BBCWW’s McMafia heads to China

BBC gangster drama McMafia

Chinese OTT services OPG and Youku, along with Swedish pubcaster SVT, have picked up rights to BBC/AMC Networks crime drama McMafia.

The show, which will be known as The Godmans in China, was created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins.

It was commissioned by the BBC and is a coproduction between the UK pubcaster, AMC Networks in the US and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell prodco Cuba Pictures in association with Twickenham Studios.

McMafia aired on the BBC earlier this year and stars James Norton (War & Peace) as an English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history who has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of his family’s past. Amazon has also taken rights to the show around the world.

The deal comes ahead of BBC Worldwide (BBCWW)’s Showcase event in UK city Liverpool next week, which is set to welcome more than 700 buyers.

BBCWW said it had sold more than 3,300 hours of UK drama in the past three months, including 630 hours throughout Latin America and more than 1,000 hours in Western Europe.

Shows on its Showcase slate include Abi Morgan’s The Split and Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who, with Jodie Whittaker becoming the first female to play the iconic character.