MUMBAI: Ahead of Showcase 2017, BBC Worldwide has announced the global pre-sales for the conspiracy thriller, ‘SS-GB’, set in a German occupied Britain post WW II and starring Sam Riley along with Hollywood talent Kate Bosworth and Germany’s Rainer Bock and Lars Eidinger.
Germany, Sweden and Poland are some of the countries who have licensed the series prior to the BBC’s broadcast on 19 February.
History is turned on its head in this series adapted from Len Deighton’s 1978 novel by screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The Second World War’s Battle of Britain has ended in victory for Hitler’s Germany and the population of 1940s Britain struggles to adjust to life under German occupation.
‘SS-GB’ will receive its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on 14 February, and will be available to international buyers attending BBC Worldwide’s Showcase event in Liverpool from 19 February. Across Europe, the series has been licensed to Germany (RTL), Croatia (Pickbox), Sweden (SVT), Greece (Cosmote), Israel (HOT/Cellcom), Iceland (RUV), and Poland (Showmax).
A Sid Gentle Films Ltd production, ‘SS-GB’ will additionally appear on BBC First channels in Africa, Australia, Benelux and the Middle East, as well as UKTV in New Zealand.
BBC Worldwide president global markets Paul Dempsey said, “Adapted from a worldwide best-seller by two of Britain’s most successful screenwriters and featuring an A-list cast, this compelling drama will have great appeal for international audiences.”
Other new dramas being launched at BBC Worldwide Showcase 2017 (19-22 February) include a second series of Jane Campions’ ‘Top of the Lake’ (starring Elisabeth Moss, Gwendoline Christie and Nicole Kidman), ‘Broken’ (from Jimmy McGovern starring Sean Bean), 60s-set war drama ‘The Last Post’ (from Bafta-winning writer Peter Moffat), and ‘McMafia’, inspired by the insider interviews in Misha Glenny’s book, exposing the global network of organised crime with James Norton in the lead role.
BBC Worldwide Showcase is the world’s largest international television market hosted by a single distributor. The four-day event is attended by over 700 of the world’s top TV buyers, award-winning producers and on-screen talent.