CONTENT AMERICAS: C21’s Content Americas was back in Miami this week, with delegates and speakers from around the world attending for three days of networking and insights connecting the Latin American, US domestic and international content business.

NEWS BRIEF: Brazilian content hub Watch has partnered with Candle Media-owned kids' company Moonbug to make around 100 hours of the YouTube specialist's content available on the Watch platform.

NEWS BRIEF: Spain's Movistar Plus+ has acquired a package of historical titles including 1979: Year of the Islamist Revolution (2x50'), Free at Last: Secrets of Apartheid (2x50') and How the Second World War Became a Global War (1x52') from TVF International.

X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz is to take part in a keynote session at Content India and host a half-day masterclass that takes you inside the writers room, sharing the strategies for success when creating drama that can resonate globally.

Period drama is experiencing a resurgence across global markets, with East Asia driving supply growth and European producers leveraging tax incentives to finance ambitious period productions, industry data reveals.

The historical drama genre is experiencing a notable resurgence, with new data revealing that period series now account for 10.5% of scripted premieres in 2025, up from just 8.1% in 2022. This upward trajectory marks a significant shift in an industry often characterised by risk-averse commissioning and tightening budgets.

Among the latest entries is Black Gold, a German-language series that explores the little-known Lüneburg Heath oil rush of the late 19th century. The drama, which premiered on ARD Mediathek in December, achieved well above the average scripted series demand in Germany during its opening week, according to Parrot Analytics. Kate Laffey, senior VP of acquisitions at Fifth Season, which acquired worldwide distribution rights, describes it as "a fascinating time in history, which lots of people don't know about."

The series joins a crowded field of oil-focused dramas, including Paramount+ series Landman, which was recently renewed for a third season after registering record-breaking audiences. Yet success in the historical drama space increasingly depends on offering fresh perspectives on familiar subjects. "It always begins with the writing," notes Laffey, adding that "having that fresh twist on stories is really important nowadays."

CONTENT AMERICAS: Spanish group Squirrel Media is here in Miami to officially unveil Squirrel Media Distribution, its new division dedicated to international content sales, as part of a strategic reorganisation of its entertainment and media operations.

CONTENT AMERICAS: The Mediapro Studio, Infinity Hill and IP4 are to coproduce Spanish-language psychological thriller La caja azul (The Blue Box).

NEWS BRIEF: Danish pubcaster DR has launched a local adaptation of family-focused reality format The Will.

Stephen Driscoll, executive VP EMEA, on how this revelatory crime doc fits into distributor All3Media International’s catalogue.   Show: Murder at the Post Office Runtime: 3×60’ Producer: Lightbox   Stephen Driscoll, All3Media International What makes it unique? The expert team at Lightbox brings an extremely high level of detail to screen in this documentary. Across […]

NEWS BRIEF: Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has acquired animated kids’ series Om Nom Stories for the Indian subcontinent.