News

In a key strategic move and following some of the smart TV money in these current times, New Regency has partnered with Bravado Equity to drive into Europe, making its first European series acquisition “Beyond” (aka “Oderbruch”), one of the standout recent TV hits in Europe.

New Regency will launch “Beyond” at the London TV Screenings, its market debut taking place for invited guests on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25.

In industry terms, prestige drama “Beyond” ticks many of the boxes for series which can be made with high production values while tapping into Europe’s rich financing ecosystem.

The second series in a first-look TV deal between CBS Studios and Berlin-based Syrreal Entertainment, “Beyond” is also produced by Ard Degeto, the film production arm of Germany’s Ard, Europe’s biggest public broadcaster which is moving into ever more ambitious series such as 2024 Canneseries winner “The Zweiflers” and indeed “Beyond.”

“Beyond...

It takes less than three minutes for the latest drama to bear Dick Wolf’s name to drop an F-bomb, adopt the dashcam, and violently kill off a familiar face at point blank range. For a man renowned for his ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it approach’ to network television, it’s akin to Dylan going electric.

Initially planned for IMDb TV and then Freevee before finding a home on Prime Video, “On Call” is also Wolf’s first straight-to-streaming project (“Law & Order: Organized Crime” only moved to Peacock in its fifth season), while each episode is done and dusted within a binge-friendly 30 minutes.

Unlike his other ten and counting procedurals still on the air, Wolf’s role is limited strictly to executive producer. Though having handed over the creative reins to son Elliot (and Tim Walsh), it’s still very much under the Wolf Entertainment...

All eight episodes of the adrenaline-pumping series drop Thursday, Jan. 9 on Prime Video.

I have a soft spot for Long Beach. It’s just a short drive south of Los Angeles, and the beaches are often far less busy in the summer than LA’s. Now, I haven’t seen any serious police activity while sunning down there, but that’s about to change when the new police drama “On Call” debuts on Thursday, Jan. 9 with all eight episodes exclusively on Prime Video. The show follows a seasoned cop and her idealistic rookie partner as they navigate the gritty streets of Long Beach while marking the first scripted streaming project for executive producer Dick Wolf (“Law & Order”) and his company, Wolf Entertainment. Here’s everything you need to know about “On Call.”

30-Day Free Trial $8.99+ / month amazon.com Everything you need to know about ‘On Call’:

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Prime Video has released the official trailer and key art for the On Call series, a gripping new half-hour drama from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television.

Co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, On Call is Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series and will premiere on January 9, 2025 with all eight episodes, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

The On Call series is an adrenalized and visceral police drama that follows a rookie and veteran officer duo as they go on patrol in Long Beach, California. Incorporating a mixture of bodycam, dash-camera, and cellphone footage to create a cinema verité effect, the innovative series explores the morality of protecting and serving a community.

The series stars Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) as officer Traci Harmon, a seasoned twelve year veteran and training officer with a strong moral compass that has defined her approach to policing,...

Today, Prime Video released the official trailer and key art for “On Call,” a new half-hour drama series from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television. Co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, “On Call” is Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series and will premiere Jan. 9, 2025 with all eight episodes, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Watch the trailer below.

Prime Video calls “On Call” an “adrenalized and visceral police drama that follows a rookie and veteran officer duo as they go on patrol in Long Beach, California. Incorporating a mixture of bodycam, dash-camera, and cellphone footage to create a cinema verité effect, the innovative series explores the morality of protecting and serving a community.”

The series stars Troian Bellisario (“Pretty Little Liars”) as officer Traci Harmon, a seasoned twelve year veteran and training officer with a strong moral compass that has defined her approach to policing,...

Today, Prime Video unveiled a first look at On Call, a thrilling new half-hour drama series from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television. Co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, On Call is Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series.

The series will premiere on January 9, 2025, with all eight episodes exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

On Call is an adrenalized and visceral police drama that follows a rookie and veteran officer duo as they go on patrol in Long Beach, California.

Incorporating a mixture of bodycam, dash camera, and cellphone footage to create a cinema verité effect, the innovative series explores the morality of protecting and serving a community.

The series stars Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) as hard-charging but protective veteran officer Traci Harmon, who struggles to find her place in the department while training the next generation of officers. Brandon Larracuente (The Good Doctor) stars as Alex Diaz,...

Lori Loughlin is among the cast who will be starring in On Call, the first scripted streaming series from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment. The police drama for Prime Video will release all eight episodes on Jan. 9, 2025, and adds to Wolf’s prolific slate of Law & Order, Chicago and FBI-branded series.

Described as an “adrenalized and visceral police drama,” the half-hour series, which moved over from an original order at Amazon Freevee, stars Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars), Brandon Larracuente (The Good Doctor), Eriq La Salle (ER, Logan) and Rich Ting (Tulsa King), along with Loughlin.

The first-look images (above and below) debut Loughlin’s Lieutenant Bishop, along with Bellisario’s hard-charging but protective veteran officer Traci Harmon, who struggles to find her place in the department while training the next generation of officers; Larracuente’s Alex Diaz, an ambitious rookie who grapples with holding on to his optimistic outlook...

Six friends from Detroit head into the remote northern forests of Michigan for their annual weekend getaway at the local deer hunting cabin. Upon stopping at a roadside bar along the way, the group’s self-proclaimed hero Wes becomes smitten with the Native American bartender Star. When a brawl erupts with some unsavory locals, it’s Star who defuses the tension. Later that night, an unseen assailant murders Star behind the tavern. Unaware of this disturbing turn of events, Wes and the others continue on their journey into the darkening woods.

So begins Deer Camp ’86, the debut feature from director L. VanDyke Siboutszen. A throwback slasher film released in 2022, it nods to the nostalgia of 1980s popcorn flicks while crafting its own woodland stalk-and-slash story. Upon arriving at the remote hunting lodge, the sheriff pays an ominous visit to inform the friends about Star’s demise and issues a...

Annecy, France — José Miguel Ribeiro, Nuno Beato and David Doutel and Vasco Sá, iconic figures in modern-day Portuguese animation, will unveil new projects at this year’s Annecy. They will be joined by newer talents – Vier Nev, behind “A Mind Sang” – João Carrilho, Patrícia Figueiredo and Natália Azevedo Andrade – who together deliver an eloquent snapshot of the burgeoning state of Portuguese animation.

Over the last 30 years, Portuguese animation has won ever more prizes for usually 2D short films of dazzling beauty, experimentation and sometimes social point. The career of Regina Pessoa, who delivers a masterclass at Annecy, is a case in point.

Animation remains in Portugal a vocational passion. In one case in point, Ribeiro, after scoring praise and plaudits with feature film “Nayola,” will present a short film, “The Flower and the Fish,” which marks another new direction in vastly eclectic career.

Yet Portuguese animation is in the throes of industry take-off.

Netflix is adding content from another TV titan to its roster of originals. Homicide: New York, a true-crime docuseries from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, is set to debut on the streamer on March 20. It will be followed by Homicide: Los Angeles later this year. Both installments consist of five episodes each.

Homicide, from Wolf Entertainment and Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz’s Alfred Street Industries, tells the stories of a city’s most notorious murder cases by following the detectives and prosecutors who cracked them.

The project predates Wolf’s current massive deal with Universal Studio Group (signed in 2020 and extended in 2023 through 2027), which includes a first-look agreement with Universal Television Alternative Studio for unscripted/docu-series.

Homicide is executive produced by Wolf, Tom Thayer, the head of the non-scripted arm of Wolf Entertainment who was instrumental in getting the project together, Lipsitz, Cutforth, Nan Strait, Dan Volpe and Adam Kassen.

Pal Oie is reuniting with the producers of his 2019 action thriller The Tunnel to direct the new Norwegian monster movie Kraken.

TrustNordisk is handling international sales for the thriller, starting at the European Film Market (EFM) at the Berlin Film Festival.

Kraken, now in development and targeting a late 2025 theatrical release, will be based on the tale of the legendary monster from the deep returning and set to wreak havoc.

There’s no word on casting, but the thriller will follow Johanne, a marine biologist who encounters several strange occurrences while researching a fjord, including the brutal deaths of two local teenagers. “At the bottom of Norway’s deepest fjord rests a mythical monster as large as a mountain, with a myriad of arms ready to crush and devour anything they can grab,” the film’s synopsis reads.

In Norway and Iceland, legend has it that the Kraken, a giant...

TrustNordisk has acquired international sales rights on Pal Oie’s upcoming monster movie Kraken.

The film is currently in pre-production, with a €5.3m (£4.5m) budget; and a 2025 theatrical release pencilled in for Norway.

Kraken will follow a marine biologist who discovers the eponymous mythical monster while doing research near Norway’s deepest fjord.

Oie will reunite with Nordisk Film Production’s John Einar Hagen and Einar Loftesnes on the film, after the duo produced Oie’s 2019 action thriller The Tunnel. Vilde Eide has written the script; it is produced in collaboration with Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods, who make genre titles based on Norwegian folklore.

In the eerie world of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, players are faced with a crucial decision that will shape the fate of the protagonist Red Mac Raith, and his loved one Antea Duarte—choosing between the Ascension Oath and the Resurrection Oath. It’s a choice that goes beyond mere gameplay mechanics; it’s a narrative fork in the road that influences the entire journey through the haunted landscapes of New Eden.

The duo forms a couple of Banishers, serving to protect the living from lingering ghosts. However, after an unfortunate series of events, Antea becomes what she swore to destroy. The player, as Red, must make a pivotal decision and swear an oath to Antea, sealing her fate while affecting the way the plot unravels.

Should You Pick the Ascension Oath or the Revelation Oath in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden?

Choices matter in Banishers: Ghosts of New...

Media Rights

Viacom18, a TV and streaming group backed by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, has secured Indian media rights for field hockey from the International Hockey Federation (Fih). The agreement runs for a four-year cycle (2023-2027) and includes all Fih events, except the Fih Nations Cup. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The upcoming Fih Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, the first ever Fih Hockey5s World Cup, the Fih Hockey Pro League and the 2026 Fih Hockey World Cup, among other tournaments, will be available on streaming platform JioCinema and Viacom18’s linear channels Network Sports18.

While cricket remains the most popular sport in India, with Viacom18 paying $3 billion in 2022 for digital rights to the Indian Premier League, field hockey also enjoys much support.

Viacom18 Sports head of strategy, partnerships and acquisitions Hursh Shrivastava said: “Hockey has been one of the most loved, followed and storied sports in India. The recent success of...

“Chicago” and “Law & Order” franchise creator and producer Dick Wolf has extended his overall television deal with NBCUniversal, signing a two-year deal extension with Universal Television, meaning he will remain with the company until 2027.

Previously, the procedural producer had signed a pre-pandemic pact in 2020 that promised three-season renewals for his shows. The original deal was planned for five years.

“Universal Television has been my home for almost 40 years. It has been, and continues to be, one of the most successful partnerships in television, and I am thrilled that we are keeping the trains running another four years,” Wolf said in a statement.

Also Read:

NBC Renews All 6 Dick Wolf Series, Including ‘Law & Order: Svu’ and ‘Chicago Fire’

Wolf’s three broadcast franchises include NBC’s “Chicago” series, NBC’s “Law & Order” and CBS’ “FBI” shows. The scripted series “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Pd,” “Chicago Med,” “Law & Order: Svu,...

On the heels of NBC extending Dick Wolf’s six scripted series on the network for another season, sibling Universal Television has extended Wolf’s overall deal at the studio for two additional years.

The uber producer in 2020 signed a massive new five-year, nine-figure deal spanning broadcast and streaming for his Wolf Entertainment to remain at Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, until 2025. The pact has now been extended until 2027. We hear the new agreement is under the same financial terms and features new series commitments for scripted and unscripted shows.

With yesterday’s NBC mass renewal for Chicago Fire, Chicago Pd, Chicago Med, Law & Order, Law & Order: Svu, and Law & Order: Organized Crime and the existing two-season CBS renewal for FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, all nine of Wolf’s current broadcast scripted series are locked in for next season. Additionally,...

After nearly four decades at the studio under his belt, Dick Wolf has extended his overall deal at Universal Television through 2027.

Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television currently have nine series on the air, including the “Law & Order” franchise, the “One Chicago” franchise and the “FBI” franchise. The news of Wolf’s continued deal comes one day after NBC’s renewals of “Chicago Fire” for Season 12, “Chicago Pd” for Season 11, “Chicago Med” for Season 9, “Law & Order” for Season 23, “Law & Order: Svu” for Season 25 and “Law & Order: Organized Crime” for Season 4. And in 2022, CBS issued double-renewals for “FBI,” “FBI: Most Wanted” and “FBI: International” through the 2023-24 season.

The “FBI,” “One Chicago” and “Law & Order” franchises regularly bring in ratings wins for NBC and CBS, often charting as the most-watched telecasts of the night when they air on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, respectively. In delayed Live + 7 viewing,...

NBCUniversal is ensuring Dick Wolf remains in its stable for a long time.

The procedural king, fresh off multiple-series renewals for his Law & Order and Chicago franchises, has signed a two-year overall deal extension with Universal Television.

The new deal means Wolf will remain with Universal TV until 2027. His previous pact, which was signed pre-pandemic in 2020 and came with three-season renewals for his slate of shows, was a five-year deal that a source at the time described as being the “largest deal in TV history.”

“Universal Television has been my home for almost 40 years. It has been, and continues to be, one of the most successful partnerships in television, and I am thrilled that we are keeping the trains running another four years,” Wolf said in a statement that downplayed the previous five-year agreement as a three-year pact.

Wolf currently has three franchises that make up nine scripted series on...

Production companies ConradFilm and Bavaria Fiction are following their German ratings and international sales hit “Dark Woods” with new high-octane police drama franchise “Sonderlage,” which has been ordered by German broadcaster Rtl.

Crime drama “Dark Woods” was the most-watched program on German broadcaster Ard’s streaming service in 2020, and was sold last year to numerous territories, including North America, the U.K., France, Spain, the Nordic region, Japan and India.

Filming of the first two 90-minute “Sonderlage” films has just begun in Hamburg and Berlin. Inspired by true events, “Sonderlage” (a working title whose literal translation is “special situation”) focuses on police work in exceptional situations such as terrorist attacks, hostage taking and high-scale extortion.

The film is directed by Andreas Senn (“Unbroken”) and written by Norbert Eberlein (“Beat”). Michał Grabowski (“Lomo: The Language of Many Others”) is responsible for visual design.

Executive producers are Marc Conrad (“Dark Woods”) from ConradFilm,...

Production has got underway in Germany and Poland on “Oderbruch,” a major thriller series produced by Paramount Global’s CBS Studios, Syrreal Entertainment and Ard Degeto, part of German public broadcast group Ard.

The previously announced drama stars Karoline Schuch (“Dark Woods”), Felix Kramer (“Dogs of Berlin”) and Lucas Gregorowicz and is a tale which begins with the discovery of multiple murder victims in a remote area near the German-Polish border.

The eight-part series is directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer and Christian Alvart. Series creator and head writer Arend Remmers developed the series concept with Kolmerer.

Siegfried Kamml, Christian Alvart and Timm Oberwelland from Syrreal serve as producers. The executives overseeing the project are: Christoph Pellander, editor-in-chief of Ard Degeto; Sebastian Lückel, head of acquisitions and co-productions at Ard Degeto; Patrick Noel Simon, commissioning editor at Ard Degeto; and Meghan Lyvers, senior VP of international co-productions and development at CBS Studios.

Munich-based sales agency Global Screen has sold crime drama “Dark Woods” to streaming service Walter Presents for the U.K., where it’ll be shown on Channel 4’s All 4 platform, and across the Nordic Region, via C More.

The drama, which was produced by ConradFilm and Bavaria Fiction on behalf of Ndr and Ard Degeto for Das Erste, was the most-watched show on Ard’s catch-up service in Germany this year, and was the German TV Award winner.

Julia Weber, head of acquisitions and sales at Global Screen, said: “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of this highly original and sought-after series, across Scandinavia and in the U.K., where crime drama has proved to be a key genre and is hugely popular with viewers of all ages.”

The show, inspired by real-life-events, starts out in the summer of 1989, when the sister of high-ranking Hamburg police officer Thomas...

Dick Wolf may be adding to his ever-expanding list of TV shows. Universal Television is eyeing Wolf Entertainment’s second podcast, Dark Woods, for a TV adaptation, Deadline reports. The podcast premiered with the first two episodes on Monday, November 8, on Apple, Spotify, and all other podcast platforms. It stars Corey Stoll, Monica Raymund, and Reid Scott. There’s no word yet who would star in this TV adaptation in development. “We have always had an eye on developing this story for television and we’re thrilled that our partners at Universal Television share that vision,” Elliot Wolf, Wolf Entertainment EVP, Digital, said in a statement. He served as executive producer on the podcast and will do so on the series, along with Dick Wolf, Arthur W. Forney, and Peter Jankowski. The podcast follows the investigation into the suspicious death of a young park volunteer in the California Redwood Forest.

Exclusive: Dark Woods, a scripted podcast series from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment, is being lined up for a television adaptation.

The podcast stars Corey Stoll, Monica Raymund and Reid Scott and tells the story of the suspicious death of a young park volunteer in the California Redwood Forest.

Universal Television is now developing a series adaptation. It follows in the footsteps of its sister Universal Studio Group division UCP, which has successful adapted a number of podcasts for the small-screen including Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson, for Peacock, Sam Esmail’s Homecoming for Amazon, Dirty John for Bravo and Joe Exotic for Peacock.

The studio also recently launched its own podcast division, Usg Audio, with series including Alligator Candy, The Lost Kids, The Followers: Madness of Two and Close To Death.

Revealed by Deadline earlier this month, Dark Woods launched on November 8. It begins when the body of a...

Exclusive: Corey Stoll, Monica Raymund and Reid Scott are fronting a scripted podcast drama series from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment

The trio are starring in Dark Woods, a thriller that centers around the suspicious death of a young park volunteer in the California Redwood Forest.

It is the Law & Order creator’s second foray into the world of scripted podcasts after the launch of Hunted, starring Parker Posey and Brandon Scott, in 2019.

It brings together two actors from the wider Wolf world; Stoll played Detective Tomas Jaruszalski in Law & Order: LA, while Raymund starred as Gabriela Dawson Casey in Chicago Fire.

The series, which launches on November 8, begins when the body of a young volunteer is discovered in the middle of the California redwoods. It brings together two estranged ex-spouses, a stubborn game warden and a charismatic councilwoman, who must put their personal differences aside to learn...

Swiss-American actress Dominique Devenport believes in luck. “I was having a beer with a friend of mine in a canteen in Munich and talking about how I felt a connection to Sisi,” she explained to Variety in a one-on-one conversation.

“What I didn’t realize was that the next day, he was meeting the film’s casting director. He told her about me, and she called.”

Word had spread that the six-hour period drama was in the works in acting circles, and Devenport studied acting in Munich at the Otto Falckenberg Schule. She originally got into acting through singing, she explains. “I was one of two little girls asked to run across a stage for a director and I thought it was really cool,” she said.

As for “Sisi”: “I auditioned and was cast but it takes even more luck than that because then it has to work with the actor cast opposite Sisi,...

Beta Film has closed a raft of major deals for the period drama “Sisi” ahead of its world premiere in Cannes on Monday. In addition, Rtl Deutschland has given the green light for the second season of the series.

“Sisi” will bow in Germany later this year on the streaming platform Rtl Plus and then on linear channel Rtl.

The six-hour period drama, produced by Story House Pictures, will be broadcast by Mediaset in Italy, Globoplay in Brasil, Npo in the Netherlands, Rtl in Hungary, Rtvs in Slovak Republic and Viasat World on its Epic Drama channel throughout Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.

Most recently, Beta Film signed a contract with Vtm Belgium. Previously, TF1 for France and Austrian pubcaster Orf joined as broadcasting partners. Numerous negotiations are ongoing.

The coming-of-age story of the Austrian Empress will celebrate its world premiere at the TV festival Canneseries on Monday, playing out of competition.

Telepool’s Global Screen has sold the miniseries “Dark Woods” to further international territories, including Japan (Nhk Enterprises), Cis (Mauris Film), Poland (Canal Plus), Czech Republic (Ceska Televize), Slovenia (Rtv Slovenija), Latvia (Latvian Television), Lithuania (Lrt), India and sub-continents (BookMyShow), and French-speaking Switzerland (Rts).

Deals for the U.K., Australia, Scandinavia and Portugal are expected to close before Mipcom, while sales to North America (Topic Media), France (Canal Plus) and Spain (Cosmo TV) were revealed earlier this year.

“We are thrilled to announce the next slate of deals for this highly original series,” stated Julia Weber, head of acquisitions and sales at Global Screen. “With its mix of crime and drama, the excellent acting and a unique, gripping atmosphere, ‘Dark Woods’ is a perfect match for all clients looking for high-end European content. The outstanding ratings in Germany – it was the most-watched program in Ard’s catch-up TV in 2020 – along...

Presents “Dark Woods” A Topic Original Directed by: Sven Bohse (“Ku’damm 56”) Written by: Stefan Kolditz Starring: Matthias Brandt (“Babylon Berlin”), Karoline Schuch, August Wittgenstein (“Das Boot”), Silke Bodenbender, Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”), Jenny Schily (“Tatort”), Hildegard Schmahl (“We Children from Bahnhof Zoo”), Hanno Koffler, Anne Werner, Janina Fautz, and Mirco Kreibich Produced by: Maren Knieling In the …

The post Check out The Trailer! True Crime Miniseries “Dark Woods” | Streaming Exclusively on Topic in May appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

All four seasons of the Danish-Norwegian-Swedish stream during ‘Summer Of Suspense’.

Streaming service Topic will screen Bafta international series winner The Killing (Forbrydelsen) this summer in the Nordic Noir TV classic’s first ever airing in North America.

All four seasons of the Danish-Norwegian-Swedish show will stream in Topic’s ‘Summer Of Suspense’ series of crime thrillers and mysteries.

The Killing will debut on August 12, followed by a successive season each week. Sofie Gråbøl, Morten Suurballe, and Lars Mikkelsen star in the procedural about detective Sarah Lund who investigates cases with political and personal consequences. Søren Sveistrup created the series.

In today’s Global Bulletin, ESPN scores Laliga rights for the next eight years; the U.K. government looks to unload Channel 4; Bavaria Fiction wraps principle shooting on its Netflix horror feature “The Privilege”; and London to get 1,575-seater theater.

Sports

In a Disney earnings call on Tuesday evening, it was announced that ESPN had picked up a raft of sports broadcast and streaming rights in the U.S., including the next eight seasons of Spain’s top soccer competition Laliga.

With all matches to be made available live and on demand via ESPN Plus, several of the higher-profile games will also air across ESPN networks each season and be covered on established ESPN programs such as Sports Center and ESPN Fc, among others. ESPN Plus will also host complimentary programming including match previews and highlight shows.

The deal includes both English and Spanish-language broadcast and streaming rights and...