‘Downton Abbey’ Star Leading Channel 5 Drama ‘The Puzzle Lady’; Freely Amazon Deal; Cannes Directors Fortnight; Directv October 7 Anniversary – Global Briefs
‘Downton Abbey’ Star Leading Channel 5 Drama ‘The Puzzle Lady’
Downton Abbey star Phyllis Logan is leading a pan-global Channel 5 drama based on Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady mysteries. The Puzzle Lady [working title] will see the BAFTA-nominee play Cora Felton, who takes on the eponymous moniker. When a strange murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury, the local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body. With their case going nowhere, they turn reluctantly to Felton, a recent arrival. Hall, who died in 2020, wrote numerous puzzle lady books along with his Stanley Hastings mysteries. The series is for Paramount-owned Channel 5 and is being distributed in the U.S. by PBS Distribution with producers Channel Zero and ZDF Studios selling rest of world. The series has begun production in Northern Ireland and is set to air next year. Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5 and Paramount+ said: “We’re very pleased to bring The Puzzle Lady to Channel 5, a compelling, cosy crime drama that will keep viewers guessing and entertained equally.”
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Freely Ties With Amazon On Biggest Distribution Deal Yet
Free UK streamer Freely has struck its biggest distribution deal yet with Amazon Fire TV. The broadcaster-backed streamer, the first free service to be accessible over the internet, will become available this fall on a wide range of next-gen smart TVs that use the Fire TV operating system. The move is the latest distribution deal for Everyone TV-run Freely, which launched earlier this year. It most recently struck a content deal with UKTV and revealed it had more content than any streamer in the UK, at around 70,000 hours. Everyone TV boss Jonathan Thompson said: “I am pleased Amazon sees the immense value that easy access to public service broadcaster and other free-to-view content brings to UK audiences. This is the beginning of a journey, bringing invaluable content to UK audiences and uniting what was an increasingly fragmented viewing experience.”
Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Goes On U.S. Tour
Cannes Directors’ Fortnight will be taking part of its 2024 selection on tour in the U.S. for the first time later this month. The parallel section will be showcasing titles in events at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, and the Culver Theater in Los Angeles. The section said the showcase would be an opportunity to meet directors and producers of independent and genre cinema and described the event as a “unique opportunity to celebrate the historic bond between the USA and the Fortnight as a launching pad for young American cinema.” Aside from the U.S. dates, Directors’ Fortnight will also be heading to Tokyo’s Human Trust Shibuya in December and Brazil, in partnership with the Janela Internacional de Cinema festival in Recife.
Directv Commemorating October 7 Anniversary With ‘#NOVA’ Doc
Directv will be commemorating the October 7 anniversary in Latin America by showing the #NOVA doc this evening as part of a series of programing. From yes Studios, #NOVA uses images and videos recorded by both survivors and terrorists to provide a real-time portrayal of what happened on that fateful day a year ago at the Israeli music festival. Directv will show #NOVA this evening along with special news shows Israel: One Year After 7/10 and Hadassah: The Hospital of War.
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