London TV Screenings round-up: Day One

Tall Tales & Murder strikes sales

Germany’s ZDF and SBS in Australia have acquired buzzy drama Tall Tales & Murder following a deal with Avalon.

The dark comedy, which secured a two-season commitment from BBC Northern Ireland and RTÉ, stars Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Philippa Dunne (Amandaland) and Packy Lee (Peaky Blinders).

Written by Stuart Carolan (Love/Hate) and co-created with Chris Addison (Veep), the show is based on the eight-book Dublin Trilogy series by Caimh McDonnell.

It is produced and sold by Avalon (Breeders, Starstruck), in association with Ireland-based Metropolitan Pictures (Kin).

WBITVP unveils London slate

Warner Bros. International Television Production has revealed the key new titles for its London TV Screenings event on Thursday, including an Ian McKellan special and UK format See You in Court.

L.S. Lowry is the latest subject of Wall to Wall’s series of Unheard Tapes for the BBC, with McKellen lip-syncing to the famed UK artist’s own words in L.S. Lowry: The Unheard Tapes, while See You in Court is from the same prodco and seeks to help resolve serious disputes that might otherwise take years inside the legal system.

Meanwhile, Class Clowns is from WBITVP Australia for the ABC sees a group of comedians work within house teams to earn points across classic school day activities.

WBITVP Netherlands’ reality franchise Reality Queens of the Jungle: Family Edition, produced with local streamer Videoland, is also on the slate. It takes familiar reality stars to the jungle with someone who knows them best: a member of their own family.

Microdrama firm COL strike distribution deal

UAE-based Narativ Media has been appointed distributor for microdrama producer COL Group across MENA, Africa, and CIS territories.

The announcement, made at MIP London, will see Narativ leading on market development, platform alliances, broadcaster relationships and digital monetisation for COL across the regions.

The deal includes oversight of COL Group’s microdrama catalogue of more than 1,700 titles and AI-driven animation assets.

BBC unveils drama trio

BBC drama director Lindsay Salt has handed Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn’s Hot Sauce Pictures its debut commission, and greenlit projects from Clerkenwell and Drama Republic.

Patterson and Lawn, who are the scribes behind The Salisbury Poisonings and Blue Lights, have penned and will exec produce D-Notice. The duo set up Hot Sauce in 2022, later securing investment from Sony Pictures Television.

Baby Reindeer indie Clerkenwell is to produce the dark comedy Shy & Lola for BBC1, a six-part series is based on the French drama Cheyenne and Lola, written by Virginie Brac and produced by Lincoln TV and StudioCanal.

Riot Women indie Drama Republic is behind the 8 x 30-minute series 1536, based on Ava Pickett’s play which is heading to the West End this summer. Read more