Friday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Murderbot returns to Apple TV+

Apple TV+ has ordered a second season of sci-fi series Murderbot ahead of its season one finale on Friday.

The show stars and is executive produced by Alexander Skarsgård, having been created by Chris and Paul Weitz.

Murderbot is based on the first novella in Martha Wells’ book series of the same name and is a sci-fi thriller/comedy about a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients.

The series is from CBS Studios, with the Weitz brothers writing, directing and executive producing under their Depth of Field banner. Wells serves as consulting producer.

BBC orders Eleventh Hour’s Rebus

The BBC has ordered a second series of Scottish crime drama Rebus for BBC1 and BBC1 Scotland, produced by Eleventh Hour Films.

The BBC has boarded the title as a commissioner for the first time, having acquired the debut series from Nordic streamer Viaplay. Viaplay ordered the title as its first UK original before it subsequently pulled out of the UK market.

Written by Gregory Burke and based on the books by Ian Rankin, the 6 x 60-minute second series will again follow the titular detective sergeant John Rebus as he navigates the violent Edinburgh drug trade. Outlander’s Richard Rankin will reprise the lead role, and filming will take place in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The first six-part series, which launched in full on iPlayer last year, opened with 6.3m viewers across all platforms, according to the BBC. Read more

HGTV claims John Cena collection series

US cablenet HGTV has ordered unscripted series Junk or Jackpot? (wt) from 44 Blue Productions, with wrestler John Cena attached to exec produce.

The six-episode season follows collectors as they discover the true monetary value of their massive and unusual collections.

The series is slated to premiere on HGTV in late 2025 and will be hosted by designer and author Bobby Berk.

Banijay’s Helen Greatorex among new FRAPA additions

The Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) has added Helen Greatorex, the acquisitions head at Banijay Entertainment, to its advisory board.

Gretorex is joined by format expert Nathalie Wogue on the new-look board, which bring the total number of new appointments this year to five. Blink49’s Adam Steinman, Shimmer Media’s Pascal Dalton and Formatbiz’s Maria Chiara Duranti joined FRAPA’s mission last April.

FRAPA chairman Phil Gurin, president and chief exec of TGC Global Entertainment/The Gurin Company, said: “FRAPA is reshaping itself for the future, as is demonstrated by the addition of these respected formats executives to our refreshed and revitalised board.

“Our intention is to continue to evolve with the times, fine-tuning our mission, services and purpose to ensure we offer our members the support they need to navigate an increasingly complex formats marketplace.”