Programming Profile

Change is in the air with the advent of June and the slow loosening of Covid-19 restrictions in many territories, but some trends are refusing to go away in C21’s Hot Properties playlist for this month.

Crime dramas have been in vogue throughout coronavirus lockdowns around the world, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down.

Perhaps the best-known series on the list is Line of Duty, the UK crime procedural that has become event viewing in its home territory and beyond. Season six of the BBC1 show, which follows a police anti-corruption unit, is available from UK distributor ITV Studios.

Another crime show with a unique take on the cop genre is The Sketch Artist (10×45’), a French-Canadian series whose protagonist is tasked with building an image of criminals. As the series goes on, we discover how her tragic past is driving her work in the present. Quebecois distributor Attraction is handling worldwide sales.

Next up is Polish series Klangor, a character-driven eight-part crime series set on the Polish-German border. From Oscar-winning prodco Opus TV, the show is shopped by French distributor StudioCanal.

Another crime-related drama comes from Estonia in the form of spy thriller Traitor (6×58’). Recently picked up by distributor GoQuest Media, the series is about an Estonian who is forced to turn spy for the Russians when his country joins NATO in 2004. The series premiered in Estonia last September.

German distributor Studio Hamburg Enterprises has a crime series to bring to the table in the form of North By North West (11×90’). It centres on a former police officer looking for a quiet retirement as a vet – but unfortunately for him, his assistant in his new home town dreams of solving crimes.

The final crime offering on this month’s playlist comes from Algeria in the form of Algiers Confidential, a French-language series in which a German police officer is posted to the German embassy in the North African country. All is going well until he falls in love with an Algerian lawyer who is off limits. Paris-based About Premium Content is handling worldwide sales.

Drama series Bregus/Fragile (6×60’) is a Welsh-language thriller that debuted in March on Welsh channel S4C. The show follows a mother and surgeon who seems to have the perfect life until she is forced to run from her family and confront whether what she has is even real. The series is sold by London’s Passion Distribution.

Other drama on the list includes Still, Life Goes On, showing the other side of crime. A man whose friend killed his sister 15 years previously is reunited with his ex-friend’s sister, and together they confront their emotions and demons. The Japanese series is on offer from Fuji Television Network.

Also from Japan is This Guy is the Biggest Mistake in My Life, which is being sold by ABC Japan. In the show, a girl who works part-time for a pharmaceutical company is dragged into making the company boss her slave for his pleasure.

Next up, Ukrainian drama Pulse is based on the true story of Oksana Boturchuk, five-time medallist in track and field at the Paralympics. The 100-minute film tells the story of how Boturchuk’s Olympic hopes were crushed by an accident that left her nearly blind, and how she overcame her struggles to end up competing on the world stage again. Film.UA Distribution is handling sales.

The final drama on the list for June is After the Bomb – Remnants of a Conspiracy, based on the book by German historian and journalist Ulrich Chaussy. A period drama revolving around the 1980 Oktoberfest bombing, the show will leave viewers wondering what changed for the better with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Bavaria Media International is selling the series globally.

Two kids’ series make it on to the playlist, the first being CBeebies show Olobob Top, distributed by kids’ specialist Cake. The animation follows three friends who live in Olobob Forest and is narrated by Stephen Mangan.

The second kids’ show marks the return of an all-time favourite in Clangers, available from UK-based Jetpack Distribution. The original series ended in 1972 but was rebooted in 2015. The Clangers are mouse-like creatures that live on another planet and communicate by whistling. The show has aired all over the world, most recently in China.

Nostalgia is a theme in the factual area of the list, too. Two yesteryear music documentaries will take audiences back in time, the first being Before We Was We: Madness By Madness. On sale from US-based AMC Studios, the documentary features archive footage and interviews with current and former band members of one of the UK’s biggest bands.

The second music doc is Last Man Standing (1×105’), which explores the role of former record executive Suge Knight in the deaths of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur in the 1990s. Knight is alleged to have mixed criminal dealings with business and has been at the centre of conspiracy theories implicating him in the deaths of the two hip-hop icons. The UK’s Abacus Media Rights is handling sales.

Next up in factual is My Childhood My Country from Bomanbridge Media, which tells the story of a boy growing up in Afghanistan, filmed over 20 years. The film is a sequel to Phil Grabsky’s 2011 film The Boy Mir, and revisits Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban and the exodus of Western troops.

A current affairs piece that makes it on to the list is Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer, made for the UK’s BBC4 and already shown on PBS in the states. Sold by the UK’s Cineflix Rights, the four-parter explores what humanity has learned from previous pandemics and how the experience has paved the way for greater medical knowledge in the future.

Germany’s Autentic Distribution is selling a current affairs piece on the history of cars and where our relationship with them goes from here. Automania (1×52’ in English) goes back 100 years to the dawn of the automobile and examines how it won the hearts of humankind before becoming a symbol of climate change.

Another German factual contribution is on offer from German distributor ZDF Enterprises. Myths – The Great Mysteries of Humanity explores some of the greatest myths in the world: the Bermuda Triangle, King Arthur and the Yeti. Using CGI to recreate moments throughout history, the show aims to get to the bottom of the questions that have always puzzled humankind.

In a similar vein, Treasures With Bettany Hughes is a five-part social history show in which the historian uncovers loot that helps tells the story of humanity throughout time. UK-based distributor DCD Rights is selling the series.

Nature programming is experiencing a comeback this month, with Canada’s Blue Ant Media bringing Dawn to Dusk (8×60’) to the table. The series shows a day in the life of eight different global locations, filming in the timeframe given in the tile. The series has already featured on Blue Ant-owned streamer Love Nature.

Meanwhile, Meerkat Manor – Rise of the Dynasty returns to BBC America on June 5 and is up for sale by Banijay Rights. Narrated by Bill Nighy, the programme anthropomorphises meerkats.

Finally, two gameshows are sure to draw in audiences this summer. Quizness, on sale from the UK’s Red Arrow Studios International, punishes contestants for knowing more answers than others and makes them come up with ridiculous answers. The show has aired on the UK’s Channel 4 already, hosted by comedian Tom Allen.

The last show on the list is gameshow Chain Reaction, from Sony Pictures Television Formats. Chain Reaction was originally an Italian format and has been reworked for the US by Game Show Network, which began airing a new season this year, hosted by Dylan Lane. In the show, two teams compete to connect seven words together in order to win a cash prize.

Enjoy the Hot Properties playlist for June 2021!