Australian PSB’s period piece Ladies in Black heads to UK and Ireland with UKTV streamer

UKTV is set to become the UK and Ireland home of ABC Australia’s tentpole drama Ladies in Black.

The sale, secured by ABC Commercial, is the latest for the Bunya Productions-made series, which is inspired by Madeleine St John’s bestselling novel. The series has already sold to Now TV in Hong Kong, YLE in Finland and Proximus Media House in Belgium.

Set in 1960s Sydney, Ladies in Black follows the lives of a group of department store employees navigating love, ambition, and identity during a time of sweeping societal change.

The series will be available to watch on UKTV’s free streaming platform U.

Melanie Rumani, global head of acquisitions for UKTV and BBC Studios called Ladies in Black a “captivating period drama from ABC Commercial” and added that the series is “exactly the calibre of high-quality and distinct drama that we want our viewers to keep coming back to ‘U’ for.”

“The series has already struck a chord with international viewers thanks to performances by the leading female actors; Debi Mazar, Miranda Otto and Jessica De Gouw, its compelling female-driven narratives, striking visual aesthetic, and lush, era-evoking soundtrack” said ABC Commercial’s manager of content sales Karen Quinn.

The acquisition builds on BBC Studios and UKTV’s partnership with ABC Commercial, with February’s re-upped multi-genre agreement seeing key British titles such as Death in Paradise and Father Brown head to Australia.

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