SBS buyer on CBS line-up

LA SCREENINGS: Rozan Hamaker, head of acquisitions at SBS Broadcasting in the Netherlands, tells C21 about the CBS and The CW shows she’ll be taking home for next season.

Hamaker, who renewed her company’s output deal with CBS Studios International this week, said the US studio is an important supplier to the Dutch broadcaster, having previously given it hits like NCIS, NCIS: LA, Hawaii Five-0 and The Good Wife.

“CBS Studios had a very strong slate this year and by far the best show was Elementary, their modern take on Sherlock Holmes in New York. It was clever and I liked the tempo and tone.”

She added the show had “broad enough appeal that it could sit easily on our flagship channel, SBS6. We’ll have to see the next few episodes before we decide that.”

As for Vegas, the CBS period drama about the eponymous Nevada city, Hamaker said: “It was very well written, cast and acted; the quality is there but I want to know how much of a procedural it’s going to be.”

One of the shows from The CW is certainly going into Holland – Emily Owens MD – which Hamaker described as “Grey’s Anatomy meets Scrubs,” adding: “It was clever, sweet and feelgood – basically high-school in hospital.” The show will likely go to SBS-owned Net5 in the Netherlands.

The other show CBS Studios is making for The CW, Beauty & the Beast, didn’t float Hamaker’s boat, however. “It was quite young so I’m not sure it’s suitable for any of our channels. It wasn’t as outstanding as Elementary.”

CBS Studios’ only comedy pick-up in the Upfronts, Friend Me, was “really funny,” said Hamaker. “Everyone in the screening room was laughing and that’s a good sign.” She said the show was a possibility for SBS channel Veronica.

Outside her deal with CBS Studios, Hamaker said a number of other shows caught her eye. Warner Bros crime drama The Following was “very strong,” she said. “From the beginning to the end, I was glued to the screen. It has a fantastic cast – phenomenal.”

Another show that made an impression was premium cable show The Newsroom from HBO. “It blew me away,” said Hamaker. “The dialogue was great, the casting was good. I don’t know if it is suitable for us and anyway it will almost certainly be on HBO in Holland and won’t be available to us for some time.”