Campaign Profile

This month’s C21 Marketplace Hot Properties playlist offers 20 new titles for buyers to check out, including the murder of a millionaire couple by a trusted friend, the devastating aftermath of nature’s fury and the catastrophes that can occur when engineering goes wrong.

To kick things of this month in the world of factual and documentary, we have an astonishing true story of deception, manipulation and murder: All3Media International’s The Essex Millionaire Murders. Recently nominated for a Grierson award, the series debuted earlier this year on ITV to critical acclaim. Across two episodes, it explores the murders of a millionaire couple, and how an unassuming IT worker infiltrated the couple’s lives, evolving from surrogate son to callous killer.

Then there’s The Bunker from Viaplay Content Distribution. After surviving a harrowing abduction, Isabel Eriksson revisits the reconstructed bunker where she was held captive by “Sweden’s Fritzl,” Dr Martin Trenneborg. In this powerful documentary, she shares her story for the first time, confronting the trauma that still haunts her and shedding light on the lasting impact of unimaginable captivity.

When the leads dry up and a case goes cold, there’s only one thing that keeps detectives going: the hunch that Somebody’s Hiding Something (Cineflix Rights). In this whodunnit documentary series, viewers join investigators as they search for the person who holds the clue that will finally blow the case wide open.

Since ancient times, seafaring has driven exploration, innovation and global trade. From legendary explorers to modern mega-ships, the oceans have connected continents and economies. Steamships revolutionised travel and today’s container giants carry 80% of global goods. Masters of the Sea – The Role of Ships in Global History (Autentic Distribution) tells the story of courage, progress, and how the sea became the lifeline of our interconnected world.

Featuring videos of the most extreme and destructive weather conditions, first-hand accounts and professional meteorologists sharing tales from the front lines, viewers get to experience the fury of Mother Nature in Boat Rocker’s Weather Gone Viral.

Elsewhere, actor Hugh Jackman uncovers an extraordinary mystery in two-part series Megafauna: What Killed Australia’s Giants? (ABC Commercial).

Travelling to places that are rich with amazing civilisations, Treasures with Bettany Hughes (DCD Rights) returns. The historian discovers remote communities, fresh archaeological digs and unexpected stories across Georgia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Oman, Estonia and the Eastern Med.

Meanwhile Blue Ant Media’s Engineering by Catastrophe explores how today’s most advanced structures are shaped by the disasters of the past. From spacecraft and skyscrapers to tunnels and flood barriers, each episode unpacks the engineering innovations behind modern marvels – and the catastrophic failures that inspired them.

In formats, Stephen Mangan returns to welcome viewers back to The Fortune Hotel (Banijay Entertainment), where 11 new pairs of guests arrive at a luxury Caribbean resort to play a high-stakes game of bluffing, swapping and betrayal.

Also returning to TV screens is Pyramid (Sony Pictures Television Formats). The Emmy-winning pop culture phenomenon sees celebrities and regular people team up to compete against the clock to win a huge cash prize, while suspicious behaviour in the workplace marks ABC Japan’s The Secret Game Show as a variety show that can be enjoyed beyond language barriers.

Finally, in the world of entertainment, Love Island: Beyond the Villa (ITV Studios) dives into what happens after the final fire pit. Familiar faces. Fresh drama. From flings to futures, this glossy reality format follows ex-Islanders as they chase love, fame and friendship in the real world. The villa’s done but the story’s just getting started.

Family dynamics are front and centre of two new dramas. A traffic accident changes one family’s fortunes forever in ¥30,000,000, from NHK/NHK Enterprises. Decent people are drawn into a cycle of wrongdoing when a bag the son brings home from a motorcycle crash contains a criminal gang’s cash. Meanwhile, The Family Next Door, from Sphere Abacus, explores the challenges of motherhood, marriage, friendship, and the complexities of family identity

A unique, visually stunning and surprising whodunit set in the flamboyant 1930s, This is Not a Murder Mystery (StudioCanal), reunites world-renowned Surrealist artists, including young Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, who find themselves trapped in a lavish mansion with a mysterious serial killer on the loose.

Elsewhere, 16-year-old Tessa lives for music, but high school brings more than just auditions in StudioFact Rights’ Breathe. Bullied for her talent and abandoned by her best friend, she is pushed to the edge. With the help of a devoted music teacher and her loved ones, she finds the strength to fight back and chase her dream: to shine on stage.

On a lighter note, Summer Love from Seven.One Studios International visits one holiday house and eight very different love stories.

For the kids we have Funny Talking Animals (BBC Studios Kids & Family), in which real wildlife footage, state-of-the-art animation and the candid voices of kids are combined to offer an endearing perspective on life – through children’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Tiddler (Magic Light Pictures) is the tale of a little fish with a big imagination who gets lost in the deep, wide ocean until he’s saved by his own storytelling.

Finally, Armorsaurs (Cake) follows a team of teen pilots and their armoured dinosaurs, who are humanity’s last line of defence against a sophisticated alien race intent on returning to Earth to replenish their army of prehistoric fighting dinosaurs.

That’s all for this month, stay tuned for more Hot Properties throughout the year!