Red Arrow brings The Weekly to Cannes

Period drama Vienna Blood is set in the Austrian capital in the 1900s

The distribution arm of Germany-based production group Red Arrow is heading to MipTV next month with a slate of new formats, dramas and factual titles, including landmark New York Times series The Weekly.

Red Arrow Studios International is bringing current affairs show The Weekly (30×27’) to Cannes for global sales ahead of its US debut on cablenet FX and streamer Hulu in June.

Produced by The New York Times and Red Arrow-owned US prodco Left/Right, The Weekly brings the newspaper’s journalism and insight to the TV screen, going beyond US and international news to find big, signature stories.

Red Arrow will also launch true crime series The Curse of the Vologne (4×45’), an Elephant Group production for France 3 that tells the story of a child murder that continues to haunt France.

The scripted line-up includes new crime drama Vienna Blood (3×90’ or 6×45’) from screenwriter Steve Thompson (Deep State, Jericho, Sherlock). Set in 1900s Vienna, the series is based on the bestselling novels by Frank Tallis. It is produced by Endor Productions and MR Film in coproduction with Red Arrow Studios International, ZDF Germany and Austrian pubcaster ORF.

Further scripted highlights include Departure (6×45’), a conspiracy thriller about the disappearance of a passenger plane, starring Emmy winner Archie Panjabi and Oscar winner Christopher Plummer. The series is produced by Shaftesbury and Greenpoint Productions, in association with Corus Entertainment, for Global in Canada.

Alongside this is Bad Mothers (8×45’), a dramedy produced by Jungle Entertainment and Filthy Productions for Australia’s Nine Network and TVNZ in New Zealand. The show focuses on modern women juggling love, family, careers, infidelity and murder.

Also heading to MipTV is murder-mystery drama The Girl from St Agnes (8×51’). Produced by Quizzical Pictures for Showmax in South Africa, it follows the mysterious death of a schoolgirl at an elite boarding school.

Red Arrow’s format launches include home-makeover show Renovate Don’t Relocate. First commissioned by UKTV, the format has been created, developed and produced by UK indie Outline Productions and mixes smart technology, design and engaging stories.

Alongside this is The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes, a social experiment format originally coproduced by CPL Productions and Motion Content Group for Channel 4 in the UK. The show tasks 14 people affected by dementia with running a professional restaurant.

Also slate is factual entertainment format Every Family Has a Secret. Originally produced by Artemis Media for Australian pubcaster SBS, it follows ordinary people on life-changing journeys as they explore long-held family secrets.

Red Arrow will also launch Next Exit: Love, a new dating format originally produced by Fandango Film for SAT.1 in Germany which sees two singles, matched by a relationship expert, have a quirky blind date on a car journey; and Diet Wars: Chef Showdown, a weight-loss competition show produced by RedSeven Entertainment for Germany’s Kabel Eins.

Rounding off the company’s MipTV formats offering is Beat the Rooms, a studio gameshow from Nippon TV in Japan. Nippon TV is handling sales for Asia, while Red Arrow Studios International has rest of the world rights.