Hot Picks

Bismarck: 24 Hours To Doom

Type: Factual
Length: 1 x 60-minutes
Producer: Screen Story
Broadcasters: Channel 4 (UK)

‘Those stories, from the sailors and aviators involved in the battle, really bring the entire project to life’

The hunting of German battleship the Bismarck is one of the most iconic stories to emerge from World War II. Now it is being retold in a one-hour special documentary that uses CGI, drama reconstruction and compelling first-hand testimony.

The Bismarck was a formidable vessel that gained notoriety when it sank the Royal Navy ship HMS Hood in May 1941, killing 1,500 sailors. In response, British PM Winston Churchill ordered his forces to seek out the Bismarck and exact revenge. What ensued was the most famous sea battle of the conflict.

Beyond Rights head of sales Simona Argenti says: “This documentary is based on Iain Ballantyne’s best-selling book, 24 Hours To Doom. It was brought to us as a TV concept by producer David Gilbert, who has made highend factual films for the likes of the BBC and National Geographic.”

What really set the project apart, Argenti adds, is first-hand testimony that Ballantyne gathered while researching his book. “Those stories, from the sailors and aviators involved in the battle, really bring the entire project to life.”

Aside from the appeal of the eyewitness accounts, Argenti says it felt like the right time to revisit the story: “There is demand from buyers for high-quality history programming,” she says. “Plus it’s the 80th anniversary of the ship’s sinking.”

Beyond Rights pounced on the project at an early state – and holds international rights. The first major deal is a pre-sale to Channel 4. “We’re now in the final stages of post-production and will be presenting the end result to buyers around Mipcom,” says Argenti.

The fact-led approach will appeal to audiences across most European territories, she adds, with France, Germany and Italy key targets, alongside English-speaking markets.

As for the platforms where it might play, Argenti sees a natural affinity with public broadcasters. “But the production techniques and the countdown approach would work for a commercial audience. The streamers are also a potential home for this kind of factual event.”

Saved and Remade

Type: Factual-entertainment, Format
Length: 15 x 60-minutes
Producer: Red Sky Productions
Broadcasters: BBC2 (UK)

Playing on the immense interest in craft and recycling shows, Saved and Remade was commissioned by BBC2 to fill the gap left by trailblazing format The Repair Shop when it moved to BBC1 in April 2019.

In each episode, three contributors enter the Saved and Remade workshop and hand their treasured objects to a team of highly skilled craftspeople, who transform the neglected items into contemporary and functional pieces.

The makers use their expertise in carpentry, upholstery, metalwork, leather-making, jewellery, mechanics, textile design and sculpture to bring life back to forgotten objects.

Beyond Rights’ involvement in the show was a means of “nurturing the relationship” with producer Red Sky, says head of sales Simona Argenti.

Describing the show as “heartwarming and uplifting”, she adds that the format offers audiences a much-needed sense of escapism a year into the pandemic. “There are so many personable and personal stories everybody can relate to,” she says. “It goes back to the nostalgia of family, of the objects that everybody has got in their cupboards and in their attics.”

Beyond is dedicating its sales efforts to the distribution of both format and finished tape as part of the company’s new format drive following the success of BBC1 flagship entertainment competition series Pooch Perfect, which has secured orders in key territories the UK, US and Australia. The strategy signals a shift from Beyond’s portfolio of factual content.

“We do see that format is something that broadcasters and non-linear services are wanting to tap into,” Argenti adds.

In the case of Saved and Remade, the format lends itself to the international market due to the diversity of craftspeople in every country across the world.

“Everybody in Australia, in Italy, in Germany and in Asia will be able to make a version of this because there will be so many craftsmen in their countries, but also a lot of personable stories like these ones.

“Our strategy is to see what’s best for the show in each market and to make sure that we give our best service to the producer and to the show,” Argenti explains.

The series can easily be compared with The Repair Shop, which grew its reach exponentially during the pandemic and ushered in a flurry of craft/upcycling shows.

Argenti says Saved and Remade stands out from its rivals in part because of its celebration of diversity, something “everybody wants to see more of in today’s programming schedules”.

Beyond Rights is currently in discussions with format buyers in key territories and has received positive feedback from other markets interested in finished tape.

Public broadcasters are being targeted by the distributor, and Argenti considers the show to be “something that families would naturally sit down to dinner and watch in the access primetime”. Outside of this focus on “core viewing”, Beyond looks to target lifestyle channels and digital streaming services and hopes to come back for another series with the intention of making the show a long-running franchise.

“As usual we don’t have just one approach for any title,” Argenti says. “We just want to add value to what we do and have an ad hoc approach to every single region and market.”

Pooch Perfect

Type: Factual-entertainment, Format
Length: 8 x 60-minutes
Producer: Beyond Productions
Broadcasters: Seven (Australia), BBC (UK)

The UK-generated format is one of the first original shows to be developed out Beyond International’s (BYI) newly acquired UK production outfit Beyond Productions, which it purchased off Australia’s Seven West Media in July.

Pooch Perfect is a primetime entertainment format combining humans’ love of competitive reality shows and love of dogs. With dog ownership growing, the dog-grooming industry is also booming, and the show capitalises on this phenomenon. The format features sixteen professional dog groomers competing in a series of heats in some themed challenges to create epic transformations of adored family pets.

Each week, the groomers will reveal their creations on The Dogwalk, where the two expert judges will deliberate over the week’s canine contenders, and their owners are given the chance to see their newly transformed dogs for the first time. Over the course of the heats, quarter finals, semi-final and final, the stylists are gradually eliminated until one claims the title of the nation’s Top Dog Groomer.

An Australian version, presented by Hollywood actor Rebel Wilson was followed by a BBC1 commission in March, to be presented by Sheridan Smith early next year.

Kate Llewellyn-Jones, chief executive of Beyond Rights, says the series has been fortunate to coincide with an increase in people becoming dog owners over the pandemic, but that dog formats were perennially popular and not a “fad”.

“The response to it in the market has been extremely enthusiastic because it is a little bit zany and a point of difference to the catalogue”, she says. “It speaks to the audience and the broadcasters. It’s a format you understand straightaway, it’s very broad and easily formattable to different territories.”

The BBC commission has already attracted interest from European buyers who are interested in both the format and the readymade series, and both traditional platforms and regional and international SVoD services have registered their attention. Llewellyn-Jones expects strong interest from North American buyers too, following the TX of the UK version.