Hat Trick International seals pre-sales for "Police Rescue Australia"

Hat Trick International has closed pre-sales for observational documentary series Police Rescue Australia to broadcasters in the UK and New Zealand. “At HTI, we like to think we can spot a winner when we see one — and Channel 4 and TVNZ clearly agree that Police Rescue Australia has winner stamped all over it," Sarah Tong, director of sales at Hat Trick International, said. "It’s one of those rare shows that has it all, from spectacular feats of courage against the backdrop of spectacular scenery to real-life stories about real-life people, told with compassion and humour. NSW’s Police Rescue units are staffed by extraordinary officers, bound by a deep loyalty not only to each other but to their mission of saving lives.”

More 4 in the UK and TVNZ in New Zealand have both noted interest in the the series, produced by Sydney-based indie Lune Media, ahead of its premier on Channel 9 in Australia next month."With unprecedented access, Police Rescue Australia captures first-hand the fearless men and women of the NSW Police Rescue and Bomb Disposal unit, and the often traumatic and challenging situations they find themselves in," Hamish Turner, Nine's director of 9Now and programming said. "Nine is proud to be sharing these front line stories filled with heart and hope."

The title tells the story of the the New South Wales Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit, a group of elite officers who specialize in high-risk incidents, such as mountain rescues, sieges and bomb disposal. Routinely risking their lives as they work to save others, NSW’s crack officers are among the best-trained rescue experts in the world. The six-part series is narrated by multi-award-winning Australian actor, writer and director, Brendan Cowell.

HTI has an ongoing commercial partnership covering both formats and finished programming with Lune Media, the award-winning indie founded in 2013 by managing director Leonie Lowe. Among the successful Lune Media titles represented by HTI are "Could You Survive on the Breadline," produced for SBS, which challenges preconceptions about poverty and disadvantage in Australia; and Channel 7’s Every Bite Takes You Home, in which internationally acclaimed chef, television presenter and author Kylie Kwong celebrates Australia’s multiculturalism via the recipes handed down through generations of migrants.

On the formats front, Keo Films’ pioneering eco series "War on Waste" has been re-versioned by Lune Media for ABC Australia, which has just commissioned the show for a third season. HTI’s formats catalogue also includes four series of River Cottage Australia, produced by Lune Media for Foxtel and based on the original Hat Trick format River Cottage.