Sky1 recruits The Flash

The director of UK satcaster Sky1 says he wants more local dramas to reflect the vitality of US scripted series such as The Flash and Forever, both of which have been acquired by the channel.

The Flash

US cablenet The CW’s superhero series The Flash, about a man who becomes the fastest person alive after a freak accident, is a spin-off from The Arrow, which Sky1 also airs.

The pay TV channel has also picked up Forever, which will air on ABC in the US and centres on an immortal man who helps solve crimes. The show comes from exec producer and writer Matt Miller (Chuck).

Michael Bay’s The Last Ship has also been added to the channel’s portfolio of US dramas. The 10-episode series airs on TNT in the US.

All three series were acquired from Warner Bros International Television Distribution and will air in the UK later this year.

Sky1’s Adam MacDonald told delegates here at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that he was now on the look-out for UK scripted series that shared a similar “sense of exuberance” to the US dramas.

Other US series Sky1 airs include Modern Family, Glee, Hawaii Five-O, NCIS: Los Angeles and 24: Live Another Day.

The channel has greenlit Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death from Parade’s End producer Mammoth Screen, a 1×120’ drama starring Ashley Jensen as a PR agent turned detective.

The drama, produced in association with Raydar Media, is written by Stewart Harcourt and based on novels by MC Beaton. The family-friendly show is slated to air this Christmas.

Meanwhile, the channel has also commissioned a family gameshow in which couples undertake a range of challenges on a large woodland obstacle course while dressed in animal costumes.

Wild Things (working title, 6×60′) is an IWC/Mad Monk and GroupM coproduction and will air in a Sunday evening slot, after The Simpsons, on the entertainment channel. Couples or pairs of family member face a series of challenges to get the chance to walk away with a fortune in gold coins buried in the woods.

MacDonald described the commission as at “the riskier end of the spectrum. It’s probably the silliest thing we’re doing.”

MacDonald added that entertainment is currently a tricky slot for the channel and that it is not looking to commission another talent show. Some of its existing entertainment series include Got To Dance and League of Their Own.

The Sunday evening slot is a particular focus at the moment for MacDonald.

“On a Sunday evening, a lot of the channels feel like homework. So I want to create that sense of ‘screw the homework, let’s revel and rejoice in the weekend feeling.’ I want more of that,” MacDonald said.

It has also commissioned a number of studio quizshows in the 20.00 slot, including King of the Nerds with Konnie Huq.

This year Sky said it will have invested £600m (US$995m) in original UK content and production across its portfolio of channels, most of which has already been spent, MacDonald added.

It has also pledged to include more ethnic minorities in its programming in the face of growing concerns over a lack of cultural diversity in UK TV.