ADVERTISEMENT EXTRA EDITION MIPCOM 2020 1012 EE Mediapro - MIPCOM_CVR1.indd 1 10/8/20 10:47 AM indeed! 1007 WV Guillermo del Toro - Ted Sarandos.FINAL.indd 1 9/30/20 2:29 PM MIPCOM 2020 BATTLE OF THE BRITS THE U.K. HAS BEEN A HOTBED OF PRODUCTION FOR GLOBAL-FACING SHOWS DURING THE PANDEMIC, BUT CAN IT SURVIVE A SECOND WAVE? By MANORI RAVINDRAN A SHORT-LIVED SENSE of security from plummeting corona- virus cases prompted several global-facing projects in the U.K. to restart over the summer, but as the threat of new COVID- 19 restrictions looms large, the industry is rushing to crank out film and TV productions this fall, in what could be the last gasp for production in 2020. A rising caseload prompted six-month-long restrictions on group gatherings and early clo- sures for the hospitality sector on Sept. 24, but the U.K. remains one of the most active production hubs in Europe. Getting cameras rolling, as evidenced by “The Batman” brouhaha, is a major gamble, but those who can afford to take the plunge say there’s much to be gained — if they can pull it off. Roughcut TV is shooting in south London, where cameras rolled Sept. 2 on six-part comedy “Bloods” for Comcast-backed PRODUCTION PERSISTENCE broadcaster Sky. Managing “Temple” crew members work with new safety measures, director Ash Atalla began plan- including masks. ning the shoot from the depths SKY VISION of lockdown in spring. VARIETY 3 MIPCOM 2020 “It felt insane that we’d get to film a meleonic backdrop for even the most TV show, but at some point, you have to complex productions. BBC Two’s Arc- make your best educated guess and say, tic thriller “The North Water,” starring ‘The end will be here’ [and start plan- Jack O’Connell and Colin Farrell, had ning],” Atalla tells Variety of his sev- one week left to shoot in northern Can- en-week shoot. “We tried to set a date ada, around icy Nunavut, when the pan- that felt optimistic but not impossible.” demic forced a shutdown. Producer See- The Emmy-nominated producer says Saw Films waited several months to see this period is a “sweet spot” for interna- if they could return, but adverse fall tional distribution, where a handful of weather conditions prevented a reshoot. freshly completed projects will be given “CGI saved the day on that project. We more exposure by distributors facing a elected to shoot on stage against green dearth of new shows to sell. screens,” says Nicky Earnshaw, head of “Get it done now, and those distribu- production, detailing the shoot at Lon- tors who have brand new titles to launch don’s Black Hangar Studios’ 32,000 next year might feel like they have a square-feet of uninterrupted floor space. much more valuable asset,” urges Atalla. Earnshaw reckons the extra costs and While the U.K. production sector isn’t time associated with the British Film impacted by the new 10 p.m. curfew for Commission’s industry-standard COVID- bars and restaurants, Prime Minister 19 protocols have added around 10%- Boris Johnson’s warning that more “fire- 20% to the budget, but overall, the Lon- power” will be employed if cases — pro- don shoot was practical given stars such jected to reach 49,000 a day by mid-Oc- as O’Connell were already there. “We’re tober — don’t fall has made many in the lucky that we have U.K.-centric projects industry nervous about the near future. on our slate,” says Earnshaw. Further complicating matters is that Although there are travel restrictions a government-backed indemnity fund for countries that require quarantines, SAFETY IS NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL underwriting projects with budgets of a government waiver for individuals “The North Water” (above) shut down production in Canada up to £5 million ($6.4 million) per pro- with only one week to go and completed it in the U.K. on a filming has come in handy for See-Saw, duction, announced in July, has yet to soundstage using green screen, but “Father Christmas Is she says. even go live. Back” (below) completed its shoot during the pandemic. Studios such as Lionsgate are also “When you consider the weather and taking advantage where they can. “For daylight hours, there was a little window us, it’s the U.K. for now,” says Marc in late summer and autumn [that was safe protocols and the promise of an Lorber, senior vice president, interna- available to shoot] and it felt like that insurance scheme has provided crit- tional co-productions and acquisitions. insurance scheme wasn’t quite up and ical assurance, says MSR Media boss The studio is shooting Starz’s “The Girl- running quick enough,” says Atalla. Philippe Martinez. The York-based pro- friend Experience” over 10 weeks in Some shows, however, are taking win- ducer recently completed Christmas London, while BBC Wales thriller “The ter in their stride. Mark Strong-fronted comedies “Miss Willoughby and the Pact” is in its second week in Cardiff. drama “Temple,” another London-set Haunted Bookshop” and “Father Christ- Lorber says COVID-19 safeguards Sky show, is in the midst of a 90-day mas Is Back,” starring Kelsey Grammer, cost the studio only 10%-18% of a bud- shoot stretching through to January. Elizabeth Hurley and John Cleese. get, but they have been generating costs “We have to live with this virus for “The first question we had was “no one accounted for” previously, such months, so it’s important that shows whether these stars would agree to work as housing actors who need to quaran- that are up and running can prove you during COVID-19, and to our surprise, tine for 14 days. “And as wonderful as can work in these conditions,” says Liza people who don’t need to work because the [government’s insurance plan] is the Marshall, head of production company they’re financially sound said ‘yes,’” portal hasn’t [gone live yet],” he says. Hera Pictures. Martinez says. While the government has so far Casting has proven tricky for Hera Clauses requiring actors to return to exempted film and TV from another because actors who’d normally flit the film within 12 months if there was a shutdown, Lorber, like many, ponders between jobs aren’t being released by COVID-19 interruption were also added what a “circuit-breaker lockdown” — a some broadcasters. “People are trying to contracts. two-week shutdown of all but essential to hold on to actors for their own jobs,” “We had no cover, so we took that workplaces to limit the spread of the says the BAFTA-nominated producer. responsibility,” says Lee Beasley, man- virus — might look like. But keeping it local has meant keeping aging director of MSR Media. “If some- “Are we furloughing people? Is there business contained. thing happened, we’d have had to shut government support covering that? Or is it “During lockdown, in all my conversa- down and reschedule.” that things are on hold and no one is get- tions with Sky, it felt like this show was But ultimately, the insular environ- ting paid? Will there be storage and set more achievable than others that were ment of the Yorkshire countryside was security you have to pay for? We all have a pushed to spring because they’re set in conducive to COVID-era filming. “It nagging anxiety in the back of our heads,” different countries,” Marshall says. really is a bubble,” says Beasley. “We he admits. “Everyone dealt with a lock- Getting cameras rolling anywhere managed to film two multimillion-dollar down, but multiple lockdowns would be during a pandemic isn’t a decision productions in the past three months.” financially difficult. Making TV series is taken lightly, but the U.K.’s early COVID- Indeed, the U.K. has become a cha- not something you can do from home.” MSR MEDIA CHRISTMAS: FATHER FILMS LIMITED; NICK WALL/HARPOONER WATER: NORTH 4 VARIETY WHERE SERIES BEGIN SPOILER ALERT SERIES MANIA FORUM WILL BE BACK! LILLE GRAND PALAIS, FRANCE & ONLINE Untitled-6 1 10/8/20 1:20 AM MIPCOM 2020 BIG NAMES BEGET EARLY INTEREST VIACOMCBS INTRODUCES can take some comfort that they know about their private lives and fears and ‘THE STAND’ AND ‘WALKER’ more or less what they’re getting into.” desires,” says Cavell. Both of these properties have had Both shows also boast an ensem- By Danielle Turchiano changes made to them for the new ver- ble cast of global stars: “The Stand” fea- sions. “Walker” is still “a love song to tures Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi SOMETIMES IP IS A BONUS when selling a Texas,” Fricke says, but the show now Goldberg, James Marsden and Owen show, and sometimes it’s more crucial. centers on a titular character who is a Teague, to name a few, while “Walker” Two key properties coming to Mip- widower who moves back to his fami- is centered on “Supernatural” co-lead com from ViacomCBS Global Distribu- ly’s ranch, making the series more of a Padalecki and includes Mitch Pileggi, tion Group this year are new iterations of multi-generational “family soap” than the Keegan Allen and Lindsey Morgan. beloved stories: Josh Boone and Benja- original. This new version of “The Stand” All of these elements have added min Cavell’s nine-part adaptation of Ste- tells its story about the survivors of a up to ViacomCBS making some early phen King’s 1978 post-apocalyptic tome deadly plague who fall on opposite sides licensing deals, but Cohen says there “The Stand,” and Anna Fricke’s “reimag- of good and evil in a non-linear way, and are still plenty more territories avail- ining” of the 1990s modern-classic with a brand new coda from King himself able for both properties.

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