Blue Ant Rights brings drama to London, taps Leona Connell as senior scripted consultant

Blue Ant Rights is heading to the London TV Screenings with an expanded slate of 40 titles and has tapped the services of former Newen Connect exec Leona Connell to assist with its fledgling scripted sales activities.

Leona Connell

Blue Ant Rights will be in the UK capital next week with three new scripted series in its catalogue, which now surpasses 9,000 hours following Blue Ant Media’s acquisition of Thunderbird Entertainment.

The distributor is working with industry veteran Connell, who exited France’s Newen Connect, where she was chief commercial officer, last year, and has joined the team as senior scripted consultant.

Inspired by real events, In the Pines (6×60′) comes from Meta Films and is a character-driven crime drama set inside a dangerous criminal enterprise built on deception.

Elkhorn (18×60′), meanwhile, comes from Morningstar Entertainment and is an action-packed Western that presents the coming-of-age story of Theodore Roosevelt, who must overcome an unimaginable personal tragedy when his mother and wife die on the same day.

Factual drama Suspect (2×90′) is made by Orchard Studios and revolves around the police interrogations of prime suspects in real-life high profile true crime cases.

The slate also includes crime, factual entertainment, kids series and documentaries, with shows such as returning format The Jury: Skeleton in the Garden and investigative series World’s Most Secret Places.

True crime titles include Fatal First Dates and Murder USA, as well as documentaries Deepfaking Sam Altman and Beyond the Silk Road.

Previously a factual specialist, the Canadian outfit has steadily been adding more genres to its arsenal in recent years as it has grown via the acquisition of companies such as Thunderbird Entertainment as well as Marblemedia and three of Boat Rocker’s Canadian prodcos.

“This year’s London Screenings slate reflects the continued evolution of our business,” said Mark Bishop, co-president, Blue Ant Studios.

“We’re expanding into primetime scripted while continuing to strengthen our offering across documentary, factual entertainment and formats. With a growing catalogue and an increased ability to leverage our collective strength across our distribution, expanded studios production and channels businesses, we’re able to offer partners flexible deal structures, tailored content packages and exclusive windowing opportunities.”