Epic Drama secures All3 package

The Village stars John Simm

European pay TV operator Viasat World has acquired more than 50 hours of programming from All3Media for its soon-to-launch international scripted channel Epic Drama.

Shows include Close to the Enemy, produced by Little Island Production in association with Endor Productions for BBC2 in the UK and Acorn Media Enterprises in the US, in partnership with All3Media International.

Set in a bomb-damaged London hotel in the aftermath of the Second World War, the drama follows an intelligence officer whose last task for the army is to ensure a captured German scientist develops the jet engine for the RAF.

The deal with All3Media International also includes the first two seasons of family saga The Village, from Company Pictures, and the first three seasons of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, produced by Every Cloud Productions for ABC in Australia.

Viasat World has taken exclusive pay TV and catch-up rights to the shows, along with some SVoD rights, for its Epic Drama channel, which launches on December 14 across Central and Eastern Europe.

Karin Heijink, VP of content and product at Viasat World, said: “We are resolute in our mission to secure the rights to the very best-quality drama series to fulfil our lavish channel proposition, and these titles are the perfect fit.”

Yesterday Viasat World acquired the BBC’s forthcoming period thriller The Miniaturist, also from All3Media International.