PBS picks up two seasons of crime drama DI Ray from Hat Trick International

DI Ray stars Parminder Nagra as DI Rachita Ray

US public broadcaster PBS has picked up multiple rights to the first two seasons of DI Ray, the British thriller from Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television.

The ITV crime drama, sold internationally by UK-based factual and scripted distributor Hat Trick International (HTI), premiered with a four-part first season in May 2022. It has since been renewed for a further six episodes, set to premiere later this year.

Under the deal, PBS Distribution acquired multiple rights that will see the series broadcast across PBS’s 330-plus member stations in the US and streaming on PBS Passport, the PBS Video App and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video channel.

The deal was brokered by PBS Distribution’s MD of content acquisitions Germaine Sweet and HTI’s North American senior sales executive Jonathan South.

DI Ray was picked up by SBS Australia, VRT Belgium and NPO Netherlands ahead of its debut in 2022. It was later acquired by BritBox International, where it has launched in multiple territories, including South Africa, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

HTI has also closed sales with RTP in Portugal, Cosmote TV in Greece, Virgin Media in Ireland, Yes TV in Israel and NHK in Japan. In addition, Acorn Media has picked up SVoD rights in New Zealand, as well as DVD rights for the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

DI Ray is created and written by Maya Sondhi, who previously starred in the Mercurio-created crime drama Line of Duty. It is produced by HTM Television, the production outfit co-owned by Mercurio and Hat Trick Productions in association with HTI and Anton Corp, and exec produced by Mercurio, Jimmy Mulville and Madonna Baptiste.

Set in Birmingham, the show follows a Leicester-born police officer who takes on a case that forces her to confront a lifelong personal conflict between her British identity and her South Asian heritage.