International Insider: ‘Cheers’ Fuels Remake Fever; Disney EMEA Exit; Iberseries Report

Insiders, it’s me again. Jesse Whittock here to run you through the main international film and TV news. Off we go, and don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter here.

‘Cheers‘ To That

Where everybody knows your script: Making your way in the entertainment world today can take everything you’ve got, so it makes sense that you might think remaking an existing program could make things that little bit easier. That feels part of the thinking behind Big Talk Studios’ plan to relocate the Boston bar that Cheers made famous to the UK. On Monday, Jake revealed that Big Talk, known for BBC/Prime Video comedy The Outlaws and many others, has tapped CBS Studios for the rights to remake iconic sitcom Cheers, 30 years after Ted Danson rang the bell for last orders in America. Simon Nye, writer of Men Behaving Badly and The Durrells, is adapting the scripts and will showrun if the project gets to series. With 11 seasons and 275 episodes to assess, Big Talk boss Kenton Allen wasn’t wrong when he said it was a “huge honor” but also a “huge challenge.” He added that he “might be insane” to take on the project. Adapting comedy from one country to another is tough enough, but adapting U.S. comedy for the UK is nigh on impossible. Indeed, it’s only happened a handful of times, and the result have been — and I’ll be generous here — underwhelming. Remember Days Like These, the ITV remake of That ’70s Show? No, me neither. Still, as someone who knows the international formats biz well, there’s an excitement to seeing what someone does with classic material and I’m pumped to see if this one comes to fruition. There’s not much more on the Cheers plot, bar (pun intended) that it will be set in a pub.

‘Back’ again: Cheers isn’t the only comedy Big Talk is taking on a transatlantic voyage. Jake’s interview with Allen also revealed that HBO is developing a remake of Back, the Channel 4 comedy starring Peep Show pair David Mitchell and Robert Webb, with original writer Simon Blackwell on board. He created Breeders, the FX and Sky comedy led by Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard. Back follows a man (played by Mitchell in the original) who takes over his recently-deceased father’s pub before his plans are foiled by the return of his estranged foster brother (Webb), who may or may not be who he claims to be.

A new ‘Path’: Remakes made big news in the film world this week, too, as Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa took to the stage at the Busan International Film Festival stage to discuss his career. The chat included word on his new French-language version of his 1998 film Serpent’s Path, which premiered at San Sebastian last month. “The original was written by Hiroshi Takahashi, and it was very well-written and unique,” said Busan’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year. “When I made the film, I felt it made a lot of influence from the scriptwriter and in some ways didn’t feel like my film, so my desire was to make it with my own style.”

That’s not all!: Then there was Spanish star Nicole Wallace, who gushed when telling our social media guru Nada about her hopes for My Fault: London, the Prime Video UK remake of her ultra-popular rom-com Culpa Mía. Talking at Amazon‘s Trailblazers event on Tuesday (more on that below), the actress said her counterpart lead Asha Banks was “amazing” playing the Noah role, and that she was “very happy to have someone understand the fandom as well.” Culpa Mía, which is about to get a sequel after becoming Prime Video’s biggest worldwide film of 2023, follows the unlikely love story between a girl and her new step-brother and is based on Mercedes Ron’s Wattpad story. There are myriad reasons why a show or film gets made over a completely original idea, but this week has certainly proven that formatting is alive and well.

Disney Departure

Unexpected exit: Big news in the international content sphere broke yesterday, as I revealed Liam Keelan is leaving his post as Disney+‘s UK-based SVP of Original Content for Europe and Africa. The former BBC Studios exec had been in post since February 2020 and will stay on until early 2025 as the search for his replacement begins. There’s no word of exactly why he’s leaving the House of Mouse, but we understand it is his decision and insiders are disappointed. The exit news comes just ahead of the launch of Rivals, which is arguably Disney+’s biggest launch in quite some time, with the Jilly Cooper novel series adaptation starring the likes of David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer and Aidan Turner (first-look images and the trailer show great hairdos and classic 80s stylings). Disney is recruiting for a direct replacement, so you can expect the rumor mill to begin right… *now* as senior execs throw their hat into the ring for one of the biggest jobs in European TV. With Zai Bennett exiting Sky to join Keelan’s former employer, BBC Studios, we’re seeing top level movement at two major UK-based content makers after several years of top-level calm. 

Signature move: In related Disney news across the pond, our Editor-in-Chief for TV, Nellie Andreeva, had details of major changes to the production set-up, with ABC Signature being swallowed up by 20th Television and several execs set to exit. All the details on that are here, and read Nellie’s cool look back at the division’s storied life here.

Iberseries Stories

From slaughterhouse to picture house: The fourth Iberseries & Platino Industria wraps this afternoon and it’s been an interesting ride over in Madrid. Only launched during the pandemic, Iberseries & Platino Industria is, in theory, still a developing event, but you could hardly tell that from the organization on the ground. The conference is held at the beautifully imposing Matadero cultural hub in Madrid (fact for the history buffs amongst us: it was once a livestock slaughterhouse, per the name). For the last four days, some of the most interesting players in Spanish-language content have passed through, sharing the latest on slates and company strategies. Disney exec Sofía Fábregas turned up and debuted footage from the upcoming Spanish series Return to Las Sabinas (Regreso a Las Sabinas). The 70-episode show is one of the streamer’s first daily series shows. You can check out why Fábregas decided to commission a daily program — not usually the domain of streaming — here. Max exec Alberto Carullo pulled up and discussed the company’s Iberian strategy. He told the Madrid crowd that Max is currently developing 12 projects in Spain and is “betting big” on local content. Fremantle execs were also in town and were uncharacteristically loose-lipped, sharing inside information such as the pitch they hand to the big names on their roster. “We have deals with Sorrentino and Guadagnino, with Rachel Weisz’s company and Kristen Stewart’s company and Angelina Jolie, and the proposition that we make to them always is, ‘Come in and we will help you navigate this market’,” said global drama exec Seb Shorr. “We will help you control your projects. We want to be a place that can help them find the right home for their projects.”

Tides turning: The biggest trend discussed on the ground, however, was the moving tides in TV financing. The shift was best described by Creativity Capital co-founder Patrick Fischer, who said “TV finance plans are looking more like independent film finance plans” during a panel, adding: “And that’s not necessarily a bad thing because there’s opportunity.” The broad consensus was that TV folk need to find different ways of getting their projects financed. A commissioning broadcaster plus distributor advance, or even backing from a streamer, will no longer guarantee the budget is covered in TV drama. Back at Fremantle, Shorr used the company’s Martin Freeman-starring crime series The Responder to drive home the shift. “The Responder worked on the basis of quite a big U.S. sale. I don’t know if that would be there right now if we were making it again,” he said. “If we were, we would probably be looking at making it for a lower cost because we just don’t see the same market.” Other speakers and attendees at the event included TelevisaUnivision Prez Ignacio Meyer, Secuoya Studios Chief James Costos, and Barbara Teixeira, CEO of Anonymous Content Brasil. Iberseries & Platino Industria ends today. Full event coverage is here.

Powering Up

‘Lord’ and ladies: Amazon updated on global viewership for both seasons of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Wednesday. Season 1 has attracted more than 150 million viewers, while Season 2 had got 55 million ahead of its Thursday night finale (read more from Mike Fleming Jr. about the episode here). While it is impossible to know exactly how many have watched, the numbers likely refer to the number of accounts who’ve switched on, Katie Campione wrote in her report. Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon MGM Studios, revealed the numbers at a UK Upfront event in London on Wednesday evening, noting Britain was among the most engaged. Season 2 has struggled to retain Season 1’s large base, Katie noted, with Samba TV data showing Season 2’s first ep drew half that of Season 1’s opener, which, to be fair, remains the streamer’s largest premiere to date. That wasn’t the only number revealed at the Upfront, where the likes of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Idris Elba showing up to entertain advertisers. We were first to report on Prime Video UK’s ad-supported reach — 19 million viewers. This was the first time a figure had been unveiled for the streamer, no doubt rolled out to persuade ad men and women their cash was being wisely spent. The Upfront was preceded by a female-focused Trailblazers event the previous morning at London’s Southbank Centre, where the likes of Salke, Chopra Jonas, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard talked about their work. Maria Sten, whose breakout character Neagley in Reacher was given her own series this week, also appeared on stage, saying she was “so grateful people will be able to go further into her world.”

Howle He Do On Stage?

Taking a ‘Look Back’: Get your teeth into this Baz Bamigboye long read, in which our man went deep with Billy Howle, who made his debut as the original ‘angry young man’ Jimmy Porter in an Almeida Theatre revival of John Osborne’s 1956 classic Look Back in Anger. All the classic tropes of a good Breaking Baz column are here: an exploration of Howle’s new role; a look back at recent ones such as in Netflix drama The Perfect Couple; and insight into his younger life, motivations, politics and personal challenges. Their fascinating exchange also took in discussion about misogyny, truth and class, as they dissected Porter’s abusive rages about the unfairness of life for the working class. Watch the play (or the 1959 Richard Burton film) and read Baz’s article here.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Korea-backed Vietnam firm V Pictures began an international sales push at Busan with a slate including Ly Hai’s Face Off 7: One Wish. Liz and Sara’s full Busan coverage is here.

🌶️ Hotting up: Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions sashayed to international deals for Gia Coppola’s Pamela Anderson-starring feature The Last Showgirl.

🌶️ Very hot: Cleopatra Entertainment took North American rights to Japanese director Taichiro Natsume’s body horror The Beast Hand, as Mel revealed.

🎸 Rock on: Caroline Frost had this cute story about a lawyer who bagged Coldplay from under stadium rock’s nose.

🏪 Setting up shop: Ex-Endor chief Carlo Dusi is back with new indie Turning Point.

🏪 Shutting down shop: Pinewood Studios is closing its TV unit, per Jake’s scoop.

🏎️ On the starting grid: Viaplay is gearing up for 11 (eleven) docs about Formula 1 star Max Verstappen.

🌲 Nature boy: BBC Director General Tim Davie gave an address about sustainability to assorted industry folk on Wednesday. Stewart with the story.

🤝 New job #1: For Marten Rabarts, who was named Head of Industry at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

🤝 New job #2: For ex-WBD and Disney exec Mitsuru Oda, who became President of Skybound Japan.

⛰️ Summit: CAA, FilmNation, Mediawan and Constantin Film are among the companies sending top execs to the Zurich Summit this weekend.

👀 First look: At Saudi director Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s third feature, Hobal. 

🎥 Trailer: For Mexican heist comedy Abracadaver, which Hulu has snapped up. 

🍿 Box Office: Global numbers for Transformers One, The Wild Robot and Devara Part 1 from Nancy here.

Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider. It was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Max Goldbart