DRG marches Expectation’s Brigade to Cannes

Obs doc series Animal Rescue School from Middle Child looks at RSPCA recruits

UK-based distributor DRG has unveiled its slate of dramas, factual programmes and formats ahead of MipTV, including a culinary format from Peter Fincham and Tim Hincks’ prodco Expectation.

The Brigade, from Expectation Factual, is a cooking format that airs on BBC2 in the UK and follows Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton as he guides 10 ambitious chefs on a journey across Europe to transform their careers, turning them into a Kitchen Brigade to take on the best in the world.

Also on DRG’s formats slate is Youngest Media’s Small Fortune, where contestants participate in tiny games to win big prizes.

Sixth Gear from Norwegian pubcaster NRK features real people racing their own cars. The Ultimate Spy is a fast-paced, competitive reality format created by Strix Norway. Contestants learn the art of espionage and then have to do whatever it takes to keep their cover in a strange city.

In addition, after DRG’s recent successes with local adaptations of scripted titles such as Eyewitness, Black Widows and Doc Martin, MipTV sees the launch of international hit BBC1 series The Cry as a scripted format. Also launching is the format to Rekyl, a successful Norwegian drama about a former criminal trying to stay out of trouble when he leaves prison.

The Inner Circle (8×60), a Fundament Film production for Viaplay, receives its official launch after a pre-sale outing at Mipcom. This contemporary political thriller from Sweden, based on a Per Schlingmann novel, is about a man with a dodgy past who is hoping to become prime minister. The show is available as finished tape or as a scripted format.

It is one of three new dramas being launched by DRG in Cannes, along with For Life (8×60’), a Norwegian police procedural with a female protaganist from Monster for NRK.

The third is 22 July (6×60), about how people responded in the aftermath of the atrocities committed by Anders Breivik in Oslo on this date in 2011. While grounded in meticulous research and key facts, the characters are all fictional. It is being produced by NRK Drama for NRK.

Both these titles are in production now and available for pre-sale.

Leading DRG’s factual slate is history title Dynasties, a 4×60 series from WildBear Entertainment examining the fame and fortunes of some of the world’s most powerful families, including the Trumps, the Kims and the Murdochs.

Paranormal Captured (6×60), from Woodcut Media, looks at supernatural stories from around the world, while Animal Rescue School is a 6×60’ obs doc series from Middle Child that follows the job interview process needed to become an inspector for the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Lazy Boy Garage (10×30), from October Films, is a car show which sees classic vehicles from all over the world brought to the UK and transformed to sell on the international market.

New to DRG’s growing true crime catalogue is Detectives: My Killer Case, a six-hour series from Midnight Oil Pictures that looks at a selection of career-defining investigations into complex and violent crimes.

Finally in factual, a number of shows are returning with new seasons. MipTV launches include Yorkshire Vet season seven, Inside the Ambulance S7-8, Helicopter ER S3 and Dog Rescuers S6.