As the nights grow longer, C21’s Hot Properties playlist for November has a wealth of varied content for all to enjoy this winter.

The crime drama juggernaut is marching on with no sign of stopping, although this month’s list offers some variations on the theme.

First up is six-part prison drama, Screw, created by Bafta-nominated writer Rob Williams (The Victim, Killing Eve) and produced by STV Studios for Channel 4 in the UK. As the name suggests, the drama focuses on prison officers dealing with the danger brought by a fiery new recruit who could threaten their lives. Global distributor Banijay Rights is handling sales.

Germany’s Bavaria Media International has another novel crime series on offer, made by local prodco Polyphon Pictures for SWR. Six-parter AntiPasta – Cooking the Books sees an Italian crime family flee to Germany, only to find out they can’t entirely run away from their past.

Spanish crime drama You Shall Not Lie, meanwhile, is on offer from Germany’s Beta Film. The series, which features an international cast, tells the story of a teacher in a seaside town who is ostracised after sleeping with a student. The six-parter is produced by Barcelona’s Filmax for Movistar+.

Another Spanish crime series, Dry Water, is having its second season featured in C21’s Hot Properties playlist this month. With DCD Rights managing global sales, the six-part Galician thriller – coproduced by Portocabo and SP-I for TVG and RTP – is about a woman whose brother dies in mysterious circumstances and who then discovers that his death was caused by her own wealthy godfather, who has links to arms trafficking.

From Spain to Serbia, Civil Servant (24×50’) is a crime series focusing on international espionage. A young agent is drawn into a conspiracy that sees Serbia become the playground for the major global players to have a disagreement on foreign soil, and has to save everything he loves. The series is produced by Serbian state broadcaster Telekom Srbija along with local prodco Film Danas and is available from India’s GoQuest Media.

UK commercial channel ITV is also making waves in the crime drama world, with The Long Call. Based on the book of the same name by Ann Cleeves, the four-part series follows a detective who returns to his Devon home town to investigate a murder. Silverprint Pictures is producing and ITV Studios is looking after sales.

Elsewhere in the crime-related drama space, German series Berlin Legal (8×45’) covers the work of Germany’s most successful media lawyer, who is based on a real person. The series was produced by UFA Fiction and has been shown on German channel ARD, with Studio Hamburg Enterprises managing global sales.

The Secrets She Keeps (6×43’) is an Australian thriller about two women who each hold a secret over the other that could ruin their lives. Adapted from the book by Michael Robotham by Lingo Pictures and Network Ten down under, the show has investment from Australia’s Screen NSW and is distributed via DCD Rights.

In the wake of Halloween, horror anthology series V/H/S/94 follows a SWAT team that stumbles upon a collection of video cassettes made by a cult and watches them. Distributed by US-based AMC Studios, the film screened via streamer Shudder and is the fourth part of the V/H/S franchise which began in 2012.

Two sports dramas also make it on to the list, the first being skating series Derby Girl. The French show, which has had two seasons, is a comedy about a fallen figure skating star who decides to become a champion roller derby competitor. The series is being sold by Italy’s Asacha Media Group.

Finally in scripted, football drama The Window (10×60’) explores the complex and dark off-field machinations of the world of soccer. It is produced by Germany’s Boogie Entertainment and ZDF Enterprises, in coproduction with Japanese Fuji Television Network and Belgian streamers Velvet and Streamz.

Family comedy Uncoupling (9×26’) takes a positive attitude to parental separation. In the French show, two parents who don’t love each other anymore decide to live in two separate flats connected by their kids’ bedroom. France’s StudioCanal is handling distribution for the Canal+ show.

In formats, the UK’s Channel 4 is branching out with Handmade: Good With Wood, a competition set in an outdoor workshop. Nine craftspeople compete for the crown through a variety of woodworking challenges. The series, presented by comic Mel Giedroyc, is made by the UK’s Plimsoll Productions and sold by its distribution company Magnify Media.

Finnish format The Ultimate Escape, from Rabbit Films, is an eight-parter in which a contestant has 24 hours to track down a celebrity who is locked in a room in a secure mystery location. Produced for Discovery in Finland, the show premiered in October.

The popularity of talent shows involving masked celebs continues, with global distributor Red Arrow Studios International distributing Who Is The Phantom?, a celebrity guessing show in which contestants decypher clues and riddles to find out who is behind the mask. The show is produced by Germany’s Constantin Television and aired on ProSieben.

Play Innocent, meanwhile, is a gameshow based on the parlour game Mafia/Werewolf from Japan’s Yomiuri Telecasting. Four contestants play a quiz while one of their number tries to sabotage their answers and ruin their chances of winning.

In kids’ programming, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation is selling Thalu, a live-action fantasy series with an Indigenous cast who try to save their country from an almighty dustwind and the enemies who hide inside it.

Kids’ specialist Cake is producing and distributing the animated series Tish Tash (52×5’), aimed at preschoolers. The series follows infant bear Tish, her family and her imaginary friend Tash as they go on adventures. It is from South Korean animator Studio Gale, Singapore-based August Media Holdings, Filipino media group Synergy88 Entertainment and the UK’s Karrot Entertainment.

Imaginary friends are on the menu for November, it would seem. For aficionados of kids’ content, imaginary beast The Gruffalo needs no introduction. Based on Julia Donaldson’s hit book series and on sale from the UK’s Magic Light Pictures, the animated film premiered on the BBC in the UK 12 years ago and continues to capture kids’ imaginations.

Japan is the subject of the first factual show on this month’s Hot Properties playlist, from Mainichi Broadcasting System. Migaku-hito focuses on the Japanese art of cleaning, which purports that cleaning also purifies the soul and cleans the mind. The show travels around Japan to meet some of the best artisans and find out the secrets behind their work.

With Migaku-hito the only travel-based factual offering this month, it doesn’t take a genius to guess where a lot of November’s non-scripted content is headed. True crime, like its scripted cousin, is booming and Cops On The Rock, from Canada’s Blue Ant International, is a documentary following police officers on Gibraltar going about their day-to-day duties. As a hub for international smuggling, the port rarely sees a dull moment.

Elsewhere in crime factual, Released To Kill, from London’s Passion Distribution, looks at crimes committed by ex-convicts and how they could have been avoided. The show was produced by Emporium Productions for CBS Reality.

If You Kill, Call Me, meanwhile, looks at the world of narco-lawyers who have defended some of the world’s most notorious criminals. Spanning Mexico, Colombia and the US, the show features interviews with El Chapo’s lawyer La Reina Del Pacifico and is distributed by French distributor Terranoa.

One trend continuing from last month is the popularity of history shows, with Vikings: The Rise & Fall (6×60’) on the playlist. Sold by Amcomri-owned Abacus Media Rights, the show looks back over 300 years of Norse history. Black West, from global distributor Drive, is a documentary showing the truth behind America’s westward expansion, and the dark secrets that have been swept under the rug until now.

The history offering moves into the 20th century, with Voices of Liberation (11×52’) from Netherlands distributor DFW. The series is a copro between Netflix and Belgian streamer Streamz and retraces the Allied liberation of Europe at the end of the Second World War.

Also dealing with the subject of WWII, albeit from a modern perspective, is feature film No Roses on a Sailor’s Grave. The 2020 film, from Canada’s Go Button Media and sold by CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution, sees Royal Navy veteran Patrick Thomas, the last survivor from his ship’s sinking in the English Channel, join up with an archaeologist to find the vessel.

US producer and distributor New Dominion Pictures is focusing on the Cold War to tell the tale of Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who spied on the US for the Soviet Union and Russia for 25 years until 2001. The documentary, titled A Spy In The FBI, recounts his life and activities as a spy through expert interviews.

Another documentary on the list takes a look at one of the most iconic singers of all time: Joni Mitchell – specifically the 50th anniversary of her album Blue. Joni Mitchell: 50 Years of Blue originally aired on UK pubcaster BBC2 and is being shopped by global distributor Entertainment One.

Lastly in history, Secrets of Playboy looks at the “dark underbelly” of the Hugh Hefner years at the Playboy corporation. The show views the US adult entertainment organisation through a modern lens and is set to be released next year, with A+E Global Content Sales distributing.

Another revealing documentary is Milked, sold by London’s Beyond Rights. The film exposes the so-called ‘whitewash’ that goes on in the multi-billion-dollar dairy industry in New Zealand, and how the country has gone from a land with no cows to being the biggest exporter of dairy in the world.

For lighter factual content, Sony Pictures Television Formats is selling the BBC show Second Chance Salon. The format puts cameras in a hairdressing salon, where people reveal their innermost worries as they get a new look. The crack team of stylists give people’s lives a makeover as well as their hair.

From Germany’s Autentic Distribution comes Stone Men II, a factual entertainment series shot in the marble quarries of the Apuan Alps, Italy, which explores how to make marble quarrying more environmentally friendly. Italian prodco GiUMa Produzioni makes the show for Discovery Italy.

Finally, automotive series Richard Hammond’s Workshop, made for US-based SVoD platform Discovery+, is available from UK distributor Cineflix Rights. Hammond sets up his car repair workshop with his own money on the line and deals with exacting customers, engineering challenges and tight deadlines.

That’s all for C21’s Hot Properties playlist for this month, enjoy your TV-filled November!

As the nights grow longer, C21’s Hot Properties playlist for November has a wealth of varied content for all to enjoy this winter.

The crime drama juggernaut is marching on with no sign of stopping, although this month’s list offers some variations on the theme.

First up is six-part prison drama, Screw, created by Bafta-nominated writer Rob Williams (The Victim, Killing Eve) and produced by STV Studios for Channel 4 in the UK. As the name suggests, the drama focuses on prison officers dealing with the danger brought by a fiery new recruit who could threaten their lives. Global distributor Banijay Rights is handling sales.

Germany’s Bavaria Media International has another novel crime series on offer, made by local prodco Polyphon Pictures for SWR. Six-parter AntiPasta – Cooking the Books sees an Italian crime family flee to Germany, only to find out they can’t entirely run away from their past.
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