MUSIC
The BBC is celebrating 60 years of The Rolling Stones with “My Life as a Rolling Stone,” a four-part series of films, each an hour long, focusing separately on Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts. The films will premiere on BBC Two and iPlayer this summer and will include unseen footage and exclusive stories from Jagger, Richards and Wood interwoven with new and archive interviews and performance. The story of Watts, who died in 2021, will be told via tributes from his fellow band members and his musical peers and admirers along with archive interviews. The films will also feature artists who have been inspired by the band, including P.P. Arnold, Chrissie Hynde, Slash, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and Steven Tyler. The Stones made their live debut on July 12, 1962 at London’s Marquee Club.
The film series is directed by Oliver Murray (“The Quiet One”) and Clare Tavernor (“Keith Richards: A Culture Show Special”). It was commissioned by Lorna Clarke, controller, BBC Pop and produced by Mercury Studios with Steve Condie as executive producer. The BBC producer and executive producer for the content across all platforms is Mark Hagen. Mercury Studios will distribute the films internationally.
In addition to the series, available on iPlayer this summer will be the documentaries “Crossfire Hurricane” (2012) and “The Rolling Stones: Totally Stripped” (original version 1995, re-versioned edition 2016) and two-hour audio documentary, “Rolling with The Stones,” on BBC Radio 2.
STREAMING
Japan’s Nippon TV has partnered with Netflix to make 20 episodes of its hit entertainment show “Old Enough!” available worldwide with subtitles in 32 languages from March 31. “Old Enough!,” currently airing bi-annually on Nippon TV to high ratings, centers on the adventures of adorable children running errands on their own for the very first time – all while being shadowed by an incognito camera crew. It has as been sold as a finished program to Asian countries and also as an unscripted format with previous adaptations in Italy, U.K., Vietnam, China and Singapore.
Meanwhile, Telugu-language “Gaalivaana,” the Indian adaptation of BBC thriller “One Of Us,” will stream on ZEE5 from April 14. The series, which marks BBC Studios’ first foray into the premium regional scripted market of India, will also be dubbed into the Tamil language as “Karmegam.” The cast is headlined by Radikaa Sarathkumar and Sai Kumar and also features Chandini Chowdary, Nandini Rai, Chaitanya Krishna, Thagubothu Ramesh, Saranya Pradeep and Ashritha Vemuganti. It is directed by Sharan Kopisetty and produced by BBC Studios India and NorthStar Entertainment, the series revolves around the brutal murder of childhood sweethearts who are found after their honeymoon. As their families cope and attempt to unravel the mysteries behind their deaths, familial bonds are put to the test.
GAME SHOW
Sony Pictures Television‘s U.S. game show “Pyramid” will be launching in Nigeria in 2022, acquired locally by Mekdoss International. “Pyramid” is a fast-moving, 30-minute game show that features two teams, each composed of a celebrity and a contestant, with the celebrities helping their partners make to the winner’s circle to win money. This is the first time the franchise has come to sub-Saharan Africa, produced for the Nigerian audience. In the Nigeria version the contestants get a chance to win NGN10 million ($24,000) weekly. Originally launched on U.S. television in 1973 as “The $10,000 Pyramid,” the franchise has won 17 Daytime Emmys for outstanding game show.
COMMISSIONS
Discovery U.K. has ordered true crime documentary “One Bullet In Belize.” In May 2021 news broke that Jasmine Hartin, partner of Andrew Ashcroft, son of U.K. billionaire Michael Ashcroft, had allegedly shot police chief Henry Jemmott dead on a pier in San Pedro, Belize. In a series of in-depth interviews, Hartin talks about the night that changed her life forever. Hartin, who claims the shooting was an accident, is charged with manslaughter by negligence and is currently awaiting her trial. Produced by SPA Media for Passion Distribution and Discovery U.K., the 60-minute documentary will drop on Discovery Plus in June.
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U.K. indie Impossible Factual has been commissioned by global factual media company Curiosity for 22 hours of programming across three new documentary series. They include “History: The Interesting Bits” (8×60’), which will delve into the most curious historical events and take on the unanswered questions that have been circulating around the globe for centuries; “Science for Evil Geniuses” (8×60’), which experiments with science and new technologies to gauge what the chances are of bringing the bizarre dreams of an evil genius to life; and “Scary Tales of New York” (6×60’), which takes a fresh look at the real-life New York crimes in the age of film noir, from the “Double Indemnity” murder to the “Honeymoon Killers” and the mob hit on the boss of “Murder Incorporated.” The shows will be available on streaming service Curiosity Stream and the linear Curiosity Channel.
RIGHTS
U.K. production and distribution company Noah Media Group have secured world sales rights to “Stewart,” a documentary on the former Formula 1 World Champion, team owner and businessman, Jackie Stewart. The feature-length documentary was written and directed by Patrick Mark (“Fabergé: A Life of Its Own”), produced by Sarah Bayntun and Gareth Dodds (“Spitfire”) and executive produced by Jackie’s son, Mark Stewart (“Gazza”) for MSP. Also executive producing are Bill Pohlad (“12 Years a Slave”) and Jean-Marc Huët. Noah Media Group will commence world sales on “Stewart” in the coming weeks, with an international release expected in the summer.
RELEASES
Actor and producer Lara Pictet, SXSW winner for 2018’s “Beast,” has four releases coming up. “Dakota,” a drama directed by Kirk Harris and produced by Monika Bacardi, Andrea Iervolino, Danielle Maloni and Marty Poole, will be released in the U.S. on Apr. 1 by Samuel Goldwyn Films and will out in the U.K. by the end of May/June 2022. Pictet features in a cast that includes Abbie Cornish, William Baldwin, Tim Rozon, Patrick Muldoon, Lola Sultan, Lorenzo McGovern Zaini, Roberto Davide and Katie McGovern. Pictet also features in action movie, “Renegades,” from director Daniel Zirilli, alongside Lee Majors, Patsy Kensit, Stephanie Beacham, Billy Murray, Nick Moran, Louis Mandylor and Danny Trejo and many more. Also slated for release in 2022/23 are “Muti” and “State of Consciousness,” featuring Pictet alongside Morgan Freeman and Emile Hirsch respectively.
