Thursday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

France’s Bataclan drama sells across Europe

Movistar+ in Spain is among a host of buyers of Those Who Lived, the France Télévisions drama that tells the story of seven survivors held hostage during the Paris attacks of 2015 at the Bataclan who went on to form a unique friendship.

The show, which debuted on France 2 last year to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks has also been sold by Federation International to Nos Lusomundo (Portugal) and HOT (Israel), following previous deals with HBO Max (France), Nova (Greece), SVT (Sweden) and RTS (Switzerland).

Those who lived was commissioned by France Télévisions and presold to RTBF (Belgium), with Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (The Staircase) directing. It is produced by What’s Up Films (Matthieu Belghiti), Mizar Films (Nicolas Mauvernay) and NAC Films (Jérôme Corcos), and written by Lestrade and Antoine Lacomblez.

Tempatation Island travels to Denmark

Viaplay has ordered a Danish version of Banijay Entertainment’s reality format, Temptation Island.

The show is being produced by Mastiff Denmark and marks the 28th adaptation of the format, which first launched in the US in 2001 and was acquired by Banijay in 2012.

Temptation Island sees couples embark on a journey to test their commitment. Separated into two villas, the couples interact with a group of singles to determine if their love is strong enough to withstand the temptations and challenges.

Mastiff Denmark already produces a Danish version of Love is Blind, recently announced by Netflix, and local adaptations of global formats such as Survivor, SAS: Who Dares Wins and Portrait Artist of the Year.

Series Maven picks up Candour’s Dunblane Tapes

Channel 4 documentary The Dunblane Tapes has been picked up for global distribution by Canada-based Serial Maven Studios.

The 1 x 90-minute doc is from Candour Productions and blends personal archives with contemporary interviews to explore the aftermath of the 1996 Dunblane school shooting and the grassroots campaign that led to handgun reform in the UK.

It features never-before-seen footage filmed by bereaved parent John Crozier, whose child was one of 16 killed during the school shooting.

The project was co-directed by Anna Hall and Niamh Kennedy. Serial Maven Studios oversees licensing and international production outside commissioning territories.

TVF strikes CEE sales

UK-based TVF International has sold a raft of documentaries and factual series to broadcasters in Central and Eastern Europe.

Ceska Televize, Telewizja Polsat, Canal+ Polska, Croatian pubcaster HRT and Slovak Television and Radio have acquired packages of up to 200 hours from the distributor, with titles ranging from Channel 4’s Great British Train Journeys from Above (4 x 47) to The World from Above.

Telewizja Polsat and TVF International are co-producing Poland from Above, a two-part aerial documentary showcasing the country’s natural beauty, while Canal+ Polska also licensed France TV’s Maria Callas: The Unsung Greek Years.

Telewizja Polska has also picked up Untold Arctic Wars from Finnish public broadcaster YLE, while TVN acquired current affairs titles China’s Abandoned Daughters from Singaporean public broadcaster CNA and Childhood Obesity: The Overlooked Pandemic from Movistar Plus+. All deals were brokered by senior sales manager, Elina Ishkhanova.

Secret Nazi Bases returns for S5

Canada’s Go Button Media has confirmed a fifth season of long-running series Secret Nazi Bases is in the works, with investment from UKTV.

The six-part season will begin production this summer, with delivery slated for spring 2027. It will again be sold outside of the UK and Canada by DCD Rights, which has sold the previous four seasons into more than 120 territories.

Pre-sale deals for S5 have been struck with as-yet unnamed broadcasters in New Zealand, Germany, Spain, the Nordics and Central and Eastern Europe.

Secret Nazi Bases blends history and engineering with storytelling and analysis to explore the hidden infrastructure and dark ambitions of the Nazi regime.

NBCU format extends UK run

ITV1 and ITVX in the UK are returning to their biggest ever ad-funded series, Hello Dolly’s interactive show Win Win with the Postcode Lottery.

The Saturday night entertainment format, sold globally by NBCUniversal Formats, sees one contestant walk away with a £1m jackpot after answering a series of questions.

Every prize won in the studio is also won by a viewer playing at home, creating a ‘win win’ for contestants and viewers alike.

The show is produced via BE Studio from ITV, a full-service creative studio that specialises in ad-funded entertainment. It brought Postcode Lottery and ITV together to co-fund the series.