NEWS & FEATURES

• Icon hires development head from Mentorn
  UK factual indie Icon Films has hired an executive from Tinopolis-owned Mentorn Media as its new head of development.
• ITV recalls Unforgotten for new season
  NEWS BRIEF: UK commercial broadcaster ITV has confirmed that its crime series Unforgotten will return for a six-part fourth season next year.
• FX forecasts further Snowfall
  NEWS BRIEF: US cable network FX has renewed its original drama Snowfall for a third season to air in 2019, ahead of the season two finale this week.
• C5's Rich Kids Go Skint again
  NEWS BRIEF: Viacom-owned UK terrestrial Channel 5 has renewed its Rich Kids Go Skint format, produced by indie Kalel Productions, for a second season of 12 episodes to air on its 5Star network.
• Brown warns against SVoD rights grab
  SVoD services that take global rights and prevent future income for programming “will kill our industry,” Amazon Studios’ European chief has claimed.
• Nelvana preps preschool live-action
  Corus Entertainment-owned animation studio Nelvana is working on three new preschool series, including a digital-first live-action series from the creative team behind Princess Sparkly Butt & The Hot Dog Kid.
• Princesses Wear Pants heads to TV
  Atomic Cartoons in Canada has optioned the rights to a children's book series to produce an animated TV show that will be exec produced by movie star Drew Barrymore.
• Nick charmed by Sissi in Europe
  Nickelodeon has acquired Italian studio Mondo TV's animated series Sissi the Young Empress for its channels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
• RTBF takes Banijay’s Legacy to Belgium
  Belgian broadcaster RTBF has become the latest international channel to commission a local version of Banijay Group’s entertainment format The Legacy.
• Ricky Zoom speeds to Euro, Lat Am nets
  Broadcasters in France, Italy and Latin America have come onboard the latest animated preschool series from Peppa Pig and PJ Masks firm Entertainment One.
• UKTV goes under the knife
  Multichannel operator UKTV is expanding its Inside The… observational documentary franchise to include a hospital’s operating theatre.
• Story Lab’s Hall Pass heads to Germany
  German broadcaster RTL2 has ordered a celebrity version of relationship social experiment series Hall Pass after picking up the format rights from distributor The Story Lab.
• DR to close more channels
  Danish public broadcaster DR is having to cut its portfolio of TV channels down from six to three as a result of budget cuts imposed by the Danish government.
• Radio Gaga heard in Japan
  Japanese pubcaster NHK has commissioned an adaptation of social experiment format Radio Gaga in a deal with Dutch distributor Lineup Industries.
• Amazon recruits Handmaid’s helmer
  Amazon Studios has signed an overall deal with producer and director Reed Morano, who won an Emmy for her work on The Handmaid's Tale last year.
• Ruby options true-crime books
  Australian prodco Ruby Entertainment has optioned two books by criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro detailing his experiences of working among some of the country’s most notorious criminals.
• ITV shakes up senior digital team
  UK commercial broadcaster ITV has rejigged its senior digital management as it sets about fulfilling new CEO Carolyn McCall’s ‘more than TV’ mission.
• C5 to boost originals post-Big Brother
  UK terrestrial Channel 5 will reinvest money from the recently cancelled Big Brother in new originals, including a drama slate, according to the CEO of parent company Viacom.
• Cry prodco takes rights to Auschwitz drama
  The production company behind forthcoming BBC scripted series The Cry has acquired rights to Heather Morris’s novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which is already in development as a multi-part TV drama.
• A+E Networks hires GM for Italy
  A+E Networks is adding a general manager for Italy to its European team, overseeing its channels there and partnership with pay TV broadcaster Sky Italia.

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