Latest news with #ITVStudios'
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Serial Killer Thriller Series ‘The Dark' From ITV Studios' Poison Pen Gets Green Light
ITV has commissioned a serial killer thriller series called The Dark from ex-BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson's Poison Pen. The series is adapted by Matt Hartley based on GR Halliday's debut novel From the Shadows. Poison Pen was launched by Stephenson under ITV Studios' production banner in 2023. More from The Hollywood Reporter Max's Best-Performing Local Original Production Is... Turkey's 'The Prince' Karlovy Vary Fest Has "Potential Far Beyond Film Industry": Majority Owner Rockaway's Jan Jirovec Locarno Unveils Lineup for Pardi di Domani Section, Its "Breeding Ground for Experimentation" When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, detective Monica Kennedy fears this is just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community. 'As paranoia rises, suspicions and secrets are forced into the light, and the locals start to realise that there is a serial killer hidden amongst them,' a plot synopsis reads. 'With her experience of dealing with the darkest of humanity, Monica quickly becomes entangled in a heightened game of cat and mouse with a cunning killer,' it continued. 'But when her own history creeps up on her, she begins to lose trust in her own judgement. Will it be her own actions that are the biggest risk to herself and her family?' ITV's director of drama Polly Hill greenlit the six-part show. 'The Dark is a compelling new drama which introduces the fearless DI Monica Kennedy, who has to try and catch a serial killer in this really chilling Scottish story,' said Hill. 'Matt's adaptation is brilliantly gripping and I am delighted to be adapting this novel with him and the team at Poison Pen.' Stephenson added: 'The Dark is a gripping hide behind the sofa thriller with unguessable twists and a central character whose mysterious past gives her an extraordinary insight into a twisted killer as well as an overpowering empathy for those left in the killer's wake.' Stephenson, Preethi Mavahalli, Luke Woellhaf and Fern McCauley will executive produce alongside Matt Hartley. Matt Brown will be producing the series, which also has Lena Rae and Nessah Muthy writing and Gilles Bannier as lead director and executive producer. The Dark will commence filming in and around Glasgow during 2025 and is produced in association with ITV Studios, who will also distribute the series internationally. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Karlovy Vary's Karel Och on Mixing RPG Cinematic Debut, Gloomier Auteur Fare and That Iran Film
July 4 is a big date for the film industry, and not only because everyone will be watching the momentum at the North American box office. Friday, July 4, also marks the opening of the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF). This year's edition of the big summer festival in the Czech spa town, which is a favorite of movie buffs, celebrities from Hollywood and beyond, and industry insiders, runs through July 12, once again putting the spotlight on new releases from around the world, as well as highlights of the film festival circuit from the past year, including Cannes and Berlin. More from The Hollywood Reporter AMC Theatres Strikes Deals to Resolve Litigation, Boost Balance Sheet, Touts Box Office Outlook Serial Killer Thriller Series 'The Dark' From ITV Studios' Poison Pen Gets Green Light Max's Best-Performing Local Original Production Is... Turkey's 'The Prince' (Exclusive) Stellan Skarsgård, Peter Sarsgaard, Vicky Krieps, and Dakota Johnson are among the big names traveling to picturesque Karlovy Vary this year, along with Michael Douglas, who will present a newly restored version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But KVIFF is also expanding its offerings this year, adding to the range of audiovisual content it showcases with the world premiere, as part of its Special Screenings section, of 'a cinematic cut of Warhorse Studios' internationally successful video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Cinematic Cut,' a role-playing game (RPG), as well as Serbian miniseries Absolute 100. Ahead of the festival's opening night, Karel Och, who has been serving as the artistic director of the festival since 2010, discussed the 2025 KVIFF lineup, mixing more traditional gloomier auteur fare with messages with gaming adventure, the death and legacy of long-time festival president Jiří Bartoška, and the Iran competition film that his team had to keep a mystery for a while to ensure the safety of its delegation. Looking across the 2025 lineup for the festival, it looks like a really broad selection. Any thoughts on that, and anything you have noticed as a trend? Overall, we're really happy with the selection. It's probably the most diverse selection in years in terms of the aesthetics and the formal approach of the filmmakers. But all films included in the competitions, especially the Crystal Globe [main] competition, have this soul or core, which is very strong and through which the filmmaker tries to communicate something important. Sometimes it's in a bit more classical way, formally narratively speaking, sometimes it's a more challenging, more cryptic way. The second competition, your Proxima section, which is now in its fourth year, wants to provide a space for bold works by young filmmakers and renowned auteurs alike from around the globe. It replaced the East of the West competition, which was established in the 1990s with the goal of helping filmmakers from the former Eastern Bloc. And Proxima seems to have become a really exciting place of discovery. How do you feel about it? The second competition was geographically limited to first, so we couldn't offer much to up-and-coming filmmakers from Latin America and Asia. But their voices were one of the reasons why we decided to change things and open this up to the whole world. This year, we have three Proxima films from Latin America that were specifically submitted for the section, which is clearly and visibly quite challenging for the spectator. Some titles will always be divisive, but we feel that we can bring them in front of the audience with all the love that we can show to a film. Any other trends or anything new in your lineup this year? If we expand beyond the competitions, there is one particular film that I would like to discuss, which is called Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Cinematic Cut. It's a revolutionary moment in the new history of Karlovy Vary when we're presenting a world premiere of a cinematic cut from the narrative scenes of a video game, which I saw a few months ago and was excited about. During the spring, you're often excited by what you see [as we are planning the festival program], but sometimes it's very gloomy. Of course, art house cinema is working in the territory of the contemporary world and all its problems and tragedies, which makes sense. But then at some point, you're being offered two hours of a beautiful, exciting, and adventurous form of entertainment, and you realize that there are different ways to tell a story, and it can be a video game. And I watched these two hours, which is part of the narrative of the video game, and I was blown away by how engaging this was as an experience for a spectator. I'm not someone who is very knowledgeable about the world of video games, but I am proud that we are working with Warhorse Studios. And together, we'll put this on a big screen. I'm really curious, because we hope that this event will bring perhaps a new type of audience, or another type of audience. We hope that people like me, who have no clue, will go and enjoy it, but also those who know the game well and maybe less about the world of cinema. So that's something new. While we're talking about unusual Czech projects and the Special Screenings section, I want to ask you about , directed by Marek Novák and Mikuláš Novotný, which was inspired by Wim Wenders' , shot during the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Karlovy Vary played a key role in the new film, right? I keep wondering how interesting it might be for people outside of the Czech Republic. Yes, a couple of Czech producers came up with an idea influenced by or inspired by the Wim Wenders documentary about 18 months ago. They asked us: 'Could we use a room in the Hotel Thermal during the festival where we would give five minutes to Czech filmmakers or filmmakers from abroad living in the Czech Republic in front of the camera, talking about what is Czech in Czech film?' So we did this. We have about 27 filmmakers of all generations, and it's edited into a film called The Czech Film Project. It's interesting from the perspective of what you learn about Czech film, but also what you learn about the characters of Czech filmmakers. I think it's very exciting. At the end of the screening, you can get an idea not just about what is Czech, but maybe what is a central European approach to everything, mainly cinema. It could be this type of content that starts as a very local thing, in the sense that we want to learn about something from the inside. But it could transcend that and maybe travel [to other places]. So, I'm curious. The 12th and final movie in your main competition is Soheil Beiraghi's from Iran, which tells the story of a female singer who refuses to accept that women are not allowed to perform in public. How difficult was it to get the film and its filmmakers to the festival, and what went into that? It was just amazing to have the opportunity to preview this film with my colleagues thanks to the relationships of my colleagues. We watched the film immediately, and we were blown away, not just by the political aspect of the film and the courage of the filmmakers to go that far concerning something, which in our parts of the world is just a natural thing – seeing a young woman singing in the streets of a metropolis, but also by how it's made. It's not just about the content. It's a really well-made film that has the potential to talk to people all around the world. We were really excited and delighted when we got confirmation of the film. But then the moment came when we discussed the announcement. Because whenever you're announcing something about a movie coming from Iran, which is clearly going to stir some controversy, you have to be careful. And we listened to the team behind the film, and we agreed to postpone until they were out of the country. Then, of course, the whole problem between Iran and Israel and America's involvement came up, but by that time the crew was already outside of the country, and we could safely announce the film. I can't wait to see the reaction of the people. After the sad recent death of long-time KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška, the festival with the opening film , directed by Jakub Jurásek, screenings of Radek Bajgar's film , which stars the legendary Czech actor and fest president, and the exhibition 'Jiří Bartoška – KVIFF President.' How has it been to prepare for the festival without him around? It's still very fresh. And it was strange, because with such a complex, amazing Renaissance person, it's difficult not to think about him all the time, because he was so present everywhere in a way, his persona, his spirit. Maybe he was less involved in the actual [day-to-day] work of the festival over the last few years, so people don't have to be afraid of what is going to happen to the festival. But it's more about his symbolic presence. In Cannes, after his passing, I felt he was kind of walking behind me. It was like when David Bowie died. With people like that, you sometimes feel like they are immortal. I had a similar experience a few years ago with Eva Zaoralova, the artistic director before me, who chose me as her successor, and a person who was extremely important to me. So, yes, the first months are very sad, because you miss the physical presence of the person. But then at some point, inevitably, it changes, and the pain disappears, and you feel the person coming back in spirit. So I'm still in the office, which I shared with Eva Zaoralova, and I can feel her presence in my mind. I'm discussing things with her, and I'm pretty sure the same thing will happen with Jiří Bartoška. We're lucky and blessed that he was such a big part of our lives. 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ITV News
23-06-2025
- Business
- ITV News
ITV STUDIOS PARTNERS WITH PAPRIKA STUDIOS TO REPRESENT KEY NON-SCRIPTED FORMATS ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
ITV Studios has today announced at NATPE Budapest a strategic partnership with Paprika Studios, one of the leading independent production companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Paprika Studios will exclusively represent six of ITV Studios' top non-scripted formats across seven key markets: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. This strategic collaboration brings together a diverse mix of non-scripted formats spanning cooking, reality, and entertainment – marking a significant step forward in ITV Studios' commitment to innovative and locally resonant production in the region. The six titles Paprika Studios will represent are: This collaboration reflects ITV Studios' strategic focus on building closer creative and commercial partnerships in key international markets, ensuring broadcasters across the region have access to high-quality content with efficient, locally tailored production support. Where formats are already established, existing production partners will continue their local adaptations. Gisela Minnbergh, EVP EMEA Global Partnerships at ITV Studios, said: "Central and Eastern Europe is a dynamic and competitive region, and we're thrilled to be joining forces with Paprika Studios, who have a proven track record and deep expertise in the region. This partnership enables us to offer broadcasters a powerful combination of creative content and streamlined production, perfectly suited to local audiences." Ákos Erdös, CEO of Paprika Studios, added: "We're proud to represent ITV Studios' exciting slate of formats in CEE. These are compelling, high-quality titles that we believe will resonate strongly with local viewers. With more than 15 years of experience, offices in eight countries and a deep understanding of audience expectations and market trends in the CEE region, we are a reliable and competent partner — bringing significant added value to this strategic collaboration. Together with ITV Studios, we aim to bring fresh energy to the region's non-scripted landscape." The deal was brokered by Martijn Plaizier, Content Brand Partnership Manager, ITV Studios. – ENDS – About ITV Studios ITV Studios is a creator, producer and distributor of world-leading programmes that people can't get enough of. We connect millions of people every day and shape and reflect the world they live in. ITV Studios is home to some of the best creative minds, crafting around 7,500 hours of original programming across 60 production labels. Our global footprint spans 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, The Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands and our global distribution business sells our catalogue of 95,000+ hours to broadcasters and platforms around the world. ITV Studios has 160+ owned and operated channels in the social space delivering over 10bn views in 2024, as well as 20 FAST channels on 100+ channel feeds globally. It launched a new label, Zoo 55 dedicated to expanding its digital and gaming activity, in January 2025. ITV Studios is part of ITV PLC, which includes the UK's largest commercial broadcaster ITV and the ad-funded, free streaming home for ITV, ITVX.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ITV Studios Names Tim Carter Managing Director, Unscripted, U.K.
ITV Studios has named Tim Carter managing director, unscripted, U.K. Currently CEO of ITV Studios' MultiStory Media and Twofour production labels, Carter will take on the role in the summer from Angela Jain, who will join the Walt Disney Co. in the new role of head of content, Disney+ EMEA. Carter will assume responsibility for all of ITV Studios' unscripted business in the UK, which houses 11 labels. More from The Hollywood Reporter Japan Cuts to Open With Yasuhiro Aoki's 'ChaO,' Festival's 2025 Lineup Unveiled 'Starwalker' Director Talks Defying Queer, Trans Rights Backlash With "Joy in Our Rebellion" Netflix to Invest $1 Billion-Plus in Spain Over Four Years as Part of Originals Push Reporting to Julian Bellamy, managing director, ITV Studios, he will work on such global formats as Love Island, The Chase, I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, and Come Dine With Me, as well as upcoming shows, including The Neighbourhood, Celebrity Sabotage, and Sharks! Celebrity Infested Waters! 'He will work with each label as well as the wider Studios leadership team to support the continued growth and development of the U.K. unscripted business,' ITV said. 'Tim's success during his tenure at MultiStory and Twofour speaks for itself,' said Bellamy. 'His wealth of experience and knowledge in the unscripted market made him the natural successor to Angela. I've no doubt that ITV Studios' U.K. unscripted business will go from strength to strength under his leadership' Said Carter: 'The ITV Studios' non-scripted slate reads like a roll-call of the nation's favorite shows, and the breadth and depth of creative and production talent across the group is staggering. I look forward to building on our reputation as the natural home for the brightest and the best as we forge the entertainment of the future.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Scoop
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
TVNZ Reveals The Host Of The Chase New Zealand
Press Release – TVNZ Across four prime-time specials, Paul will guide contestants through the ultimate battle of brains as they face off against the Chasers in a thrilling, high-stakes test of knowledge and nerve. Broadcasting legend Paul Henry takes on the role of host of TVNZ's The Chase New Zealand, bringing his trademark energy and charisma to the iconic quiz show. Across four prime-time specials, Paul will guide contestants through the ultimate battle of brains as they face off against the Chasers in a thrilling, high-stakes test of knowledge and nerve. Known for his sharp wit and banter, Paul started his television career as the game show host of Every Second Counts on TVNZ, and in 2024 won bronze at the New York Festivals TV and Film Awards for best host for his work on The Traitors NZ. 'I had absolutely no hesitation in saying yes to hosting The Chase New Zealand. What kind of crazy fool would turn down an opportunity to host the most popular game show in the world? 'People might see a slightly different side to me in The Chase, I will really be wanting my teams to win, and I can be enormously charming when I put my mind to it' says Henry. The Chase New Zealand specials will follow the popular long-running original format, with 16 New Zealanders showing off their general knowledge prowess during the Cash Builder rounds, in the hope of winning a substantial cash prize in the Final Chase. The Chase New Zealand's premiere will be announced at a later date. TVNZ commissioned ITV Studios Australia to produce the four-part specials. The Chase New Zealand makes it an incredible 22 countries where ITV Studios' renowned The Chase format is produced.
