Beta Film’s hit shows such as “Bookish” and “Professor T” have established themselves on major French broadcasters and platforms.
Canal+ has acquired both seasons of the English crime series Bookish, created by and starring Primetime Emmy Award winner Mark Gatiss, and the popular crime film series Death in Denmark.
Bookish, set in post-war London, was sold in more than 100 territories on five continents and got off to a strong start on UKTV in the United Kingdom, averaging 1.5 million viewers and the second-highest premiere in the channel’s history. Polly Walker (Bridgerton) and Connor Finch (All I Know About Love) will co-star with Gatiss in Season 2, and the cast also includes Elliott Levy (We Were the Lucky Ones, The Quiz), Blake Harrison (Still Up, World on Fire), Bouquet Comour (Our House), and Jason Watkins (The House). “The Game”, “Macdonald & Dodds”), Miranda Richardson (“The Last Anniversary”), Simon Callow (“Etoile”).
The show is produced by ITV Studios company Eagle Eye Drama in association with Happy Duck Films and supported by Belgian Tax Shelter. It will be released on May 16th on Canal+’s Polar+ channel.
Meanwhile, “Death in Denmark” follows Danish police officers Ida and Magnus, who stop at nothing when their dark heritage collides with modern-day crime. Produced by eikon Media for ARD Degeto, the film delivered record results in Germany, averaging 6.5 million viewers and a staggering 28.7% market share, the highest market share for a Thursday crime film in more than two years.
Beta Films has also secured the French sale of “Professor T,” a crime drama set at Cambridge University and starring Ben Miller (“Bridgerton”) as prominent Cambridge professor Jasper Tempest, to 13ème Rue, a pay channel backed by NBCUniversal. The series, produced by Eagle Eye Drama for ITV and PBS, is distributed by Beta Film in nearly 120 territories around the world and will return for a fifth season. “Professor T” reunites Miller with Frances de la Tour (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”), who reprises her role as Adelaide Tempest, the professor’s mother. PBS Distribution holds North American rights.
On the streaming side, HBO Max France will premiere season 2 of “Máxima,” a Dutch royal drama about the wedding of Máxima and Willem-Alexander. Produced by Millstreet Films in collaboration with FBO and Beta Film, “Maxima” has been sold in 85 territories around the world, earning critical acclaim on Videoland in the Netherlands, Rai in Italy, TV2 in Denmark, Atresmedia in Spain, and spent several weeks in the top 10 in Latin America on HBO’s streaming service Max. Season 3 is currently in production alongside the spin-off “The Other Royals – A Maxima Story.”
