British productions shine in Series Mania Buyers Upfront

Two British produced dramas are among 10 international scripted titles earmarked for the Series Mania Buyers Upfront event.

Balloon Entertainment’s BBC Scotland legal drama Counsels and Hartswood Films’ Channel 4 political comedy drama Number 10 have been selected by the Series Mania Festival’s artistic team for the second edition of the event on 23 March.

The upfront event is designed specifically for acquisitions execs as a prelude to the Forum, and one of the titles will win the Buyers Choice Award, selected by the six-person jury of key buyers.

The 8 x 60-minute Counsels, distributed by All3Media International, was ordered by BBC Scotland as one of three drama replacements for its axed soap River City. It follows five ambitious young lawyers navigating business relationships, friendships and love affairs.

The 6 x 60-minute Number 10, distributed by ITV Studios, hails from Sherlock writer Steven Moffat. It is a take on life at 10 Downing Street, starring Jenna Coleman, Rafe Spall, and Katherine Kelly.

France and Spain also have two titles respectively in the list.

The other eight titles are: France, Belgium and Canada’s drama Alice, about the life of filmmaker Alice Guy (Wild Bunch & Ligne de Front (France)/ Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique (Belgium)/ Sphere Media (Canada); Switzerland’s crime drama Blind (OneGate Media GmbH); Australian comedy Gnomes (Screen Invaders/ Total Fiction), Spain’s fertility comedy drama In Vitro (Moiré Films/ Rodar y Rodar/ Bullfrog Pictures in co-production with 3Cat and participation of HBO Max); Japan and Singapore’s gaming drama Lost and Found (Empire of Arkadia/ Mocha Chai Laboratories/ TV Man Union); French crime thriller R91 (Next Episode); Spain’s crime thriller The Dark Book: The Secret of the Egerias (w/t) (Studio TF1); Norwegian WW2 thriller The Traitor Within (Miso Film Norge).

Director of Series Mania Francesco Capurro said: “More than 100 top buyers from around the world have already signed up to discover a highly curated slate of premium series.

“We’re confident the initiative will help distributors accelerate international sales.

“With the Buyers Upfront, we continue to strengthen our position as the must-attend spring event for the scripted community, from creation to global distribution.”