PBS gets taste for Vienna Blood

Austrian/German drama Vienna Blood

US public broadcaster PBS has picked up Austrian/German drama Vienna Blood and UK factual series Expedition With Steve Backshall, as part of its line-up of shows for early next year.

Vienna Blood (6×60’) is produced by Endor Productions and MR Films for German pubcaster ZDF and Austria’s ORF. It will air on PBS in the US early next year after the network picked it up from distributor Red Arrow Studios International.

The crime drama, written by screenwriter Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Deep State) is based on the best-selling Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis. The show previously sold to BBC2 in the UK.

Other scripted acquisitions unveiled as part of PBS’s winter schedule today include BBC1’s Howards End and ITV’s Jane Austen adaptation Sanditon which will air as part of PBS’s Masterpiece drama strand.

In factual, PBS has picked up Expedition with Steve Backshall from distributor Fremantle and will premiere it on January 15 next year.

The 10-part series was a coproduction between BBC2 and UKTV in the UK and was produced by Bristol-based prodco True To Nature. The series sees explorer Backshall complete a number of world firsts in different locations around the globe.

Three-parter Earth’s Sacred Wonders, the sixth season of Finding Your Roots, and culinary travelogue No Passport Required featuring chef Marcus Samuelsson are also slated for early 2020 premieres on PBS.