Summer sizzlers

C21’s latest Hot Properties Playlist features 23 shows new on air this summer, including Channel 4/AMC Networks hit Humans, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s first TV lead and the Wachowski brothers’ premier foray into serialised sci-fi.

The playlist is available to view through the C21Screenings portal and the C21Screen app, or simply click on the clips below.

If you would like to submit a show for consideration in one of our upcoming C21 Hot Properties Playlists, email hotproperties@c21media.net.

Show: The Whispers (13×60′)
Initial TX: June 1
Channel: ABC (US)
Producers: ABC Studios, Amblin TV, Graby Girl Productions
Distributor: Disney Media Distribution
They say: Based on the 1951 Ray Bradbury short story Zero Hour, The Whispers explores what happens when an alien enemy sets out to destroy the world using children as their vehicle.
We say: Written by Soo Hugh, one of the writers on prior Amblin TV sci-fi drama Under the Dome, The Whispers sees co-exec producer Steven Spielberg revisit a theme he found so compelling more than three decades ago with Poltergeist. So far, holding its own for ABC in mid-season.

Show: American Genius (8×60′)
Initial TX: June 1
Channel: National Geographic Channel (US)
Producer: Stephen David Entertainment
Distributor: DRG
They say: Docu-drama series exploring how the world’s cleverest people have shaped history, pitting inventors such as Steve Jobs up against Bill Gates, Samuel Colt against Edwin and Daniel Wesson, and Werner Heisenberg against Robert Oppenheimer.
We say: A serious, more sophisticated version of Epic Rap Battles of History, exploring some of the greatest rivalries of modern times that helped produce some of the world’s greatest, and some of its most dangerous, inventions. A simple concept, which means the show is also being sold as a format.

Show: UnREAL (10×60′)
Initial TX: June 1
Channel: Lifetime (US)
Producers: A+E Studios, Frank & Bob Films II
Distributor: A+E Networks International
They say: Reality TV satire set behind the scenes of a hit dating show, focusing on a young producer whose job is to manipulate relationships among the contestants.
We say: Lifetime followed the present vogue for releasing episodes online prior to broadcast with this series, based on Sarah Gertrude Shapiro’s award-winning independent short film Sequin Raze. While it’s not clear whether this shifted the ratings dial, the reception has been favourable.

Show: Stitchers (10×60′)
Initial TX: June 2
Channel: ABC Family (US)
Producers: ProdCo, ABC Family
Distributor: Disney Media Distribution
They say: Drama about a young woman recruited into a covert government agency to be ‘stitched’ into the minds of the recently deceased, using their memories to investigate murders and decipher mysteries that otherwise would have gone to the grave.
We say: Stitched is ABC Family’s first sci-fi/paranormal procedural but it’s not the first show to have as its premise a young person with some extraordinary gift that equips them to avert a worldwide threat. A good or bad thing, depending on your penchant for such shows.

Show: Sense8 (12×60′)
Initial TX: June 5
Channel: Netflix
Producer: Georgeville Television, Studio JMS
Distributor: Netflix
They say: Science-fiction drama from Andy and Lana Wachowski about eight strangers from different countries who find themselves psychically connected by a woman’s death and then united in their bid to avoid capture by a stranger who wants their powers.
We say: Marking The Matrix duo’s first foray into series, with Babylon 5 writer and exec producer J Michael Straczynski, Sense8 may have restored some of the goodwill the Wachowskis forfeited following Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending. Familiarly big on visuals, with lofty ambitions and a sprawling plot.

Show: T. rex Autopsy (1×120′)
Initial TX: June 7
Channel: National Geographic Channels International
Producer: Impossible Factual
Distributor: National Geographic Channels International
They say: Two-hour special combining biology with palaeontology to explore the guts and glory of a Tyrannosaurus rex, recreated using state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge science.
We say: Following in the footsteps of other science documentaries such as Inside Nature’s Giants and Gunther von Hagens’ string of human dissections live on the UK’s Channel 4, Nat Geo has puts its own twist on the genre to peer inside the belly of one of the largest carnivores that ever existed.

Show: Becoming Us (10×60′)
Initial TX: June 8
Channel: ABC Family (US)
Producer: Ryan Seacrest Productions
Distributor: Cineflix Rights
They say: Docu-reality series following the life of a teenager whose parents are getting a divorce as his father prepares to undergo a sex-change operation.
We say: As illustrated by the success of Amazon drama Transparent and the media circus around the Kardashian family patriarch’s transition into Caitlyn Jenner, there’s a hunger in the marketplace right now for all things transgender. This series attempts to portray how such change within a family affects the children.

Show: The Man With No Penis (1×60′)
Initial TX: June 11
Channel: TLC (UK)
Producers: Chameleon TV, True North
Distributor: Discovery Networks International
They say: One-hour special about a man who, after 40 years of secrecy, decides to reveal to his family, friends and more than 100 women he’s slept with that, having been born with a rare affliction, he has never had a John Thomas.
We say: Originally due to air on Discovery Life in the US on June 13, the series was moved to TLC for an unspecified summer debut but aired on the UK version of the channel anyway. This is the kind of documentary title commissioners crave, but the subject may be just a little too near the knuckle for some.

Show: The Tribe (4×60′)
Initial TX: June 11
Channel: Channel 4 (UK)
Producer: Renegade Pictures
Distributor: Warner Bros International Television Distribution
They say: Fly-on-the-wall documentary series offering a glimpse of rural Ethiopia using fixed-rig cameras to capture the daily lives of a 20,000-strong tribe called the Hamar, as experienced through the eyes of one family.
We say: Channel 4 has made fixed-rig documentaries a trademark in recent years with series such as One Born Every Minute, 24 Hours in A&E, Educating Essex. This is its first shot overseas and the result is a heart-warming portrayal of the things that unite us as people, rather than the kind of anthropological study that pervades the idea of ‘them and us.’

Show: Prized Apart (6×60′)
Initial TX: June 13
Channel: BBC1 (UK)
Producer: Electric Ray
Distributor: Sony Pictures Television
They say: Adventure gameshow that sees 10 ordinary couples battle it out for the chance to win a life-changing prize, with one partner from each pair heading off to Morocco to complete a string of physical challenges while the other remains in the studio answering questions to keep them in the contest.
We say: BBC1 had high expectations for this hybrid format, which was among C21’s Hot Picks for MipTV earlier this year,  but Prized Apart hasn’t had the transformative effect on its Saturday primetime schedule the broadcaster was hoping for.

Show: Humans (8×60′)
Initial TX: June 14
Channel: Channel 4 (UK)
Producers: Kudos
Distributor: Endemol Shine International
They say: Set in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a ‘Synth,’ one strained suburban family purchases a refurbished model only to discover that sharing life with a machine has far-reaching and chilling consequences.
We say: Based on Matador Film’s 2012 Swedish series Real Humans for SVT and originally intended for Xbox Entertainment Studios, AMC Networks came on board as a partner for Channel 4’s first international coproduction. Starring Gemma Chan, the series has become the UK broadcaster’s biggest original drama in 20 years and started well on AMC stateside on June 28.

Show: Imported (8×30′)
Initial TX: June 15
Channel: Keshet Broadcasting (Israel)
Producers: Endemol Israel
Distributor: Keshet International
They say: Comedy series about an Israeli football player who, after being spotted by a Chelsea FC talent scout, thinks his dreams of becoming an international star have finally come true. But when he lands in the UK with his family, things turn out rather differently.
We say: Launched to buyers at MipTV earlier this year as both a finished series and a format, this culture-clash comedy made a strong debut at home, kicking off with a winning 41.1% audience share.

Show: Clangers (52×11′)
Initial TX: June 15
Channel: CBeebies (UK)
Producers: CBeebies, Coolabi Group, Smallfilms, Sprout
Distributor: BBC Worldwide
They say: Revival of the children’s stop-motion classic about a group of mouse-like creatures who live on a moon-like planet, eating blue string pudding and green soup supplied by the Soup Dragon.
We say: This updated version of the series that began life in 1969 has former Monty Python member Michael Palin narrate in place of show creator Oliver Postgate, who passed away in 2008. Made together with Postgate’s son Dan and Smallfilms co-founder Peter Firmin, this 21st century revival retains the original’s magic.

Show: Deutschland 83 (8×60′)
Initial TX: June 17
Channel: SundanceTV (US)
Producer: UFA Fiction
Distributor: FremantleMedia International
They say: 1980s Cold War thriller following a 24-year-old East German man who is sent to West Germany to gather intelligence on the placement of nuclear missiles.
We say: The first German-language drama to air on a major US network, Deutschland 83 comes from some of the same producers behind the miniseries Generation War, which proved a success for Netflix. Already picked up by a variety of broadcasters around the world before it has even aired on domestic commissioner RTL, the hope is that the series is the first of many German dramas to break through on the international stage.

Show: The Astronaut Wives Club (10×60′)
Initial TX: June 18
Channel: ABC (US)
Producers: ABC Studios, Fake Empire, Groundswell Productions
Distributor: Disney Media Distribution
They say: Based on Lily Koppel’s book of the same name, this series tells the story of the wives of early Nasa astronauts.
We say: Originally scheduled for midseason last year, The Astronaut Wives Club has a lot going for it in terms of its subject matter – the hopes, anxieties, dreams, high-tech ambitions and fashions of the era – and yet somehow it seemed to stall on the launchpad.

Show: Ballers (10×30′)
Initial TX: June 21
Channel: HBO (US)
Producers: Closest to the Hole Productions, Leverage Entertainment, 7 Bucks Entertainment
Distributor: HBO
They say: Comedy-drama starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as a former American football superstar as he gets his life on track in retirement while mentoring other current and former players through the daily grind of the business.
We say: Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson has become one of the hottest properties in Hollywood thanks to recurring roles in the Fast and Furious movies and recent blockbuster San Andreas. His obvious star quality shines through in this series too. He gets an exec producer credit along with Mark Wahlberg.

Show: The Brink (9×30′)
Initial TX: June 21
Channel: HBO (US)
Producers: Little City Iron Works, Everyman Pictures, Jerry Weintraub Productions
Distributor: HBO
They say: Dark comedy focusing on a geopolitical crisis and its effect on three disparate and desperate men: the US Secretary of State, played by Tim Robbins; a lowly Foreign Service officer played by Jack Black; and an ace Navy fighter pilot (Pablo Schreiber). The trio must pull through the chaos around them to save the planet from World War Three.
We say: Written by former Weeds exec producer Roberto Benabib and his brother Kim Benabib, The Brink is the first HBO series exec produced by Jerry Weintraub and directed by Jay Roach. It’s received mixed reviews, but one’s doubting the calibre of the talent involved.

Show: Rise: The Promise of My Brother’s Keeper (1×60’)
Initial TX: June 21
Channel: Discovery Channel & OWN (US)
Producer: Discovery Studios
Distributor: Discovery Networks International
They say: Documentary exploring the lives and families of young black men and boys involved in US President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, established to improve the plight and life chances of people from deprived backgrounds.
We say: Simulcast on Discovery Channel and the Oprah Winfrey Network on Father’s Day in the US and released in its entirety via Facebook beforehand, this film was directed by Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army) and features an intimate interview with Obama himself, discussing an issue close to his heart.

Show: Another Period (10×30′)
Initial TX: June 23
Channel: Comedy Central (US)
Producer: Red Hour
Distributor: Viacom International Media Networks
They say: Turn-of-the-century historical spoof that follows the insanely ridiculous and debauched life of a family who have more servants than relatives and whose days are filled with money, sex, drugs and more money.
We say: Billed as ‘Downton Abbey meets Keeping Up With the Kardashians,’ this mockumentary counts Red Hour’s Ben Stiller among its exec producers and has been winning plaudits for its sheer silliness.

Show: Stalin’s Daughter (1×50′)
Initial TX: June 23
Channel: Arte (Germany)
Producers: Doc.station, ZDF, Arte
Distributor: ZDF Enterprises
They say: Documentary about Svetlana Alliluyeva, Joseph Stalin’s daughter, who fled to the West in the midst of the Cold War, escaping the man who had her aunt and uncle executed, whose treatment of her mother prompted her to shoot herself, and who sent her first love to the Gulag.
We say: Featuring the final and never-before-broadcast interview with Alliluyeva before her death from cancer in the US in 2012 at the age of 85, this film tells the extraordinary tale of a woman who was never able to truly escape the shadow of her father.

Show: Mr Robot (10×60′)
Initial TX: June 24
Channel: USA Networks (US)
Producer: Universal Cable Productions
Distributor: NBCUniversal International
They say: Drama series about a young computer programmer (Rami Malek) who suffers from a debilitating antisocial disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He then finds himself caught between working for a cybersecurity firm and the murky world of mysterious anarchist Mr Robot, played by Christian Slater.
We say: Mr Robot was given a second season greenlight before the first even began, so USA Network has clear confidence in this hacker drama – the pilot episode of which it previewed online four weeks before its TV debut. Malek is winning plaudits for his first lead role in a TV series and, while it’s early days, in Mr Robot USA appears to have programmed an intriguing success.

Show: Scream (10×60′)
Initial TX: June 30
Channel: MTV (US)
Producer: Dimension TV (The Weinstein Company)
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
They say: Long-anticipated TV adaptation of the 1990s hit horror movie franchise, famous for satirising the genre and for its killer’s Edvard Munch mask. Bob and Harvey Weinstein exec produce, while the films’ celebrated director Wes Craven also gets a credit.
We say: Hollywood has a long tradition of taking hit movies and turning them into TV shows. Sometimes it works, frequently it doesn’t. As the world’s highest-grossing slasher flick of all time, Scream was ripe for such treatment. But nearly 20 years on from the original, more than enough blood may have already been squeezed from this franchise.

Show: Zoo (13×60′)
Initial TX: June 30
Channel: CBS (US)
Producers: Midnight Radio, Treeline Films, James Patterson Entertainment
Distributor: CBS Studios International
They say: Thriller based on the James Patterson novel of the same name, about a young, renegade  zoologist who is faced with a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet. Mad Men’s James Wolk stars.
We say: Arriving in the CBS summertime schedule at the same time as Jurassic World hits movie theatres, Zoo has been described by showrunner Jeff Pinker as the equivalent of a “really good beach read.” Patterson’s 2012 novel was a New York Times bestseller. Too early to say whether the series will achieve similar success.