Yahoo Finance BBC Series ‘Line of Duty’ Wraps COVID-Interrupted Shoot – Global Bulletin
In today’s bulletin, “Line of Duty” wraps filming; ViacomCBS and Morena team on “The Kellys”; Netflix is set to change its Spanish billing system; Woodcut and Spark merge; DAZN buys key soccer rights; and Berlin sets Shooting Stars jury.
Jed Mercurio‘s hit police procedural “Line of Duty” has completed shooting its sixth season, complying with U.K. government COVID-19 protocols, and will debut on the BBC in 2021.
Kelly Macdonald (“Giri/Haji”) is the next guest series lead. She plays Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, the senior investigating officer on an unsolved murder case whose unconventional conduct attracts the attention of AC-12, the anti-corruption internal affairs unit around which the series revolves. The series regulars include Adrian Dunbar, Martin Compston and Vicky McClure.
The shoot shut down for five months at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and resumed in August. The series is made for BBC One by World Productions. It is directed by Daniel Nettheim, Gareth Bryn, and Jennie Darnell, and produced by Ken Horn. Executive producers are Jed Mercurio, Simon Heath for World Productions, and Tommy Bulfin for BBC One. International distribution is handled by ITV Studios.
DEVELOPMENT
ViacomCBS International Studios and Spanish production company Morena Films have set a co-development deal for dramedy series “The Kellys.”
Héctor Lozano (“Merlí,” “Merlí. Sapere Aude”) is the creator and showrunner of the series, which will follow a group of cleaners of different European and Latin American backgrounds in a Spanish coastal hotel.
BILLING
From 2021, Netflix will bill Spanish customers in Spain, rather than from the Netherlands, a country that has a more favorable tax regime than Spain, according to Spanish business newspaper Cinco Días.
Spanish customers currently sign a contract with Netflix’s Dutch office and pay their subscription to them. In Spain, Netflix has two companies, Los Gatos Entertainment and Los Gatos Broadcasting Services, that focus on marketing, public relations and content production and provide support services.
MERGER
U.K. independent producer Woodcut Media (the “Combat” franchise) has merged with Spark TV (“Hive Alive”) to launch Woodcut West. The newly merged business, dedicated to the development and production of natural history and specialist factual programming for the U.K. and international market, will be effective Dec. 1.
Woodcut Media (co-founded by Kate Beal) and Spark TV (founded by Paul Wooding) form part of the Anthology Group. Woodcut West will be based out of Bristol and spearheaded by Wooding.
JAPANESE SOCCER
Specialist sports streamer DAZN is launching soccer entertainment series “Yabecchi Stadium” in Japan from Nov. 29. It will be hosted by Hiroyuki Yabe, who previously fronted “Yabecchi F.C.” on Japanese TV for 18 years.
DAZN currently streams all domestic J1 League, J2 and J3 matches in Japan and recently extended its rights and content partnership with the J.League until 2028.
JURY
The 24th edition of European Film Promotion’s annual European Shooting Stars initiative will introduce 10 emerging actors to press and industry during the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
The jury to select the actors consists of Kosovan director Antoneta Kastrati, whose “Zana” has played the Toronto and Sydney festivals and was Kosovo’s Oscar entry this year; American casting director Cassandra Han (“Ford v. Ferrari”); and Danish producer René Ezra (“Queen of Hearts”).
The 10 acting talents, to be announced in mid-January, will be provided a tailor-made program of networking, workshops and press events.
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