“The Last of Us” star Bella Ramsay, twinned in Maya with “Back to Life” writer-star Daisy Haggard making her directorial debut, Bond pic star Gemma Arterton, “I Will Destroy You’s” Paapa Essiedu and Robyn Malcolm, a 2024 Series Mania best actress winner for “After the Party,” all feature on All3Media International lineup, set for presentation on Thursday at the 2026 London TV Screenings.
Behind the camera talent on new shows takes in “Lupin” and “Skins” co-creators George Kay and Brian Elsley, as well as Oscar winner James Marsh.
The full force of A3Media International scripted lineup is only felt, however, by taking in returning drama which includes international sales hits “The Assassin” with Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore, “All Creatures Great and Small,”and the final iteration of Daniel Lawrence-Taylor’s “Boarders,” a comedy-drama questioning the arcane dysfunctionality of Britain’s elite education.
All3Media International will also be talking up Season 4 of the Vicky McClure-starring “Trigger Point” from Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television, Series 12 of New Zealand’s series “The Brokenwood Mysteries” and Season 26 Bentley Productions’ “Midsomer Murders.”
“Whether buyers are looking for all-star thrillers, fresh new dramas or the next instalments from ratings-winning favourites, our showcase on Thursday afternoon at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square is guaranteed to be a hot ticket event,” commented Louise Pedersen, All3Media International CEO, of its scripted lineup.
A drill-down on new titles:
“Maya”
Bella Ramsay and Daisy Haggard join their formidable forces playing headstrong daughter and devoted mother forced into witness protection in rural Scotland. The dangerous figure they’re still running from is a looming threat, however. A propulsive psychological thriller, exploring predatory male behaviour, family and the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter, says All3Media. Two Brothers Pictures, behind “The Tourist” and now “Assassins,” produce the six-part series for Channel 4, created and co-directed by Haggard and also starring Tobias Menzies (“The Crown”), Harriet Walter (“Succession”) and Tom Courtenay (“Unforgotten”).
“Careless”
Interrogating power, intimacy, trust and generational divides, says All3Media, a character-driven thriller promising top-notch performances from stars Solly McLeod (“House of the Dragon”), Robyn Malcolm (“After the Party”) and Richard Roxburgh (“Rake”). McLeod plays a Scottish backpacker in Australia’s Sydney determining to become carer for bad boy rock’n’roll legend Mike. He gets the gig but may place Mike (Roxburgh) and wife Angela (Malcolm) in grave danger. Made for Australia’s Stan and the U.K’s Channel 4 and created by Helen Fitzgerald (“The Cry”) and Louise Fox (“Broadchurch”) for Easy Tiger Productions (“Colin From Accounts”) and “The Tattoo of Auschwitz” maker Synchronicity Films.
“Counsels”
From “Skins” co-creator Bryan Elsley and Gillian McCormack, a Glasgow-set BBC legal drama, part of the Beeb’s biggest recent single recent investment in drama in Scotland, catching young hotshot law students as they choose their different career paths, whether public prosectors, big business counsels or pro bono lawyers. “As they face their biggest professional challenges yet and their relationships are tested to destruction, now’s the time things are going to catch fire,” says All3Media Intl. A newer and younger-gen way into legal drama, from Balloon Ent., with ZDF on board as an early anchor co-production partner.
“Gone”
The latest from “Lupin” creator George Kay with a long prestige C.V., taking in Apple TV hit “Hijack.” When his wife disappears, the reputation of Michael Polly (David Morrissey), until then a highly respected headmaster of an elite high-school, begins to fall apart. As Detective Annie Cassidy (Eve Myles, “Keeping the Faith”) investigates, “Gone” lifts off as a high-stakes cat and mouse between the hard-charging Cassidy and Polly, who likes to keep his own counsel. Bound for ITV and ITVX for a March bow, a “story about privilege and prejudice,” says Kay. “The truth is tantalisingly close. Or at least, that’s what Annie thinks,” he teases. Kay’s Observatory Pictures, backed by All3Media, produces with New Pictures.
“Saviour”
Led by Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”), Anjli Mohindra (“Bodyguard”), and Shaun Parkes (“Mangrove”), Ben, a medical student gets into an altercation resulting in a man’s death. His recently promoted criminal defence attorney (Mohindra) faces a Detective Inspector (Parkes) determined to get to the truth, despite his colleague (Gillen) being ruthlessly intent on clearing his son’s name. A potentially involving ITV legal drama from Nisha Parti’s indie Parti Productions (“The Boy With the Topknot”) and Drama Republic (“Steal,” “One Day”), written by Imran Mahmood, a full-time criminal barrister, and exec produced by “Your Honor” writer Peter Moffat.
“Secret Service”
Headlined by Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”) as a senior MI6 officer, directed by Oscar winner James Marsh, and described as a “sophisticated” “fast-paced, globe trotting” cinematic espionage thriller. Set in the new Cold War it has Arterton’s Kate Henderson racing against time to expose a top British politician who may have been turned by the Russians. Produced by Potboiler for ITV. Cast also includes Rafe Spall, Mark Stanley, Alex Kingston, Roger Allam, Amaka Okafur and Khalid Abdalla.
“Babies”
Billed as a “poignant new drama” created, written and directed by sitcom BAFTA winner Stefan Golaszewski (“Him & Her” and “Mum”) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One and pairing “I Will Destroy You’s” Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen (“Bodkin,” “Obituary”) as a couple battling pregnancy loss. Produced by Snowed-In Productions and The Money Men Studios, “Babies” “has everything we love about Stefan Golaszewski’s work – a tender, authentic, emotional and human look at couples navigating a time in their lives that is rarely covered on television,” BBC Drama Director Lindsay Salt has said.
Unscripted Lineup
Announced earlier in February, All3Media’s 50-hour of unscripted programming lineup is powered by celebrity-led headline docuseries on Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson. These are other highlights:
“Michael Jackson: The Trial”
Bowing on Channel 4 on Feb. 4 the four-episode story of Jackson’s 2005 trial for the alleged sexual molestation of a young boy, Gavin Arvizo. “Channel 4’s latest series triumphs in collating accounts from both sides, plus featuring unheard-before recordings of Jackson from 2000 and 2001,” The Guardian said in its four-star review, calling the doc-series “troubling.” “If you told me right now … ‘Michael, you could never see another child’ … I would kill myself,” Jackson says in one audio-clip. “Against the backdrop of the upcoming release of a biopic sponsored by the Jackson estate, the series ultimately asks: Can the King of Pop ever be cancelled?” All3Media Intl. asks.
“Taylor Swift: A Love Story”
Picking up in its title on one of Swift’s early breakout songs, “the story of the world’s biggest pop star through the loves that shaped her, her bold reinvention of pop stardom and the heartbreaks that fuelled an unprecedented cultural phenomenon” as she “transformed the diary of her life into the soundtrack of a generation”: All3Media Intl.’s take. An unseen one-hour special, brand new at the London TV Screenings and again from Lion TV.
“2.6 Seconds”
A four-hour true crime series unspooling in Yuendumu in Australia’s central desert. Kumanjayi Walker, 18, from the Warlpiri Luritja people, is shot and killed by Zachary Rolfe, 27, a police officer. Three shots, less than three seconds apart. “Intimate, forensic and unflinching,” says All3Media, the series traces the collision of two lives, two families, and two profoundly different ideas of justice, it adds. Produced by Blackfella Films, written and produced by Darren Dale (“The Australian Wars,” “Meet the Neighbours”) and co-commissioned by SBS and NITV with a major production investment from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department.
“The Lost Kingdom of Arabia”
From Lion TV, behind “Pompeii: The New Dig,” a doc-feature on one of history’s forgotten powers the story of Ghassan, a Christian-Arab kingdom and Roman Empire buffer state between Rome and emerging superpower Persia, its civilization peaking in the second half of the sixth century. Shot across sweeping locations with Lion TV’s trademark epic-toned storytelling, All3Media notes, the series depicts Ghassan’s cultural brilliance and sudden disappearance.
“We’re excited to unveil an unmissable new unscripted slate. Celebrity driven documentaries of the highest caliber (‘Michael Jackson: The Trial’ and ‘Taylor Swift: A Love Story’) join sweeping historical epic ‘Lost Kingdom of Arabia’ and timely true crime series ‘2.6 Seconds.’ These are bold, premium titles designed to resonate with audiences worldwide,” said Pedersen.
“These shows sit within a wider unscripted offering that spans high-impact true crime from leading producers including DSP, Lightbox and Candor, projects fronted by fast-rising talent such as Olivia Attwood, and series led by much-loved figures like the world’s favorite gardener Monty Don. And global reality phenomenon ‘The Traitors’ continues to find faithful partners and go from strength to strength.”
in fact, IDTV’s global format hit “The Traitors” has now hit a 40 territory commission milestone with Indonesia becoming the latest market to adapt the psychological reality competition.
Source: variety.com
