Thursday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Spain’s Zebra strikes Turkish pact

Memento Mori outfit Zebra Producciones, the fiction brand of TF1 Studios-owned iZen Group, has signed a coproduction pact with Turkey’s InterMedya. 

The Spanish production firm will coproduce at least three series in countries such as Mexico, Spain and the US this year with InterMedya, the companies said.

InterMedya is known for high-profile telenovelas while Zebra will launch Day One for Prime Video next year, following the streamer’s acquisition of Memento Mori.

iZen’s chief exec described the deal as being “a strategic milestone in our vision of bringing high-quality stories beyond borders,” while InterMedya boss Can Okan said the move ”reinforces our position as pioneers in international co-productions.”

Japan’s NHK picks up Espresso package

Espresso Media International has closed a 16-title package deal with Japan’s NHK for its SVOD service, covering a raft of docs.

Shows include the new John Lennon and Yoko Ono documentary Daytime Revolution from director Erik Nelson, which tells the story of one week in 1972 when the couple took over The Mike Douglas Show, shocking mainstream audiences with their frank discussions of everything from sex to police violence.

Other docs include JFK: 24 Hours That Changed the World, Moscow’s Dirty Gold Rush, and Category: Woman, the latter directed by Phyllis Ellis, who explores sex verification in sports.

Prime Video extends UK’s LOL

Amazon Prime Video’s hit comedy reality format LOL: Last One Laughing UK has secured a second series, following an impressive debut run.

The UK iteration of the international format, which sees Jimmy Carr as host, will return for a second six-part series in 2026 on Prime Video worldwide and will continue to be produced by Banijay UK labels Zeppotron and Initial.

Series one has been one of the breakout domestic originals for Amazon since its launch in March, tickling over 6m viewers within the first month of its release in the UK. Read more

BBCS adapts Crookhaven novels

BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions is making a TV adaptation of Crookhaven, based on JJ Arcanjo’s book series.

The show has been created for TV by Justin Young (Ripper Street, Death In Paradise, Sanditon) and begins shooting in Northern Ireland on Friday. It is set to premiere on BBC iPlayer in the UK in early 2026.

The family adventure series is set at mysterious Crookhaven School where high achieving young crooks from across the world are secretly selected to hone their skills in disciplines such as deception, crimnastics, forgery and infiltration, learning how to use their skills for good and to do what is right in their own way.

C4’s Patience sold into Europe, APAC

TV4 in Sweden, Mystery Channel/AXN in Japan and Cosmo in Spain have picked up UK drama Patience via deals with Beta Film.

The detective drama is produced by Eagle Eye Drama and debuted on the UK’s C4 earlier this year, with an expanded eight-episode second series in the works.

Other buyers include TV2 for Norway, DR for Denmark, NPO for the Netherlands, YES for Israel, Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand for their Channel Three for New Zealand and Canal+ for Poland.

TF1 orders Satisfaction’s Focus

France’s TF1 has ordered Focus, the latest show to emerge from Sea Naval coproducer Satisfaction Group.

The mental competition format features 50 contestants competing across six levels of increasing difficulty, each designed to test one of the brain’s core abilities: logic, calculation, memory, visual perception, spatial awareness, and language.

Arthur Essebag, founder of Satisfaction Group, hosts, and described the format as ”fast-paced, emotional, and surprisingly addictive.” 

Viaplay to sell FLX’s Golden Boys

Viaplay Content Distribution has picked up sales rights to financial drama Golden Boys.

The 4 x 44-minute series is produced by FLX for TV4 and spans St. Tropez, London, Geneva and Stockholm.

The story, which has been inspired by real events, charts the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of two ambitious cousins fronted by a cash-strapped British aristocrat who execute a daring takeover of a Swedish investment company.

Ivica Zubak (A Hustler’s Diary) directs and Erik Hultkvist (Blinded) is writer alongside Per Gavatin (Swedish Dicks) and Tapio Leopold (Trouble). Cast includes Adam Lundgren, Erik Svedberg-Zelman and Viktor Björkberg.