Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

ZDF Studios expands Little Dot pact

Little Dot Studios has expanded its content partnership with Germany’s ZDF Studios.

All3Media-owned Little Dot will licence over 600 hours of programming from ZDFS, covering both German-language content for the GAS (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region and English-language titles for the UK and international markets.

Key distribution platforms include Little Dot Studios’ owned-and-operated YouTube channels, FAST, streamer History Hit, and Germany’s Waipu and Joyn.

Genres such as science, engineering and natural history, alongside historical biographics, are being prioritized, with shows including Women Who Made History and Ancient Superstructures among IP being made available.

France’s ZED unveils AI series

French factual producer ZED has unveiled a raft of shows featuring AI-powered reconstructions developed within its own studio.

The line-up includes William the Conqueror: The Great Landing for factual channel Novo19, which retraces the largest sea invasion of the Middle Ages to mark 1,000 years since the birth of the leader, and Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles (S3) for the same broadcaster.

Other shows include Knut, the Viking Emperor, which retraces the rise of a Viking warrior who united

Denmark, Sweden and England. It is being produced for Histoire TV, SVT in Sweden, Germany’s ZDF Studios and Sky History in the UK.

ZED said the shows would blend “state-of-the-art generative tools with historical expertise” to deliver “a level of realism and cinematic intensity rarely achieved in the genre.”

Dare Pictures to wind down

Derren Lawford’s indie Dare Pictures, the producer of titles including Channel 4’s Fugitive: The Mystery of the Crypto Queen, is winding down after four years.

Dare, which won emerging indie of the year at the Broadcast Awards in 2025, was also the producer behind UK Prisons Exposed and Geordie Stories: Sophie’s Fertility Journey. Lawford set up the indie in 2022 after leaving Woodcut Media, later securing backing from Asylum Entertainment Group.

Following its winding down, Lawford has entered a partnership with film an TV talent agency Stern & Wild, who will represent Lawford as an executive producer, showrunner and creative consultant for linear broadcasters, digital platforms and commercial brands.

He will continue to independently develop and produce original projects and IP, working directly with commissioners, partners and financiers on factual and cross-platform series. Read more

New Zealand’s Xytech buys Auckland facility

Auckland Film Studios (AFS) has been acquired by local production facility operator The Xytech Group.

The deal, which was first revealed in January, will see Auckland Council selling its stake in AFS, which has housed shows ranging from Xena: Warrior Princess to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for Amazon Prime.

The deal means Xytech now operates 10 stages across multiple sites, representing more than 500,000 square feet of combined production, workshop, and support facilities.

X3 Studios, which has hosted productions including three seasons of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth and Spartacus: House of Ashur. The deal comes amid renewed international interest in New Zealand as a production base, after the country updated its Screen Production Rebate.