Banijay Rights has sold premium drama title, “The Gulf” to UKTV for its local audiences. The series will air on the broadcaster’s crime drama channel, Alibi in early Spring 2020. Daniel Thomas, Acquisitions Manager at UKTV comments, “We are really pleased to have acquired this exciting new thriller for Alibi as we continue to include the very best of international crime drama in our schedule. Our viewers are extremely discerning and ‘The Gulf’, with its unique take on a crime story set against the incredible backdrop of New Zealand, will have wide appeal.”
Chris Stewart, Commercial Director – Scripted, Banijay Rights adds, “We are delighted that UKTV will be bringing this absorbing and original antipodean series to a UK audience where I’m sure it will engage a new legion of drama fans looking for their next crime fix. The Gulf, co-produced by Banijay Group’s Screentime New Zealand, has launched in New Zealand and in Germany to much acclaim and is proving to be a very desirable drama property for us with further sales already in the pipeline.”
Elsewhere in Europe “The Gulf” will also travel to Poland, after being acquired by Canal+ for its channel, Ale Kino+. This follows the previously announced U.S. pick up of the drama, where AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now will feature the exclusive U.S. premiere of “The Gulf” beginning Wednesday, 4th December 2019.
Domestically, the series was a ratings winner for New Zealand broadcaster TV3 and is the top performing mini-series of 2019 to date. The drama pulled in a launch audience 40% above the channel average. Meanwhile, in Germany “The Gulf” consistently outperformed the slot average by more than 10%.
German-New Zealand thriller “The Gulf”, (6 x 60’) centres around the moral disintegration of Detective Jess Savage, who finds herself caught between upholding the legal justice system and morality, as she investigates crimes on her home patch of Waiheke Island, New Zealand. “The Gulf” is an international co-production from Banijay Group’s Screentime New Zealand, Lippy Pictures, German fiction specialist Letterbox Filmproduktion, a member company of the Studio Hamburg Production Group, and broadcasters ZDF and TV3.