Friday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

S4C in Wales reveals drama spend

Welsh-language broadcaster S4C has invested more than £136m in Welsh drama over the last 10 years, it has revealed.

Over this timeframe, the broadcaster has delivered series that have gained international audiences, such as Dal y Mellt /Rough Cut, which was the first Welsh-language series to be released on Netflix, and Bariau, which was broadcast in Australia, New Zealand and the US through streaming service Acorn TV.

S4C has also increased its collaborations with the likes of dual language co-commissions, such as Y Golau/The Light in the Hall (C4), Ar Ffin/Mudtown (UKTV) and upcoming drama Santa Maria (ITV).

Bravo acquires Hayu’s The Real Housewives of London

US cable network Bravo has picked up the first series of The Real Housewives of London, streamer Hayu’s debut original commission.

The series will begin on 21 July on Hayu’s NBCUniversal stablemate Bravo, with all episodes available to stream the next day on Peacock. The series originally premiered on Hayu in 2025 with series two recently wrapping production for airing later this year.

It is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio UK. 

Tides of Temptation to makr Lifetime’s vertical video debut

Lifetime is to launch a vertical video scripted series in partnership with US-based Microhouse Films.

Tides of Temptation will be rolled out on 7 July on the soon-to-be launched Microhouse Films platform, which is backed by US actor Taye Diggs among others.

The drama will be one of seven original projects debuting on the service, whihc aims to allow creators to produce, distribute and monetise work within a single ecosystem.

Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming at A&E, Lifetime and LMN, described the show as “one of the pillars of our vertical strategy”. The show was developed alongside Lifetime’s upcoming original movie, Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You, which also stars Diggs.