN’S THE FIVE (10 x 1-hour)
An original drama for Sky 1 in the UK, produced by RED Production Company (Happy Valley), THE FIVE is the first original story Coben has written exclusively for the screen. The series is an electrifying and gripping thriller starring Tom Cullen, O-T Fagbenle, Lee Ingleby, Sarah Solemani, Geraldine James and Michael Maloney. With a screenplay by BAFTA and Emmy Award®-winning writer, Danny Brocklehurst and directed by Mark Tonderai, THE FIVE is an unmissable television event for Coben’s millions of fans around the world and will introduce a completely new audience to his unparalleled blend of suspense, humour and hope.
When they were twelve years old, Mark (Tom Cullen), Pru (Sarah Solemani), Danny (O-T Fagbenle) and Slade (Lee Ingleby) were out together in the park. Mark’s five-year-old brother, Jesse, was annoying them. They were mean – told him to get lost. Jesse ran away. He was gone. Never seen again. Twenty years later, Danny – now a detective – learns some shocking news. Jesse’s DNA has been found at a murder scene. He is alive and out there. Somewhere.
For more info:
https://www.screening.studiocanaltvseries.com/content/show/719702
ABOUT SECTION ZÉRO (8 x 1-hour)
Produced by EuropaCorp Television, Bad Company and Umedia for CANAL+ (France), SECTION ZÉRO is set in the near future, where multi-national corporations are Europe’s new leaders. One of the most powerful, Prometheus, wishes to further secure their growing dominance by replacing the police force with their own private militias, the Black Squad, led by Henry Munro (Pascal Greggory, La Vie en Rose). Following the shooting of his daughter, and with his life in shambles and his darkest secrets exposed, Sirius Becker (Ola Rapace, Skyfall), an idealistic law enforcement officer with nowhere to turn, aligns himself with an old cop Franck Varnove (Tchéky Karyo, The Missing). Sirius takes charge of Franck’s clandestine elite squadron, Section Zéro, to battle these dark violent militias, promising a return to traditional law enforcement before the world they’ve known disappears forever.
For more info:
https://www.screening.studiocanaltvseries.com/content/show/735763
ABOUT BARON NOIR (8 x 1-hour)
Produced by Kwaï, the CANAL+ Création Originale BARON NOIR is an epic drama full of intrigue and suspense. French politician Philippe Rickwaert (Kad Merad, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) thirsts for revenge against his political enemies. With his career in shambles after he is sacrificed by the presidential candidate in order to save his election, step by step, Philippe, as deceitful as he is sincere, plots his vengeance while cultivating diverse friendships from the police to the criminal underworld. His life is fascinating, organized chaos as he continuously faces both his enemies and his own demons.
For more info:
https://www.screening.studiocanaltvseries.com/content/show/843802
ABOUT SBS
With a background as Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, SBS holds a unique place in the Australian media landscape. As described in the SBS Charter, SBS’s principal function is to provide multilingual, multicultural and Indigenous radio, television and digital media services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians, reflecting Australia’s diverse society. SBS carries out this function through an ever-increasing number of distribution platforms including free-to-air television channels, subscription television, analogue and digital radio, online, and via mobile devices and apps. SBS inspires all Australians to explore, appreciate and celebrate our diverse world, and in doing so contributes to a cohesive society.
For more information visit www.sbs.com.au Twitter: @SBS Facebook: Facebook.com/SBSAustralia
ABOUT PRIME
Prime's most popular shows include the best of both local and international television from The Brokenwood Mysteries, Piha Rescue, Crayfishers, Forensics and Prime News, to Poldark, Scorpion, Doctor Who, Top Gear, NCIS New Orleans and Limitless. Regular slots Prime Rocks and Weekend Murders are also top performers for the channel.
Bones, Elementary, and the highly-anticipated And Then There Were None, The Five, Dr Thorne, and Jericho enhance Prime’s drama line-up, along with local favourites The Crowd Goes Wild and Back Benches.
Prime is fully owned by SKY Network Television. For further information please visit Prime’s website at www.primetv.co.nz.
ABOUT STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL is Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series. STUDIOCANAL operates directly in all three major European markets, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. STUDIOCANAL has fully-financed recent box office hits like Paddington, Shaun the Sheep and Non-Stop. Upcoming films backed by STUDIOCANAL include The Commuter featuring Liam Neeson, and Nick Park's stop-motion movie Early Man, with Aardman Studios. STUDIOCANAL is actively developing and distributing high-end TV series through its network of award-winning subsidiary production companies including Tandem Productions in Germany (Crossing Lines, Spotless) and the UK's RED Production Company (The Five, Happy Valley). STUDIOCANAL is partnered with SAM Productions, a Danish company founded by Søren Sveistrup (The Killing), Adam Price (Borgen), and Meta Louise Foldager (A Royal Affair). The UK based GUILTY PARTY PICTURES, an associate partner of STUDIOCANAL, is run by the producer Spencer Millman, (Harry Hill's TV Burp), and the actors and writers Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners) and Jonny Sweet (Chickens). FINAL TWIST is an independent production company launched by the international bestselling author Harlan Coben in partnership with RED's Nicola Shindler. Most recently, STUDIOCANAL announced investments in Benedict Cumberbatch's UK production company, SUNNYMARCH TV, the Madrid-based BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES (Grand Hotel, Velvet), and the UK's URBAN MYTH FILMS, founded by Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy (Merlin) and Howard Overman (Misfits). Additionally, STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important film libraries in the world, with more than 5,000 international titles. STUDIOCANAL's parent company, CANAL+ Group, is fully-owned by Vivendi, a global media and content production and distribution group.
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Media Contacts:
STUDIOCANAL
Isabelle Fedyk
VP Marketing/Press
Tel +49 (89) 96 22 83 24, mobile +49 173 53 13 537
Isabelle.Fedyk@studiocanaltv.com
Mitch Zamarin
Press & PR Manager
+49 (89) 96 22 83 14, mobile, +49 174 185 32 14
Mitch.Zamarin@studiocanaltv.com