ITV’s Titanic epic steams ahead

Production is set to begin on a Julian Fellowes-penned big-budget miniseries marking the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, after US, Australian, Kiwi and other broadcasters came onboard.

UK broadcaster ITV, which gave an initial greenlight to the project together with Shaw Media’s Global in Canada and Ireland’s TV3, has now given the official go-ahead after the additional network partnerships were secured.

ABC in the US, Australia’s Channel Seven, TVNZ in New Zealand, Portugal’s SIC and SVT in Sweden have all confirmed their commitment to the 2×90′ and 4×60′ epic that will start filming in Hungary this spring.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVSGE) is taking distribution rights to the UK-Hungary-Canada co-production, which is being made by its sister company ITV Studios, together with Deep Indigo Productions, Lookout Point, Sienna Films and Mid Atlantic Films.

C21 first broke news of the Titanic miniseries – the first major drama commission from ITV Studios MD Kevin Lygo – last autumn.

The miniseries, which is being written by Downton Abbey, Gosford Park and Young Victoria scribe Julian Fellowes, is being made with a view to airing in April next year to mark the centenary of the Titanic’s sinking. It will simulcast on Global and ABC, followed closely by premieres in all other territories.

The production promises to interweave the points of view of different characters through a series of cliffhangers, culminating in a heart-wrenching finale.

Titanic will be produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark (Bleak House, Warriors, The Way We Live Now) and Chris Thompson (Love Actually, No 1 Ladies Detective Agency). The drama is exec produced by Lookout Point’s Simon Vaughan (Ben Hur, Coco Chanel, The Hot Zone) together with ITV’s Kate Bartlett (Marchlands, Identity, Vera) among others.

Lookout Point brought together more than 10 presale partners to get the project off the ground, marking one of the first times in recent years that major UK, US and Canadian networks have joined forces on such a miniseries.

Vaughan told C21: “Putting together this production has been a major task. Three years of creative and business work is now paying off and it’s brilliant to be in production at last.

“I just arrived back from the studio in Hungary where we are building the biggest indoor tank in mainland Europe especially for the scenes in the water. We are also building a huge section of the boat itself – 150 feet long and two decks deep with lifeboats that we can lower fully loaded with our actors. The storyboards I am seeing for how this will look when enhanced with CGI and blended with the locations we have found are truly mind-blowing.”

Vaughn added that the cast would be announced in the next few weeks.

“The fantastic pedigree of the production talent behind this major series has generated huge interest from our global broadcast clients and we are very pleased to announce these new partners today,” added ITVSGE MD Maria Kyriacou in a statement.

“From the vision of one of the industry’s finest writers, we’re able to delve a little deeper into the grey areas by way of the characters and their unique perspectives. This is an amazing collaboration with our Canadian producers and the international broadcasters, and a befitting tribute to this moment in history,” said added Shaw Media senior VP Barbara Williams.

Quinn Taylor of ABC Network added: “The tragic tale of the Titanic has retained a powerful hold on people around the world for almost 100 years, and this new miniseries will offer a compelling take on this epic, tragic story.”