BBC4 bags Belgian crime thriller

BBC4 in the UK has picked up 12-part Belgian drama Salamander as it continues its foreign acquisitions drive following success with series such as Wallander and The Killing.

Salamander is a Dutch-language thriller from Belgian prodco Skyline Entertainment, which recently ended its run on local pubcaster VRT’s flagship network A (fka TV1).

The 12×60’ series centres around a Brussels bank heist and is shot on location in the European Union capital.

BBC head of acquisitions Sue Deeks picked up rights via distributor Beta Films and is maintaining BBC4’s penchant for foreign-language series in the wake of controller Richard Klein’s recent exit.

“Salamander is a gripping, edge-of-the seat thriller. It will make a fantastic addition to our Saturday nights on BBC4,” said Deeks.

The channel has carved out a name for itself in subtitled drams and helped stimulate the international appetite for series from Scandinavia in particular.

As well as scoring success with Wallander and The Killing, its other popular pick-ups include Borgen, The Bridge and Inspector Montalbano, a prequel to which is coming up soon. Most recently BBC4 snagged rights to Swedish thriller Arne Dahl and Italian crime drama Inspector Da Luca.

Now, Channel 4’s getting in on the act with the acquisition of French drama Les Revenants (aka Rebound).