Paramount+ has unveiled a new slate of scripted and unscripted U.K. original series ahead of the streaming platform’s launch in Britain this summer.
The six new shows — which come just three weeks after the first U.K. unscripted slate was announced — are part of an ambitious plan for Paramount+ to commission 50 international scripted originals in 2022. They also follow plans outlined last year by Ben Frow, chief content officer U.K. at Paramount, to feature premium local content from the territory alongside an expansive catalog of hit shows and movies from Paramount’s brands and studios.
On the scripted side, the four-part series The Ex-Wife — based on the hit psychological thriller of the same name — will star Céline Buckens (Showtrial), with Clapperboard Studios, BlackBox Multimedia and Night Train Media co-producing and Night Train Media financing and controlling worldwide distribution rights with All3Media International. The drama is written by Catherine Steadman, who will also serve as executive producer, as will the author Jess Ryder; Andy Morgan (Tin Star, The Madame Blanc Mysteries) will produce and Brian O’Malley (The Lodgers, That Dirty Black Bag) will direct the series.
Related Stories
Meanwhile, based on the novel by C.J. Tudor, the six-part The Burning Girls, set in a village with a bloody past and rife with conspiracies and secrets, is being produced by Buccaneer Media (Marcella, Whitstable Pearl) in association with VIS, the international studio division of Paramount. Hans Rosenfeldt (Marcella, The Bridge) serves as the lead writer, with Camilla Ahlgren (The Bridge) joining him on the writing team.
Both scripted original series were commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell, deputy chief content officer U.K. at Paramount.
On the unscripted side, LA Hairdressers, from Fulwell 73 in association with Endeavor Content, will follow two legendary L.A. establishments; anthology series Fashion House (working title), produced by Lambent in association with All3Media International and Night Train Media, will tell the story of Gucci, Versace and Burberry; Pervert: Catching the Strip Search Caller (w/t), from Wag Entertainment, follows the true-crime story of a hoax caller; and the feature-length Girl Taken, produced by Soilsiú Films, in association with Screen Ireland, M-Net and Abacus Media Rights, follows the story of a baby stolen from hospital in South Africa only to be found 17 years later living just a few miles away.
The new U.K. originals join previously unveiled shows, including A Gentleman in Moscow, Sexy Beast, Flatshare and The Blue, alongside the streamer’s international slate of originals, including Simon Beckett’s Chemistry of Death (Germany), The Signal (France), Cecilia (Mexico), Bosé (Spain), Miss Fallaci (Italy), and At Midnight (Mexico). Further U.K. originals are due to be announced later this spring.
