The eOne-stop shop for buyers

eOne is a talent-driven independent Studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. They are putting their international reach to good use by helping buyers whisk their viewers to faraway climes. Here, we take a look at the company’s C21 Digital Screenings playlist.

 

It stands to reason that escapist programming which offers viewers a glimpse of glossy foreign destinations is going to be in demand.

 

The C21 Digital Screenings playlist from eOne features multiple new series that do just that, spanning all four corners of the world.

 

“We continue to build on our library of high-quality scripted and unscripted shows and with content originating from the US, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia, we benefit from a broad portfolio in terms of both geography and genre,” explains Stuart Baxter, eOne’s president of international distribution.

 

“As our industry navigates the current climate together, we are working even closer with our producers and production companies as well as our broadcast, platform, and distribution partners all around the world to ensure they have the content they need, so their schedules remain full and their audiences entertained during these unsettling times,” he adds.

 

The company’s playlist includes forthcoming French crime drama La Garçonne (6×60′), which takes place in the irresistible setting of 1920s Paris and will debut on France 2 later this year.

 

The show hails from Paris-based prodco Mother Production, which was behind International Emmy-nominated series Call My Agent! and stars Laura Smet as a woman who witnesses a murder. Assuming the identity of her twin brother, she enters the police force as a man to investigate the crime herself.

 

Last year’s distribution deal for the show was brokered by eOne’s executive VP of acquisitions and international distribution, Noel Hedges, marking eOne’s first French-language acquisition after he had been stalking the project since its early beginnings.

 

“La Garçonne is the perfect antidote to the times we’re in at the moment. It fits firmly in the crime genre, but with the beauty of a Parisian setting, filmed in the autumn last year during amazing weather,” says Hedges.

 

Moreover, it offers an interesting twist on the crime genre, wrapping modern themes around gender roles and identity into a period setting and featuring a stand-out performance from Smet, an established leading star on French screens and also the daughter of rock musician Johnny Hallyday and actress Nathalie Baye.

 

“Anything goes in 1920s Paris. This is an edge-of-your-seat mystery with all the production values of a lavish period drama. Things that transport you somewhere else are really attractive and this certainly does that,” says Hedges.

 

Another new show is Australian drama series Between Two Worlds (10×60′), which was commissioned and made in-house by Seven Network and starring Hermione Norris (Luther, Cold Feet). It’s about two disconnected worlds, one of immense privilege, the other more modest but full of love and warmth.

 

Created and written by Bevan Lee – who was behind popular Aussie hits such as A Place to Call Home – and executive produced by Julie McGauran, the series offers a glimpse into the rare and privileged world of the super-rich.

 

Hedges describes it as “a fantastically gripping saga presented by one of the best storytellers in the business.” A broad, contemporary story of rich and poor set in Sydney, it follows two people from disparate worlds – a vicious, philandering business tycoon and a widow – who are thrown together by a death.”

 

Staying in Australia, eOne is also shopping Upright (8×30′), the Sky Atlantic/Foxtel coproduction made by Lingo Pictures that was hailed as “addictively good” by The Guardian newspaper.

 

A bold, touching, darkly funny and moving drama about the unlikely friendship of two misfits, one played by writer and exec producer Tim Minchin, thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert.

 

“This is a premium, really beautiful show about a journey of self-discovery, grief, acceptance and redemption. Tim plays a hugely talented but damaged 40-year-old musician travelling across Australia when his life crashes together with a fiercely intelligent, tough-as-nails teenager,” says Hedges.

 

“It’s both very funny and brutally sad. Tim is very good at that. It really takes the viewer on a journey across the Australian desert and since it’s aired we’ve seen awareness of it really grow on social media. Tim is already working on a second season” adds the exec.

 

“Factual has been really active and there are a number of projects we’re taking out right now. In this period, factual producers are being really creative in how they’re pulling things together,” says Hedges.

 

One unscripted show going gangbusters in the ratings is Lost Relics of the Knights Templar (5×60′), which became History’s biggest new non-scripted premiere in over six years when it debuted on the A+E Networks UK channel on April 13.

 

From Belfast-based prodco Fired Up Films and London-based Krempelwood, the show revolves around one of the world’s most prolific yet unknown treasure hunters, Hamilton White, and his long-time friend and multi-millionaire property tycoon Carl Cookson.

 

It follows White and Cookson as they travel through Europe and the Middle East to find treasures belonging to the Knights Templar that nobody has previously been able to uncover.

 

Meanwhile, Lost Worlds & Hidden Treasures (3×60′), an Alleycats production for BBC4, focuses on the summer of 1939 and the discovery of three archaeological treasures of great value.

 

Hedges believes the key factor when developing a slate of factual programming to take out to buyers is that each title focuses on a core sub-genre, such as history, animal/nature or science.

 

“The risk you run in factual is that you can muddy the waters with a lot of content that falls between genres and therefore falls between slots on schedules for clients. So it’s very important to be as distinct as possible in what we’re delivering. You don’t want something that sits in between history and a reality docuseries.”

 

Moreover, eOne remains firmly in the market for factual acquisitions at this time.

 

“We like crime, science, history and premium feature documentaries,” says Hedges. “One good thing I’ve seen from producers at the moment is that they’re starting to get creative about how they can get back into production. You’re also seeing a bit more activity around archive-based programming, which is absolutely fine as long as it’s done well and they have good stories.”

 

Among eOne’s scripted shows currently in production is Family Law, an upcoming Vancouver-set drama produced by SEVEN24 Films and Lark Productions for Global TV in Canada. The series follows a lawyer and recovering alcoholic as she struggles to put her career and family back together after hitting rock bottom, starring Jewel Staite (Blindspot) and six-time Emmy-nominated actor Victor Garber (Alias, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow).

 

Another scripted show in the pipeline is Nova Scotia-set family drama Feudal; an eOne production from award-winning screenwriter and director Sheri Elwood (Lucifer, Call Me Fitz). It follows a New York architect who is forced to reunite with her family after an illness brings her back to Nova Scotia, where they run a ramshackle summer resort.

 

The company held its eOne Drama preview event in London in February, featuring new drama Last Summer, which received a great response from buyers, Baxter says.

 

Executive produced by Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple (The Sinner) and created and written by Bert V Royal (Easy A), it can be seen as a precursor to today’s daily social media battles. It explores modern, universal issues of social perceptions, prejudice and lost reputations that will appeal to a young adult audience.

 

“Another compelling, younger adult-skewing series is the procedural Nurses, which launched on Global TV in Canada at the start of the year and was the highest rated drama premiere in over six years for women 18-49,” says Baxter of the show, which has already been renewed for a second season.

 

“Our production slate has both range and scale, from award-winning HBO drama Sharp Objects and, most recently, Run from Vicky Jones and Phoebe Waller Bridge, to popular procedurals such as Private Eyes, which sold into over 160 territories, with season four launching later this year.

 

“Now sold in over 160 markets around the world, The Rookie has delivered ratings success across all territories including Sky Witness in the UK, solidifying it as a global hit. Many territories are seeing the police procedural in second windows now and we continue to look for further opportunities with our existing partners.

 

“We have a large and varied catalogue of multi-season dramas, including Kiefer Sutherland-led Designated Survivor, alongside Rookie Blue, Saving Hope offering from 60 to 100 episodes plus popular AMC catalogue titles The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and Halt and Catch Fire.

 

Meanwhile, series returning to eOne’s catalogue include Diggstown, which launched recently on BET+ in the US and airs on the CBC in Canada; Burden of Truth, currently in its third season on The CW in the US; and CTV’s Cardinal, which also airs on BBC4 in the UK.

 

In the latter territory, eOne’s scripted production business is making leaps and bounds after it received its first UK commission, for eight-part horror drama Red Rose, coproduced with Eleven Film (Sex Education) for BBC3. The show has already been sold to Netflix internationally, while more UK productions are expected to be announced by eOne shortly.

 

“Our new scripted programming is modern and premium and will appeal to a range of audiences, with something for everyone,” concludes Baxter.