New buyers, second season, spin-off for Big Media factual series Truthseekers

Buyers from Germany, Latin America and US/Canada have picked up historical investigative series Truthseekers: Greatest Mysteries as the green light goes on for a second season.

Ronan Hand

RTL Group-owned N-TV in Germany, A&E in Latin America and Filmrise in the US and Canada have all acquired the first season of the show, which is a coproduction between New York-based Big Media, RMC Story in France and Wildbear in Australia and runs to 12 hours.

Factual specialist Off the Fence has been signed up to handle all other global rights for the series. The renewal brings the total number of episodes to 20×60’.

The second season of Truthseekers: Greatest Mysteries will explore a new set of eight iconic and enduring mysteries known around the world. These include subjects such as Queen Nefertiti, the Incan city Machu Picchu, the Shroud of Turin, Angkor Wat, Stonehenge and the Terracotta Warriors of China.

“For this new season, we’re using the same format to look at some of the most famous and baffling mysteries of the ancient world,” said exec producer Ronan Hand, who has previously worked at UKTV, ITV Studios and Fox International Channels.

Big Media is also launching a spin-off series based on the format, called Truthseekers: Unsolved Crimes, focusing on high-profile unsolved cases from the 20th century. Cases covered by the show include The Black Dahlia, Los Galindos, The Monster of Florence, The Zodiac Killer and the murder of British TV presenter Jill Dando.