UKTV has acquired a 10-part series on historic covert military missions from London-based indie World Media Rights (WMR).

Ancient Black Ops (10×50’) will air on UKTV’s Yesterday channel looking at secret operations of elite troops and hit squads dating back to the time of the Vikings.

Each episode will reveal how the clandestine groups chose their targets, trained for their mission, chose their weapons and carried out the attacks. The series will examine incidents involving the Vikings, Aztecs and 47 Ronin Samurai death squad.

Yesterday has previously aired ^[1] two seasons of WMR’s original secret military operations series Black Ops (both 6×60’) and this latest spin-off expands the franchise further.

Alan Griffiths, CEO of WMR, said: “Each episode will appeal both to history lovers and computer games fans, as a lot of these games are based on the real-life stories and military figures which feature throughout the series.”

The deal was negotiated by UKTV’s acquisitions and coproduction manager Emma Sparks and Alan Griffiths and is scheduled for transmission in late 2014.

UKTV’s other recent acquisitions ^[2] from WMR include two 13×50’ series of Myth Hunters – which aired as Raiders of the Lost Past – and the 10×50’ series CIA Declassified.

The executive producer for Ancient Black Ops is Matthew Barrett, creative director at WMR. IMG Entertainment will distribute the series internationally.