Clapperboard and Buccaneer adapt books, as Fulwell73, Lambent, Wag and Soilsiú land unscripted projects
Paramount+ has unveiled a major expansion to its UK originals slate, with book adaptation dramas from Clapperboard and Buccaneer Media, and non-scripted series from Fulwell73, Lambent, Wag and Soilsiú Films.
The shows, ordered by Ben Frow’s team in London, comprise 27 hours in total and will be exclusively available on Paramount+ in the UK following the launch of the service this summer.
The two dramas were commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell, deputy chief content officer, UK, Paramount, as part of the streaming service’s plan to greenlight 50 new international scripted originals in 2022.
The Ex-Wife is a 4 x 60-minute psychological thriller adapted from the novel of the same name.
The series is co-produced by Clapperboard Studios, BlackBox Multimedia and Night Train Media, with Night Train Media financing and controlling worldwide distribution rights with All3Media International.
It stars Céline Buckens (Showtrial) as Tasha, a woman with a perfect house, a loving husband and a beautiful little girl – but whose husband’s ex-wife won’t leave them alone.
It is written by Catherine Steadman, who will also serve as executive producer alongside Mike Benson for Clapperboard, Giuliano Papadia and Chiara Cardoso for BlackBox Multimedia, Olivia Pahl and Herbert Kloiber for Night Train Media, and the book’s author Jess Ryder.
Andy Morgan (Tin Star) is producer and Brian O’Malley (The Lodgers) will direct the series.
The Burning Girls (6 x 60-minute) is a thriller adapted from CJ Tudor’s novel about a village haunted by a dark history.
Produced by Buccaneer Media in association with Viacom International Studios, it tells the story of a female vicar and single mum to 15-year-old daughter, who moves to new home in a town where two young girls were betrayed and burned at the stake 500 years ago, and two teenage girls disappeared without a trace 30 years ago. The village, Chapel Croft, is rife with conspiracies and secrets.
The executive producers are Richard Tulk-Hart, Tony Wood, CJ Tudor and Hans Rosenfeldt (Marcella, The Bridge), who is also the lead writer. Camilla Ahlgren (The Bridge) is also part of the writing team.
Unscripted
In non-scripted, Fulwell73 is producing LA Hairdressers (w/t) in association with Endeavor Content.
The 8 x 60-minute access piece will explore the personal and professional lives of two legendary LA hairdressing establishments, which cater for the Hollywood elite.
Leo Pearlman and Sheldon Lazarus will executive producer for Fulwell 73 and Endeavor Content will handle global sales.
The series was ordered by Kit Morey, commissioning editor for Paramount+ UK, and Daniel Pearl, vice president of unscripted UK for Paramount+ UK.
Lambent has won a 3 x 90-minute box set anthology that will tell the respective tales of Gucci, Versace and Burberry. Fashion House (w/t) is being made in association with All3Media International and Night Train Media, and Ian Denyer, Kate Misrahi and Clare Richards will each direct an episode of the series.
The series was ordered by Lucy Willis, commissioning editor for Paramount+ UK. Executive producers for Lambent are Emma Tutty and Ollie Tait.
Pervert: Catching the Strip Search Caller (w/t) is a 3 x 60-minute true crime series about a hoax caller who targeted fast food restaurants across America. The Wag Entertainment series is about a caller who posed as a police officer investigating a theft and instructed managers to strip-search young women that he said were suspects.
It features testimonies from investigators, victims and the people who were duped into committing strip-search crimes.
Executive producers for Wag Entertainment are Bridget Boseley and Steven Green, and the director is Sara Mast.
The show was commissioned by Denise Seneviratne, commissioning editor for Paramount+ UK.
Finally, Girl, Taken is produced by Soilsiú Films, and Irish indie based in Navan, County Meath. The feature doc tells the story of Celeste and Morne Nurse, whose baby daughter Zephany was stolen from hospital two days after her birth in Cape Town, April 1997. They discover she has grown up just a few miles away when they find her 17 years later, but the process of reuniting the family is complicated.
The 92-minute film is made in association with Screen Ireland, M-Net and Abacus Media Rights which will handle global sales.
The executive Producers are Lesley McKimm for Screen Ireland, Jonathan Ford for Abacus Media Rights and Guy Davies for Paramount+.
The South African partners and executive producers are M-Net’s Allan Sperling and Nicola van Niekerk. David Rane is the producer for Soilsiú Films. Francois Verster also produces and directs the film alongside Simon Wood. The film was ordered by Guy Davies, VP commissioning editor for Paramount+ UK.
The precise nature of the rights of each programme on the slate have yet to be confirmed, but the presence of several distributors among the co-pro partners indicates many of them will have sales opportunities around the world.
Paramount+ is set to launch in South Korea, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA), and Italy in 2022.
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