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BBC3 returns to drama acquisitions

Goalpost Pictures and Pukeko Pictures' Cleverman

Goalpost Pictures and Pukeko Pictures’ Cleverman

BBC3 in the UK has made its first drama acquisition since its move online, picking up an Australian series about an ancient species’ battle with humans.

Cleverman (6×60′) is produced by Australia’s Goalpost Pictures and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures (Thunderbirds Are Go), in coproduction with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International. It is made with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.

The show is based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen and follows a group of non-humans who are battling for survival in a world where humans feel increasingly inferior and want to silence, exploit and kill them.

The series, sold by Red Arrow International, will debut to UK audiences later this year, following its world premiere on SundanceTV in the US on June 1 and on ABC and ABC iview in Australia on June 2.

It was commissioned by Australian pubcaster ABC’s Indigenous department and stars Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Frances O’Connor, Deborah Mailman, Hunter Page-Lochard, Rob Collins and Ryan Corr.

Henrik Pabst, MD at Red Arrow International, said the show “is one of the biggest and most ambitious shows to come out of Australia, and speaks to a growing world audience unafraid of adventurous TV.”

Sue Deeks, head of programme acquisition at the BBC, described the series as “incredibly original and ambitious.”

BBC3 ended its linear broadcast in February as the pubcaster grapples with reduced budgets.

Yesterday the BBC unveiled its latest cost-cutting measures following the release of the white paper about the future of the corporation last week, which included proposals to merge its global 24-hour news channel with its domestic news channel.

DSW 

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