HBO Max Australia and Italy’s Rai open Bookish sales

HBO Max in Australia and Rai in Italy are among high-profile buyers of Mark Gatiss-starring UK drama Bookish.

The deals come ahead of the show’s second season launch on U&Alibi in the UK, after its first run became the second highest-performing premiere for the channel.

The 12 x 60-minute show, which has also been created and written by Gatiss, is produced by ITV Studios-owned Eagle Eye Drama in association with Happy Duck Films.

It has also been sold by distributor Beta Film to Radio-Canada, Sky New Zealand, Duomedia in the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), and Viasat World for its Epic Drama channel across Central and Eastern Europe.

The series was also acquired by Ajara TV Georgia for Georgia and BBC Brit has rights across Africa, meaning the show is now into more than 100 territories. PBS Distribution holds North American rights.

The second run again stars Polly Walker (Bridgerton) and Connor Finch alongside Gatiss in 1940’s post-war London, as they explore crimes.

The series is executive produced by Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino for Eagle Eye and Helen Perry for UKTV. Carolina Giammetta returns as director and executive producer alongside producer Jake Harvey, with episodes written by Mark Gatiss, Matthew Sweet and Ian Hallard.

The show has already sold to AMC Networks for Latin America and Brazil, BBC First for Benelux, Turkish Radio and Television TRT for Turkey, HRT for Croatia, DR for Denmark, SVT for Sweden, YLE for Finland, Spain’s Filmin, AXN White for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, among others.