K7 UK Scripted Report Thursday 24 June 2021

A comprehensive weekly overview of comedy and drama programming in the UK.

The North Water Produced by See-Saw Films. Rhombus Media are co-producing

K7.Media K7 UK Scripted Report Thursday 24 June 2021

New Commissions and In Development DRAMA • Playground Entertainment has acquired the rights to George Simenon’s Inspector Maigret detective stories. The Colin Callender-owned indie will co-develop a premium returning drama series based on the stories along with Red Arrow Studios International.

Updates DRAMA • Filming has begun on Amazon's six-part thriller The Devil's Hour, with Jessica Raine (Patrick Melrose) and Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) leading the cast. Produced by Hartswood Flims. • Peaky Blinders director Otto Bathurst has come on board to direct BlackBox Multimedia and Stone Village's new adaptation of Frankenstein, with his company One Big Picture co-producing. • BBC2 has released first look images for its adaptation of Ian McGuire's thriller The North Water. Produced by See-Saw Films. Rhombus Media are co-producing. • ITV has released a series of first-look images for its six-part thriller Trigger Point which follows the Metropolitan Police Service’s Bomb Disposal Squad. The series hails from Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio and will star Vicky McClure (Line Of Duty). Produced by HTM Television and Hat Trick Productions. COMEDY • Further casting has been announced for ITV's comedy drama The Larkins which is based on H.E. Bates’ novel The Darling Buds of May. Produced by Objective Fiction, Genial Productions and Objective Media Group Scotland in association with All3Media International.

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New Commissions and In Development Drama

Inspector Maigret adaptations Production Playground co-developed with Red Company Arrow Studios International

All Creatures Great and Small prodco Playground Entertainment has acquired the rights to George Simenon’s Inspector Maigret detective stories. The Colin Callender-owned indie will co-develop a premium English-language returning drama series based on the stories along with Red Arrow Studios International. Having struck the deal with Georges Simenon Ltd, Playground now has access to all 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring the pipe-smoking French detective. K7Says: Written between 1931 and 1975, the best selling Maigret books have sold more than 600 million copies, and having been translated into more than 50 languages - have plenty of global popularity. This wide appeal no doubt motivated Playground and distributor Red Arrow to make this deal. With shows like Endeavour and Father Brown still massively popular around the world, the returnable period detective drama remains one of the UK's strongest niches in terms of finished tape sale.

Updates Drama

The Devil's Hour Broadcaster Amazon Prime Video UK Production Hartswood Flims Company

Filming has begun on Amazon's UK original six-part thriller The Devil's Hour, with Jessica Raine (Patrick Melrose) (pictured) and Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) leading the cast. It centres on Lucy (Raine), a mother who wakes up every night at 3:33am – the time when the devil is supposedly the strongest – while living with her withdrawn son. When she

K7.Media !3 of !6 K7 UK Scripted Report Thursday 24 June 2021 becomes connected to a string of murders, a link with her nightly risings begins to reveal itself. The cast will also include: Nikesh Patel (Starstruck), Meera Syal (Yesterday), Alex Ferns (Chernobyl), Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso), Barbara Marten (Sanctuary), Thomas Dominique (Blood Drive), Rhiannon Harper-Rafferty (The Donmar Warehouse’s All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy), John Alastair (Swimming with Men), Sandra Huggett (Coronation Street) and newcomer Benjamin Chivers.

Frankenstein Production BlackBox Multimedia, Stone Village, Company One Big Picture

Peaky Blinders director Otto Bathurst (pictured) has come on board to direct BlackBox Multimedia and Stone Village's new adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, with his production company One Big Picture. Bradley McManus (Bodyguard Of Lies) is penning the script adaptation for TV, which is reportedly set to stay true to the original story and characters for the most part – with the exception of modernising some elements of the story for viewers. There is currently no UK broadcaster attached to the project.

The North Water Broadcaster BBC2

Production See-Saw Films. Rhombus Company Media are co-producing Distributor BBC Studios

BBC2 has released a the first look images for its adaptation of Ian McGuire's thriller The North Water. The series is set in the UK and the ice floes of the Arctic in the late 1850s following Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon who has signed up to be a ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic. As he looks to escape his past, Sumner soon realises he is trapped on board with a killer and must not only survive the harsh climate, but the will of a psychopath. The production team spent three weeks filming on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. They journeyed as far as 81 degrees north to film sequences in the pack ice, which BBC Studios believes is the furthest point north a drama has ever been shot before The cast includes Stephen Graham (Line Of Duty), Tom Courtenay (The Aeronauts), Peter Mullan (Top Of The Lake), Sam Spruell (Legend), Roland Møller (Atomic Blond), Philip Hill- Pearson (Three Girls) and Kieran Urquhart (Vera) are all set to star opposite Jack O’Connell (Unbroken) and Colin Farrell (The Lobster).

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Trigger Point Broadcaster ITV

Production HTM Television, Hat Trick Company Productions

ITV has released a series of first-look images for its six-part thriller Trigger Point which follows the Metropolitan Police Service’s Bomb Disposal Squad. The series hails from Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio’s indie HTM Television and will also star Line of Duty's Vicky McClure. The London-based series follows Bomb Disposal Squad officers known as 'Expos' who risk their lives daily. Lana Washington (McClure) is ex-military and an experienced operative who is pushed to breaking point after believing her unit is being targeted by a terrorist organisation. Daniel Brierley has created the series – which is his debut TV drama commission – and Jed Mercurio, Jimmy Mulville, Mark Redhead and Jessica Sharkey are all on board as executive producers.

Comedy

The Larkins Broadcaster ITV

Production Objective Fiction, Genial Company Productions and Objective Media Group Scotland in association with All3Media International

Further casting has been announced for ITV's comedy drama The Larkins which is an adaptation of H.E. Bates’ novel The Darling Buds of May. This includes Peter Davison (Law & Order: UK) (pictured), Kriss Dosanjh (Intruder), Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey), Seeta Indrani (Catastrophe), Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet), Stephen Hagan (Lucky Man), Francesca Waterworth, Barney Walsh (Law & Order: UK), Tony Gardner (Last Tango In Halifax) and Selina Griffiths (Dial M For Middlesbrough). The six-parter will be set in the 1950s and follow the Larkins, a working class family consisting of Pop and his wife Ma along with their six children. Even though they have an overall goodheartedness, the family often have disputes with the local authority and villagers. Despite this Pop's daughter Mariette begins to share a love story with village newcomer Cedric who originally arrived to investigate the Larkins’ tax affairs. A previous adaptation of the novel starring David Jason, Pam Ferris and Catherine Zeta- Jones was a sizeable hit for ITV in the early 90s.

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K7 Media is not an audience research bureau, therefore can only provide data on ratings where this is available in the public domain.

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