Julia Schulte
France tv Distribution is attending MIPTV with a vast and extend catalog of programs from fiction, documentaries and animation genres. The Young Adult shows (YA) are a central part of the French distributor, for instance, the show "GIRLSQUAD" (10x22’) that was acquired by Globoplay for Brazil and by YLE for Finland; or "Stalk" (10x22') which both seasons have been acquired by Portugal’s RTP and the video and VOD rights have been bought by WDR Release Company in Germany. Similarly, the "Diana Boss" show (5x20') that has been acquired by YLE for Finland or "Parliament" (10x26') which season 1 has been purchased by Czech Republic’s Ceska TV and season 2 has been bought by Topic in the USA. Meanwhile, the 2 seasons have been bought by Portugal's RTP 2 and WDR Release Company has purchased the video and VOD rights for Germany. These kinds of series are for our younger audiences, for young adults, and are usually launched on Slash, the digital platform of France Télévisions.
"We have a whole line-up of series that were produced for Slash that we launched internationally, and they have great success and I think they have gaining quite a lot of interest from America Latina," appointed Julia Schulte, SVP International Sales of France tv distribution. The executive also explains that the Young Adult shows are also sought for linear broadcasters in Europe, for example in Germany for pay TV channels like Sony or the public channel ARD. Likewise, the public networks acquire these types of series for their digital platforms. "There's still a strong need for those platforms to have great content launched by the public services, addressing an audience that they usually not addressed so much," she commented.
Last month at Series Mania, the series "Aspergirl" (10x22’) was selected in official competition and the young actor of the series Carel Brown received the prize for the best French actor. The dramedy series is about Louison, a 38-year-old woman recently separated from her son’s father, who discovers that she is on the autism spectrum when her son Guilhem is diagnosed with autism. While she suddenly understands why she has always felt different, her son only wishes to be like any of the other school kids. "It's a very light-hearted show about how both mother and son are dealing with their condition and how they get along together in a world where everybody tells them that they should be normal." stated Schulte. The series has been documented very well by the producers to create the show. “In the writers room, there were a lot of experts involved, that have been consulted and also people with autism that have been reading the scripts to avoid any seront ideas. It is a comedy, but it has got a very realistic approach", she stood out.
In the adult animation slate, France tv Distribution is highlighting "Lastman", produced by Slash, that already came into the second season, so there's a whole season available right now. It's an adult animation series adapted from a manga with the same name that was released in France and internationally. "It was the first French manga really created by respecting the rules of Japanese manga", said the executive. "'Lastman' is a 2D animation series with a mix of action, mystery, fantasy and a lot of humor", described the SVP International Sales. It has got a huge fan base in France and we decided to make it travel as well, because we feel that there is an emerging market for adult animation series."
MORE FICTION
The French distributor is launching at MIPTV the new light crime show “Family cases"(8x52’) produced by France tv studio. The plot is about a retired police captain Hannibal Pennac and his daughter Annabelle, also a police captain, who has just been transferred to her father's old department. But for Annabelle, reconnecting with the father who abandoned her as a child is not an option! "We continue to sell light crime shows a lot internationally," asserted Schulte. They have all released in European markets, especially in Southern Europe, in Spain and Italy, but they have also had huge success in some markets abroad, like Japan.
Reviewing the international series, Julia Schulte mentioned the Flemish show “Two summers” that was launched on Canal+ in France last summer, and a new release, “Under fire” (10x45’), produced by Flemish producer Geronimo that became a Netflix Original. It's a co-production between VRT (Flemish public service) and Netflix and France tv Distribution is selling the second window in the world after Netflix. "We believe in this new business model, where you can sell the title after their launch on the platforms, because for a lot of smaller channels it's a great opportunity to have access to shows that had already been launched on these platforms", explained the executive. The story is about a tight-knit and headstrong group of firefighters gets shook up by an abrupt change of leadership. After a fatal error during an intervention, they come under scrutiny. Each of them will have to balance a dangerous, high-stress job, personal challenges and professional setbacks. "it's a very original show", admitted Schulte.
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