Cineflix Rights Banks on Big IP & Returnable Hits

A focus on acquiring proven successful and returnable factual and entertainment brands such as Château DIY from Spark Media Partners and the hit Voltage TV format Tempting Fortune has resulted in significant revenues during the past year for Cineflix Rights. This is a core focus for the coming year, too, according to Richard Life, senior VP of acquisitions and co-productions—“seeking out and securing rights to new returners plus nurturing and building on the international success of these brands.”

Regarding factual, Life says that true crime remains in demand but in different formats for different buyers and slots in the schedule. “The trend is for younger-skewed themes that immerse viewers in the cases and shows that feel modern and stylish and rely less on re-creation and more on actual footage or social media,” he adds. “Our new series Spring Break Murders for A+E Networks (U.K.) and Bell Media (Canada) was greenlit with this demand in mind. It highlights how every year, while millions of students and young adults migrate to holiday resorts and decompress in a first brush with independence, for some, it will be their last great adventure.”

Life also points to returnable aspirational and escapist series such as the established international hit Château DIY. To this end, Cineflix Rights has also acquired international rights to the long-running Channel 4 daytime hit A New Life in the Sun, produced by True North, which it is launching at MIPCOM. “This series has proven a strong pull for audiences looking to be inspired and entertained by people like them who are trying to reinvent their lives, particularly in sunny climes,” he says.

As for scripted, in a time of market contraction and fewer risks being taken, demand is coming through for more tried-and-tested genres such as crime and thrillers “that channels and platforms know how to market effectively to drive big audiences,” says Tom Misselbrook, senior VP of scripted sales and development. “We always seek originality in our scripted slate, so it’s about finding a good balance of series that will excite our buyers but also feel distinct and fresh, and we feel our MIPCOM lineup does just that.”

The scripted slate is led by Virdee, a new crime thriller for BBC One adapted from the book franchise by A.A. Dhand and produced by Magical Society. Staz Nair takes up the title role of Harry Virdee, a Bradford-based detective with a chaotic personal life who must hunt down a serial killer.

Heart Attack, from producers of The Walking Dead and Invincible, is a dystopian thriller for Fuji TV from Skybound Entertainment and ROBOT. Set in a post-pandemic Japan, it follows as a segment of the population develops supernatural abilities and must come together to fight for their existence and freedom against the persecution led by the government.

Cineflix Rights is also launching Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, a spin-off special from the successful franchise in conjunction with Tubi, produced by SEVEN24 Films in association with Cineflix Studios.

These are in addition to So Long, Marianne and the latest seasons of Last King of The Cross, Reginald the Vampire and Whitstable Pearl.

In the way of factual, history is a key part of the company’s slate and “an evergreen genre for buyers all over the world,” says Life. “Titanic: Our Secret Histories, from Afro-Mic Productions, which we’re launching at MIPCOM, is a great example of a series that takes a subject everyone thinks they know about but then delves deeper to discover something new and different. In this case, it’s the emotional stories of the descendants of both survivors and those who perished, many of whom feel they were ignored or reduced to a footnote—especially those who were working class or non-white.”

Cineflix Rights is also bringing to Cannes the latest seasons of the character-driven or precinct-driven observational documentary series Inside Taronga Zoo and The Yorkshire Auction House, including the new spin-off The Derbyshire Auction House. Relatable family-driven series are also in demand, according to Life, including the forthcoming chapter of its hit brand Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, which will get a MIPCOM launch.

“On the acquisitions front, we are actively seeking projects that we can invest in at an early stage and bring in financing through co-production partners and presales,” says Life. “The subject matter has to be of genuine international interest but also ‘must-have’ for buyers—a great exclusive or unique approach, strong production team and genuine global stories. A good example of this is our MIPCOM launch Building Bad, from Shark Teeth Films, which combines engineering science and crime to reveal the ingenuity and twisted genius behind notorious drug smugglers, car thieves and others who walk on the dark side of scientific invention.”

Across scripted, Cineflix Rights’ focus is on launching its new series, movies and specials to the wider marketplace at MIPCOM, according to Misselbrook. “Looking beyond that, we’ve got an exciting slate of projects coming through, including Trent O’Donnell’s latest series, Sunny Nights, with Will Forte and D’Arcy Carden and produced by Jungle Entertainment and Echo Lake Entertainment in association with Cineflix Rights for Stan. We also have a hugely exciting development slate based on some big IP, which we’ll be preparing to take out to the market toward the end of the year and into 2025.”