SAS: Rogue Heroes Archives

Banijay Entertainment Showcases Must-See Slate for MIPCOM 2024

1st October 2024 10:10 am Comments Off

Content powerhouse, Banijay Entertainment, today announces this year’s standout titles across all genres for MIPCOM 2024, bolstering its position as the number one European studio.

Leading the charge is the re-imagining of iconic detective drama Bergerac; original new competition format, Three Are The Champions; Dutch reboot By Land, Air and Sea; and high-end travelogue series, Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain. Additionally, the powerhouse will celebrate its latest travelling formats launched last MIPCOM, including The Summit and Deal or No Deal Island.

This year’s premium UK scripted offering includes the revival of Bergerac for UKTV’s U&DRAMA and free streaming service, U; the much-awaited Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light for the BBC and Masterpiece PBS; Welsh crime drama The One that Got Away for S4C; We Go Again (w/t), a comedy drama for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer; and The Feud, a domestic thriller for Channel 5. From New Zealand is new returnable crime procedural A Remarkable Place to Die for TVNZ, ZDF, and Acorn TV, and crossing over to Europe, is Italy’s pop band drama Accidentally Famous for Sky Italia; Dutch thriller Elixir for NPO and New8, and French crime drama The Family Detective for TF1. Anticipated returners Marie Antoinette for Canal+, PBS, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer and SAS Rogue Heroes for BBC iPlayer and MGM+ will also be highlighted.

New formats making their international debut include the Dutch reboot of iconic entertainment programme By Land, Air and Sea, and Germany’s ratings success Three Are The Champions for RTL. Australia brings competitive renovation show Dream Home, insightful comedy travelogue Origin Odyssey, and music themed social experiment Headliners; the US launches new dating series The Never Ever Mets, and from the UK is strategic reality format, The Fortune Hotel. Building the next generation of superbrands, Banijay Entertainment will also highlight its successful travelling formats, including blockbuster adventure reality series The Summit; latest MasterChef iteration, Dessert Masters; and spin-off Deal or No Deal Island.

On the factual front, CNN Original travelogue series Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain will headline, alongside feature-length documentary, Atomic People for the BBC, as well as docu-series 7/7: Three Weeks in July for the BBC and BBC iPlayer. In addition, two feature-length premium documentaries from Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux, are available to buyers in Cannes: Front Row and LARA: The Man Who Tried to Save Colombia.

Cathy Payne, CEO Banijay Rights, says: “Our dynamic line-up for this year’s MIPCOM truly highlights the continued growth and global appeal of our catalogue. From riveting dramas such as Bergerac and Wolf Hall, to high-end factual series like Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain, we are eager to present a diverse and competitive slate that celebrates the power of storymaking and the outstanding talent behind our IP.”

James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development and Lucas Green, Chief Content Officer, Operations at Banijay, add: “Our offering of distinctive and fresh formats coming from the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, UK, and the US, underscores our commitment to creating popular IP like Three Are The Champions, and evolving classic favourites like By Land, Air and Sea. The success of our new travelling hits, The Summitand Deal or No Deal Island, speaks to the creativity of our talented teams across the footprint, and illustrates our expertise in building the next generation of superbrands.”

The UK continues to offer strong premium scripted content, including the modern re-imagining of Bergerac, based on the original series created by Robert Banks Stewart and starring Damien Molony (The Split, Brassic),produced by Blacklight TV, a Banijay UK company. Blacklight TV also brings The One That Got Away, a thriller about a nurse’s murder that questions a historic conviction. Additionally, The Forge, recently acquired by Banijay UK, presents We Go Again (w/t), a new comedy drama from Janice Okoh about three stubbornly optimistic siblings with a dark secret.

Launching this year, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, a Playground Entertainment and Company Pictures co-production, continues the Tudor saga of Thomas Cromwell’s complex journey. Additionally, The Feud, a Lonesome Pine Productions title in association with Banijay Rights and Northeast Screen, uncovers dark secrets through a family’s contentious home renovation, leading to a spiral of paranoia and fear.

Screentime New Zealand’s A Remarkable Place to Die, features a detective facing a series of intriguing local homicides, and from Groenlandia, a Banijay Italia company, and Sky Studios, comes Accidentally Famous, depicting the rise of Italian pop band 883. Elixir, a thriller from Banijay Benelux label Topkapi Films, along with NTR and BNNVARRA, revolves around a pharmaceutical scandal, while The Family Detective, from Banijay France’s Shine Fiction, brings a new crime drama about a family immersed in solving police cases. Finally, the group celebrates eagerly awaited second seasons of Marie Antoinette, The CANAL+ Creation Originale, produced by Capa Drama, Banijay Studios France and Beside Production; and SAS Rogue Heroes produced by Kudos (a Banijay UK company) and created, written and executive produced by Steven Knight.

Banijay Entertainment will showcase an array of formats available for adaptation globally. Three Are The Champions from EndemolShine Germany and Potatohead Pictures (part of Banijay Germany), has a second season greenlit, and spotlights three celebrities as they compete in challenges against top champions. Adrenaline-fuelled reboot By Land, Air and Sea from EndemolShine Nederland (part of Banijay Benelux) features contestants navigating creative obstacle courses using custom-built vehicles. Dream Home from Endemol Shine Australia for Channel 7 sees six teams face-off in an epic renovation showdown, while Origin Odyssey for SBS explores cultural roots in a new comedy travelogue, and Headliners for SBS, is a celebration of music and inclusion. Elsewhere, the US brings The Never Ever Mets from Bunim/Murray Productions (part of Banijay Americas), a returning series for OWN, where online dating comes to life. And from Tuesday’s Child, the producer behind hit competition reality series, LEGO Masters, is strategy gameshow The Fortune Hotel for ITV.

Banijay Entertainment’s travelling formats will be celebrated with the 9Network and Endemol Shine Australia original series, The Summit, which has travelled to three territories, including the US, with more to be announced; spin-off Deal Or No Deal Island by Endemol Shine North America, which has been renewed for by NBC; and Endemol Shine Australia’s MasterChef spinoff, Dessert Masters, which has recently launched in Brazil, showcasing top pastry chefs competing in high-stakes challenges.

Crossing over to factual with Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain from Hyphenate Media Group, takes viewers on a delectable culinary journey in Spain. Minnow Films’ Atomic People explores the human fallout from atomic bombs, while Slate Work’s 7/7: Three Weeks in July, explores the 2005 UK terrorist attacks in a compelling docu-series. Meanwhile, Front Row, from Scenery and Pretty Matches and Executive Produced by award-winning actor and producer Sarah Jessica Parker, highlights the resilience of Ukrainian ballet dancers during wartime where an unlikely friendship forms between a dancer and a front-line soldier, while LARA: The Man Who Tried to Save Colombia recounts the extraordinary reconciliation story behind Pablo Escobar’s most famous assassination.

These MIPCOM highlights complement Banijay Entertainment’s globally renowned catalogue, which includes superbrands like Big Brother and Peaky Blinders, new travelling hits such as The Fifty and Good Luck Guys, and its highly-anticipated streamer launches Bear Hunt, co-produced by Banijay UK’s Workerbee, The Natural Studios and Talkback for Netflix; Last One Laughing UK from Zeppotron and Initial for Prime Video, created by Hitoshi Matsumoto and produced by Banijay Entertainment labels in 11 markets; Culte from Banijay France’s label Screenline Productions and 27 Tribe for Prime Video; Billionaire Island from Banijay Nordics’ label Rubicon; and the second series of The Rig, from Banijay UK’s Wild Mercury for Prime Video. The company will exhibit at C.20 at MIPCOM 2024.

Banijay Brands Deploys SAS Rogue Heroes

15th June 2023 5:09 pm Comments Off

Banijay Brands, the commercial arm of content powerhouse Banijay, today announces it will represent a range of commercial rights for the Kudos (a Banijay UK company) series, SAS Rogue Heroes.

Created by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol), SAS Rogue Heroes is produced by Kudos for the BBC with MGM+. Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, the show centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalised after a training exercise gone wrong. The first series became a huge hit with viewers and critics alike, attracting an audience of 9.4 million viewers on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK. Season two, which again will be a dramatised account of the origins of the SAS, has begun filming.

Owain Walbyoff, Chief Commercial Officer, Banijay says: “With breath-taking cinematography and beautifully crafted characters, SAS Rogue Heroes is a visually powerful show that lends itself perfectly to a broad range of products and activations. Banijay Brands has extensive expertise in driving the commercial performance of our shows and we are delighted to add Steven and Kudos’ brilliant creation to our portfolio.”

Martin Haines joint Managing Director, Kudos added: “Viewers worldwide have connected deeply with Steven’s storytelling and this has opened the door for the exploration of products and experiences for audiences to enjoy beyond the screen. With our second series on the horizon there is so much more to come for SAS Rogue Heroes fans and I look forward to seeing how the brand evolves further in this way.”

Key cast for the series includes Jack O’Connell as Paddy Mayne, Connor Swindells as David Stirling, Sofia Boutella as Eve Mansour, and Dominic West as Dudley Clarke. Gwilym Lee (The Great, Bohemian Rhapsody) joins for series two to play Bill Stirling, David Stirling’s brother and founder of the 2SAS regiment, while Con O’Neill (Happy Valley, Our Flag Means Death) will play General Montgomery.

SAS Rogue Heroes is distributed internationally by Banijay Rights. The series was developed for television and written and executive produced by Steven Knight. Series two (6×60’) will be directed by Stephen Woolfenden (Outlander, Willow) with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series will be executive produced by Karen Wilson, Emma Kingsman-Lloyd and Martin Haines for Kudos, and Nick Lambon for the BBC.

Banijay Rights Sends Rogue Heroes to France

6th April 2022 4:17 pm Comments Off

Banijay Rights today announces a further landmark acquisition of major new six-part limited series Rogue Heroes, as MIPTV 2022 in Cannes draws to a close.

In a deal negotiated by Isabelle Queme, SVP French-Speaking EMEA at Banijay Rights, Rogue Heroes has been picked up by CANAL+ in France and for all CANAL+ territories around the world to broadcast in late 2022.

The agreement follows premium network EPIX’s acquisition of the drama for the US in November last year – the first international deal for the series – and further sales to HBO Max in Europe, Prime Video in Canada and SBS in Australia in early 2022.

Produced by Kudos and Nebulastar for the BBC – and entitled SAS Rogue Heroes in the UK market – the series is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

Isabelle Queme, SVP French-Speaking EMEA, Banijay Rights, said: “Steven Knight and Kudos’ magnificent Rogue Heroes continues to build huge momentum worldwide and we are beyond thrilled to secure this latest deal with CANAL+; taking this epic – and important – Second World War story to a whole new audience across France and all CANAL+ territories around the world.”

Jean-Marc Juramie, Senior EVP, Pay TV Content, CANAL+ Group, added: “We are thrilled to add this incredible event series from acclaimed writer Steven Knight to our line-up here at CANAL+. Our subscribers from all over the world will discover this important Second World War story about extraordinary men, whose stories have been further elevated by this outstanding cast.”

Martin Haines, Joint MD, Kudos, said: Rogue Heroes is a truly ground-breaking series created by the fantastic Steven Knight, and we are delighted that audiences around the globe will have the opportunity to watch what will be unmissable TV.”

Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, Rogue Heroes centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong.

Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.

Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and will be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.

Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil) will play David Stirling, with Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water) as Paddy Mayne, Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk, The King) as SAS Founding member Mike Sadler, and Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) as Eve. Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult) will play Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke.

Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Banijay Rights Takes Rogue Heroes Worldwide

1st March 2022 10:29 am Comments Off

Banijay Rights today announces landmark acquisitions of major new six-part limited series Rogue Heroes, as this week’s London TV Screenings showcase event gets under way.

In deals negotiated across the Banijay Rights global sales team, Rogue Heroes has been picked up by HBO Max in Europe, Prime Video in Canada and SBS in Australia.

The agreements follow premium network EPIX’s acquisition of the drama for the US in November last year – the first international deal for the series.

Cathy Payne, CEO, Banijay Rights, said: “As this week’s London TV Screenings event gets under way, it’s an absolute delight to be able to announce these huge global deals for Rogue Heroes. From the get-go, Steven Knight and Kudos’ tour de force World War Two drama has created ripples of excitement from international buyers, and we are excited to expand this series’ global footprint even further.”

Martin Haines, Joint MD, Kudos, added: “Steven has created a truly brilliant series, and we are thrilled that audiences around the globe will have the opportunity to watch what will be unmissable TV.”

Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, Rogue Heroes centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong.

Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Banijay Shines Light on New Year Portfolio

11th January 2022 2:39 pm Comments Off

Banijay, the world’s largest independent home to the best creative talent and IP, today announces a stellar line-up of programmes launching in early 2022; all available to international broadcasters for adaptation or acquisition.

Banijay’s Creative Networks is showcasing premium entertainment, quiz and dating with Starstruck, Limitless Win, The Language of Love and Pride and Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance; all premiering globally for the first time this year.

Meanwhile, Banijay Rights has a premium slate of scripted content for distribution with Peaky Blinders, SAS: Rogue Heroes, Screw, Chloe, Riches, The Good Karma Hospital and Grantchester, all among its 2022 highlights.

Elsewhere, other Banijay scripted titles coming up in 2022 include Playlist (Yellow Bird for Netflix), The Bride (Endemol Shine Italy and Rai for Rai1), The Rig (Wild Mercury for Amazon and Todo Por Lucy, a modern version of beloved comedy series I Love Lucy, licensed from ViacomCBS and developed and produced by Endemol Shine Boomdog and Elefantec Global for Amazon.

James Townley, Global Head of Content Development at Banijay, says: “It’s wonderful to start the year knowing we have such a spectacular line-up of brand new formats making their international debuts. With a mixture of entertainment, fun and jeopardy at their heart, we hope to putting smiles on everyone’s face. Continuing their popularity with viewers around the world, we look forward to pitching this new generation of formats to buyers across the globe.”

Cathy Payne, CEO of Banijay Rights, says: “There is always an appetite for exceptional scripted programming and we are incredibly excited to once again be offering the market the very best content out there. These highly-anticipated series are produced by award-winning production companies, with visionary talent, both on and off-screen, ensuring these amazing dramas are rich in action and distinction.”

Headlining the entertainment format slate is Starstruck from UK label Remarkable Television for ITV, which sees ordinary members of the public, teamed as trios, perform live as their favourite superstars; and from third-party producers Hello Dolly and Mitre Studios, Limitless Win, a prime-time quiz show with the world’s first-ever limitless jackpot, launched this weekend on UK broadcaster ITV, ranking number one in its slot, across all demos.

Fresh and funny relationship reality format The Language of Love, from third-party producers 2LE Media, Motion Content Group, along with Banijay Iberia’s Zeppelin, launched on UK broadcaster Channel 4 last week, with a group of Brits and a group of Spaniards pairing up at a dreamy Spanish country estate to see if they can find romance… despite not speaking each other’s language. Also in the relationship genre is Pride and Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance, from Endemol Shine North America and Banijay UK label Shine TV, a new series for Peacock, where contestants are transported to Regency-style England, with a group of eligible suitors attempting to win the heart of a heroine and her court.

Banijay Rights is headlining with high-end scripted programming. BAFTA award-winning Peaky Blinders is returning for its sixth and final series this year. One of the BBC’s most successful dramas, the series has become a huge international phenomenon, thrilling millions of viewers worldwide with the story of Tommy Shelby and his notorious family’s rise to prominence and power, against the backdrop of working class, post-First World War Birmingham. Written by Steven Knight, the series from Caryn Mandabach Productions, is co-produced with Tiger Aspect Productions.

Produced by Kudos, a Banijay UK company, and Nebulastar for BBC One, SAS: Rogue Heroes is generating international broadcaster interest and has already been acquired by premium US network EPIX. Written by Steven Knight, the series is a dramatised account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two. Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, SAS: Rogue Heroes stars Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil), Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water), Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game Of Thrones), Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) and Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult).

Meanwhile, Banijay Rights is representing prison drama Screw. Produced by STV Studios for Channel 4 and told through embattled and inspiring characters, this drama focusses on the officers at Long Marsh men’s prison. In charge of C-Wing is Leigh Henry (Nina Sosanya), a career officer who would do anything for her prisoners – but she has a secret that if discovered, could cost her the job – and even her liberty. Original psychological thriller Chloe, a mystery about obsession, deceit, identity and grief from Mam Tor Productions for BBC One and Amazon Studios, also features among Banijay Rights’ titles. From creator and writer Alice Seabright (director, Sex Education), Chloe stars some of the UK’s hottest young acting talent including Erin Doherty (The Crown), Billy Howle (The Serpent), Pippa Bennet-Warner (Gangs of London) and Jack Farthing (Poldark).

Other new scripted titles include Riches, a high-stakes family drama created and written by Abby Ajayi and produced by Greenacre Films for ITV and Amazon Studios, Tiger Aspect Productions hit drama The Good Karma Hospital also returns for a fourth season for ITV and Acorn TV, while Grantchester – the popular series from Kudos for Masterpiece PBS and ITV – will air its seventh season, with Robson Green returning as DI Geordie Keating and Tom Brittney as Reverend Will Davenport.

These new titles join Banijay’s 120,000-hour catalogue, which comprises flagship brands MasterChef, LEGO Masters, Big Brother, Survivor and Hunted alongside scripted finished tape hits Mr Bean, Home and Away and Archer.

EPIX, Banijay Rights Take SAS: Rogue Heroes to US

15th November 2021 5:25 pm Comments Off

Premium network EPIX today announced it has acquired the major new six-part limited series SAS: Rogue Heroes from global distributor Banijay Rights.

In a deal negotiated by Banijay Rights’ Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions, the acquisition marks the first international deal for SAS: Rogue Heroes.

Produced by Kudos and Nebulastar for EPIX and BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two. Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, the series centers on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong. Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.

SAS: Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and will be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC. Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

“Steven Knight and Kudos have created a gripping historical drama that complements EPIX’s lineup of elevated, cinematic storytelling,” said Michael Wright, President, EPIX & President MGM Scripted Television. “We’re delighted to be teaming up with Banijay Rights to give this series an exclusive home on EPIX for the American audience.”

“SAS: Rogue Heroes is a masterstroke of a series from the visionary Steven Knight, packed with a stellar cast who bring this fantastic story to life. We are thrilled that EPIX have come on board to take this fantastic drama to a wider US audience,” said Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions, Rest of the World, Banijay Rights.

Martin Haines, Co-Managing Director of Kudos added: “EPIX is a perfect partner that shares our vision and ambition. We are delighted they are our US partners on this epic show.”

The series will also star Amir El Masry (Industry, The One), Theo Barklem-Biggs (The First Team, Carnival Row), Corin Silva (The Bay, Emmerdale), Jacob Ifan (Bang, The Accident), Dónal Finn (Cursed, The Witcher), Jacob McCarthy (The Last Summer, A.P. Bio), César Domboy (Outlander, The Walk), Michael Schaeffer (Chernobyl, The Salisbury Poisonings) and Miles Jupp (The Great, The Durrells).

Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

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