News

Japanese premium pay-tv network Wowow has acquired the U.K. detective drama “Bergerac,” a modern re-imagining of the 1980s BBC series, for broadcast later this year.

The six-part series, produced by BlackLight TV (part of Banijay UK) and Jersey-based Westward Studios, will premiere in Japan in August 2025 on Wowow Prime and Wowow On Demand. The deal was negotiated by Rashmi Bajpai, EVP Sales Asia at Banijay Rights, the international distribution arm of Banijay Entertainment.

“Bergerac” stars Damien Molony as Jim Bergerac, the titular detective, and premiered in the U.K. on U and U&Drama in February. The series was recently renewed for a second season after the strong performance of its debut season.

According to Bajpai, “With its superb cast and engrossing storytelling, this enthralling new version of ‘Bergerac’ is clearly proving to be a hit with broadcasters across the world. Wowow is the perfect home in Japan for this iconic series,...

Exclusive: Bergerac is returning with a 2025 makeover and plenty of networks are welcoming the iconic detective back.

Ahead of the London TV Screenings, distributor Banijay Rights has sold the series to Npo in Netherlands, Vrt in Belgium, Svt in Sweden, Yle in Finland, Nrk in Norway, Dr in Denmark, BBC First in Poland and Tvnz in New Zealand. The ABC in Australia had already boarded the British show.

The Jersey-set series was made for UK channel U&Drama by Banijay’s BlackLight TV and Westward Studios, with Damien Molony playing the titular crime fighter, Jim Bergerac. Visit Jersey supported the production.

The original series came from Robert Banks Stewart and starred John Nettles. It ran for nine seasons between 1981 and 1991. Unlike that show, which had a new storyline in each episode, the modern series from writer Toby Whithouse follows one character-led murder mystery.

Bergerac begins the series as a broken man,...

Despite assembling its largest Doctor Who library to celebrate its 60th anniversary, the BBC are set to remove several classic-era stories from its streaming library. As part of the show's milestone celebrations in 2023, the corporation set out to host nearly the entirety of the franchise on the IPlayer platform, from the classic era to the modern revival, to other spin-offs and documentaries. Alongside hosting nearly the entirety of the series from 1963 to Doctor Who season 14, the IPlayer would soon become home to several exclusive documentaries and behind-the-scenes series.

Just over a year after the BBC brought all available Doctor Who media onto its platform, RadioTimes reports that two stories have been removed from the IPlayer platform. "Terror of the Zygons" and "The Seeds of Doom" have been removed from the service, leaving Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor's season 13 adventures incomplete. While no official announcement or explanation was given ahead of the removal,...

Superindie Banijay Entertainment, the France-headquartered international content production and distribution giant with more than 130 production companies across 23 territories, has a catalog of over 185,000 hours of original programming, including such hits as Survivor, Black Mirror, Marie Antoinette, Peaky Blinders, MasterChef, and Big Brother. And it has an executive role that is unlike most others.

In early 2023, the company hired HBO Europe veteran Steve Matthews as an addition to its central scripted department. The former executive of Octagon Films in Dublin (Love/Hate) and consulting producer on all three seasons of Showtime’s The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons, has since then worked as content partnerships executive at Banijay. He is tasked with contributing to the production development process, “supporting in driving co-production opportunities across the Nordics, Spain and beyond, and generally building out the business’ pipeline and creative partnerships primarily across drama.”

Matthews will be speaking at MIPCOM 2024 on Tuesday during a “Drama...

Willem Dafoe Named Artistic Director Of Venice Theatre Department

Willem Dafoe has been named Artistic Director of the Venice Biennale’s Theatre Department. Dafoe will hold the role for a two-year term from 2025 to 2026. The appointment was confirmed by the department board, headed by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. “I was first surprised then happy to receive Pietrangelo Buttafuoco’s invitation to be the Director of the International Theatre Festival of La Biennale di Venezia 2025-2026,” Dafoe said. “I realize that I am known as a film actor, but I was born in the theatre, the theatre trained me and galvanized me. I am a stage animal. I am an actor. Theatre taught me about art and life. I worked with the Wooster Group for twenty-seven years, and I have collaborated with great directors from Richard Foreman to Bob Wilson. The direction of my Theatre program will be charted by my personal development.

The crime drama Bergerac – a massive BBC One hit in the 1980s, starring John Nettles – is being rebooted. Here are the details.

Bergerac is back. Created by Doctor Who writer Robert Banks Stewart, the original series starred John Nettles and ran for nine series between 1981 and 1991. It became one of the biggest hits on the BBC schedules, all set on the island of Jersey.

The new version will give the show a “contemporary twist, as Bergerac is thrown into a knotty, high-stakes police investigation and challenged to his very core. He will be forced to confront his demons, while trying to save his family and career”.

The six-part UKTV Original series will be produced by BlackLight TV, part of Banijay UK, and written by Being Human creator Toby Whithouse, alongside Brian Fillis, Catherine Tregenna and Polly Buckle.

In a departure from the original show, the writers will weave one murder...

This article contains spoilers for "Tmnt: Mutant Mayhem."

The Ninja Turtles are back in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," an animated film from director Jeff Rowe and producer Seth Rogen. By every measure it's a successful reboot of the beloved property that will keep youngsters and animation enthusiasts entertained. Fans of the original comic books and animated series from the '80s might notice changes to certain aspects of the characters -- "Mutant Mayhem" is more of a character-driven comedy than an action film, with a powerful message about acceptance. I, for one, wanted a bit more ninja madness, but still walked away satisfied.

Regardless of any reservations about the picture, plenty of fun Easter eggs sprinkled throughout pay homage to previous iterations that should satisfy those needing a nostalgia kick. Some are easy to spot, while others require sharp eyes and some brain power. What's clear is that...

After nearly a decade since they were last seen in theaters, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem trailer has arrived. Seth Rogen is producing and starring in the animated movie reboot as the mutant warthog Bebop, with The Mitchells vs. the Machines' Jeff Rowe making his feature directorial debut on a script from Neighbors co-writer Brendan O'Brien. Rogen and his creative team are looking to better emphasize the teenage aspect of the eponymous heroes more than any other adaptation before.

Fresh off of the cast being announced for the film, Paramount Pictures has released the official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem trailer.

The video, as seen above, offers the proper first look at Rogen's animated reboot project, which looks to pit the eponymous young heroes against a full cabal of iconic villains, namely Giancarlo Esposito's Baxter Stockman. The trailer also reveals the art style being used...

A reboot of classic British police procedural Bergerac is being developed by Paramount Network International – marking the latter’s first international drama project to emerge since its global expansion.

The series previously starred John Nettles, later known for his role in Midsomer Murders, as a detective on the small island of Jersey. It ran for nine seasons and 87 episodes on the BBC between 1981 and 1991 and was created by Robert Banks Stewart.

Endemol Shine-backed production company Artists Studios is developing the reboot with Westward Studios. It is the latest attempt to bring back the classic character – the BBC had previously attempted to remake the series with Artists Studios back in 2013. Artists Studios’ Gub Neal, who has produced series such as Prime Suspect and The Fall, is lead producer.

The move comes as Viacom ramps up the international rollout of Paramount Network International, under the leadership of Evp Jill Offman.

Offman said,...

facebook

twitter

google+

Mid-way through the F.A. Cup semi-final, a new Doctor Who companion was announced. A few thoughts...

So, all in all, I feel the second half was much more exciting than the first. Stones started to push forward from the back for Everton and Delofeu's introduction meant a better final ball into the box. Shame Lukaku was off form. Probably a fair result though, and it's intriguing to see what Man United will do now that van Gaal has started to inject a bit of excitement back into the team.

In Doctor Who terms, I feel like the new companion, who Twitter has christened 'asBill', is an interesting prospect on a number of levels. From the little we've seen of her, in many ways Bill falls in with the general pattern of young female companion from the present day, quick of wit and inevitably feisty. You could...