TF1 Int’l looks for Euro drama

MIPTV: France’s TF1 International has signed a co-development agreement with UK company Headline Pictures for an as-yet unspecified drama project.

The agreement is the first under a new strategy for the French channel’s international distribution arm, which aims to expand its drama slate to include third-party European series.

The Headline Pictures project is a crime novel adaptation, according to Sabine Chemaly, exec VP international sales at TF1 International. “We are also looking at Italian, German and Spanish series, and not necessarily English-language ones,” she added.

The distributor aims to more than double its drama offering from around two series per year, and is also investing minimum guarantees in some third-party French series produced for other channels.

These include Call My Agent (6×52’), a comedy miniseries launching at MipTV that was created and inspired by movie star agent Domnique Besnehar. It is directed by Cédric Klapish for France 2.

In other news, TF1 International has sold TF1’s flagship French-language series Profiling (Profilages) to TVE in Spain, which brings the number of territories to have taken the series to 83.

In France, Profilages, which is in its sixth season, saw its ratings climb year-on-year to 8.2 million weekly viewers last season. In February, the series also successfully launched on Germany’s Sat.1, bringing in 1.4 million viewers.

TF1 International has also brought to MipTV the first images of No Second Chance (6×52’), adapted from the novel by Harlan Coben, who was the showrunner on the French-language miniseries.

Also launching at MipTV is TF1’s upcoming 6×52’ mystery serial Vanished By The Lake (Les Disparus Du Lac), which is set to be delivered in the summer. Also on its way is one-off event TV movie Woman Under Influence (L’Emprise), which focuses on abused women and brought in a record audience of 10 million for the channel in January, making a 40% share.