DRG offers BBC, ITV drama for presale

Jenna Coleman in The Cry

MTG-owned UK distributor DRG has added more than 200 hours of new content in scripted, factual and formats to its slate for MipTV in Cannes next month.

The drama slate is led by The Cry (4×60’), which is a production for BBC1 and  from Scotland-based indie Synchronicity Films and is available to pre-buy. ABC in Australia is already on board.

Based on the novel by Helen Fitzgerald, the plot focuses on a couple whose marriage disintegrates when their baby son disappears while they are visiting family down under. Jenna Coleman (Victoria) and Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake) star.

Another pre-sale opportunity is Manhunt (3×60’) from Buffalo Pictures for UK commercial broadcaster ITV. Starring Martin Clunes, the drama is based on the true story of police efforts to catch serial killer Levi Bellfield.

From Australia, crime drama Dead Lucky (4×60’) from Subtext Pictures, and Underbelly Files: Chopper (3×60’/2×90’) which focuses on notorious criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read are available.

The slate includes Scandi scripted projects such as Melk (10×30’), which is a dramedy about two single mothers; His Name is Not William (6×30’), which is a comedy about actors at opposite ends of their careers; and Rekyl (6×30’), which is a thriller about an ex-con who gets sucked back into a life of crime.

Leading the formats catalogue is Strix Norway’s competition-driven show Family Expedition, which sees families leave behind their home comforts and attempt to live in the wilderness for a month.

Sound of The Century from Monster Entertainment is a live primetime singing competition that mixes music with history. Funny Old World, meanwhile, travels the globe to see if what’s funny in one country will raise a laugh in another, while National Identity Crisis travels across a country to find out what most comprises a nation’s identity in the minds of its people.

DRG’s new factual ranges from current affairs shows such as The FGM Detectives (1×60’), following a police officer trying to secure Britain’s first conviction for a procedure banned 30 years ago, to A.I. Future Human (3×60’), Zig Zag’s high-tech show looking at how artificial intelligence could transform mankind’s future.

The sales house also recently secured the rights to The Dog Rescuers and is launching the 16×60’ fifth season to buyers in Cannes.