All the latest news from the global content industry on Tuesday, 21 October

 

Knickerbockerglory docs travel across Europe

Finance broker and distributor Silverlining Rights has closed multiple deals for four popular science and health documentaries produced by UK indie Knickerbockerglory for 5 in the UK.

DPG (Belgium), Virgin Media Television (Eire) and Hot 8 (Israel) have acquired Does My Kid Have ADHD?, with the show following three families as they navigate the emotional and medical challenges of raising children with ADHD.

Elsewhere, Will You Get Dementia has been picked up by TV2 (Norway), ARD Alpha (Germany), ORF (Austria), YLE (Finland), Virgin Media Television (Eire), LRT (Lithuania), RTBF (Belgium), RTL (Netherlands) and Hot 8 (Israel).

SBS (Australia), Virgin Media Television (Eire), and Hot 8 (Israel) have bought Does Your Partner Have OCD?, while Are You Autistic is heading to RTL (Netherlands), SBS (Australia), YLE (Finland), RBTF (Belgium), Virgin Media Television (Eire), TVN (Poland), and Hot 8 (Israel).

 

Sphere Abacus alum Marlo Miazga unveils Ground Control

Former Sphere Media exec Marlo Miazga is writing a memoir that details the tragic story of losing her 14-year-old child, Mars, to suicide in 2020 and its harrowing aftermath.

Ground Control (w/t) has been commissioned by Penguin Random House Canada and is set to be released in January 2027 with Katrina Onstad collaborating as co-writer. Miazga, who was president of unscripted, kids and family at Sphere Aabcus, said: “I recognise fully that this opportunity comes with the deep responsibility of sharing the agonising lessons I’ve learned.

“It is a very vulnerable examination of the space in which a parent is left to navigate after such an event. As a filmmaker and corporate leader in the film and television industry, I now know it’s my responsibility tell my story from a granular approach to help zoom out on youth mental health and the very real epidemic of suicide in our teens.”

The deal was brokered by Jody Colero and Steve Osgoode, literary agents at Toronto’s The Story Division, and Penguin Random House Canada’s vice president Sue Cavilla. Sarah St. Pierre and Meredith Dees are editors.

 

Bolytics unveils Chinese drama FAST channel  

Paris-based Bolytics has linked up with Shanghai Media Group’s subsidiary, WingsMedia, and Rakuten TV to launch a FAST channel focused on Chinese drama.

C-Drama NOW (Magnolia Time) is the first French-dubbed FAST channel dedicated exclusively to the genre and will become available in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Bo Zhang, founder of Bolytics and strategic partner of the business alliance, said she wanted to work with other partners “who share our passion for bringing diverse, high-quality stories to global audiences.”

Bolytics aims to link European media with China and was behind a deal earlier this year that saw streamer Sohu Video and a raft of local broadcasters picking up French-language period drama Voltaire In Love from Germany’s ZDF Studios.

 

Japanese dozen lands on HBO Max

HBO Max has rolled out a ‘Japanese Collection’ of 12 shows for its US subscribers.

The acquisition is part of a wider partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery and U-NEXT announced in, which also saw HBO Max launching on U-NEXT in Japan.

Shows in the package include: Love is for the Dogs, a romance based on the hit webtoon; culinary drama La Grande Maison Tokyo; legal series Ignite; and murder mystery Please Die My Beloved.

 

Alex Coffey upped at 53 Degrees

Production group 53 Degrees Global has promoted Alex Coffey to managing director, reflecting the TV and digital content outfit’s burgeoning presence across TV, live events, podcasting and digital content.

Coffey, who has been serving as chief operating officer, will work with 53 Degrees chief Nick Bullen to oversee the group’s strategy of diversifying revenue streams and identifying business opportunities in online content creation, as well as branded and corporate programming and live event production, alongside the core work of its TV content labels.

The group recently unveiled West Midlands-based drama label Mill Bay Media, which is headed by Will Trotter and Ollie Kent, as well as Love Monday, Spun Gold TV and Penny Lane Entertainment. Read more