2. UK distributor DRG is hoping to meet demand for
long-running drama by developing original
content. Michael Pickard reports.
Anke Stoll
When executives from DRG arrive in Cannes next
week for the start of MipTV, their sales
catalogue won’t be the only thing occupying
their time.
For the first time, DRG is moving into developing
original content, specifically drama, in a move
that it hopes will create new opportunities to sell
longform series to buyers who demand more
bang for their buck.

3. “There are fewer commissions and, particularly in
the UK, much shorter runs get ordered, like
3x60’ or 4x60’, which don’t sell internationally or
are difficult sells,” says Anke Stoll, head of
acquisitions, coproductions and development at
DRG.
She also explains that series from the US are an
expensive proposition for distributors, while the
lack of second-season orders for some of
DRG’s Australian shows, such as Canal Road
(13x60′), contributed also led to its decision to
join series on the ground floor, rather than step
in when a show is already in the can.

4. That’s not to say DRG hasn’t had notable success
with its scripted portfolio. The sales outfit found
multiple homes for titles from the UK and
Australia, in particular comedy drama Doc
Martin, crime series Underbelly, Shameless and
both the UK and US versions of The
Inbetweeners. Doc Martin alone has been sold
into more than 200 countries.
“We’re doing this mainly to have more titles for the
international market,” says Stoll. “We’re trying to
find titles that are truly international and we’re
looking for partners around the world who can
produce, showrun, write and commission them.

5. “We are not going into production; we don’t own a
production company. We will just facilitate new
development and bring the best partners
together. There are some treatments and scripts
we’ve paid for. Some have writers attached,
some have producers and commissioners. But
we have to package it and bring the finance
together.”
Though its move into development is just several
months old, DRG has already built up an
extensive slate of forthcoming projects.
First up are three series commissioned by Italian
broadcaster Rai. The first is Pirates of the East
(6x90’), an adaptation of the book by Emilo
Salgari set in 1840s Malaysia at the height of
the British Empire.

6. Italian production company PayPerMoon is also
onboard the swashbuckling adventure, which
has been conceived as a long-running series
beyond its initial six-episode order. A German
partner is also being sought.
PayPerMoon is also working on a retelling of the
story of Helen of Troy (3x120’), while So You
Think You Can Dance creator Nigel Lythgoe will
coproduce Nureyev, a biographical miniseries
about Russian ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev.

7. Scottish broadcaster STV
has commissioned Wallace, to be produced by
STV Productions, in association with DRG, Los
Angeles-based Creative Media and Nine/8
Entertainment. The drama is set to echo period
series such as Game of Thrones and Spartacus
as it charts medieval hero William Wallace’s life,
from childhood to his attempt to unify Scotland.
Other DRG projects include Saigon, based on the
book by Anthony Grey, with Australian producer
Greg Coote; and Pitcairn: Paradise Lost, a
telemovie based on the true story of the 2004
child abuse scandal, with Quail TV for TV3 New
Zealand and Foxtel in Australia.

8. Meanwhile, DRG has partnered with Future Films,
a film production and financing company, on
three additional projects. Together they have
secured rights to Russian author Boris Akunin’s
The Adventures of Erast Fandorin series, about
the eponymous 19th century detective.
“It’s a mix of Sherlock Holmes and James Bond,”
says Stoll. “We hope to have UK broadcasters
interested and I pitched it to some German
partners recently and they are really keen.”
The second project, another book deal, is for
Jeffrey Archer’s Short Stories, with an aspiration
to adapt them into docudramas with a US copro
partner. The takes cover subjects including
scams, cons and fraud.

9. DRG is also working with Future Films and author Jeff
Norton on Cortex, a futuristic procedural drama
about a team of scientists and investigators who
solve crimes by inserting themselves into the
memories of witnesses, criminals and each other.
Each project will be filmed in English and is likely to
begin production this year for delivery in 2013.
“We had to do something because drama buyers from
around the world come to us expecting us to have
big drama and there’s not much coming up,” says
Stoll. “Linking with international partners, we feel we
have a possibility here to make things happen.”

10. With DRG’s motives laid bare, its move into drama
development is about finding a way to supply
what international broadcasters are demanding.
“This is the right time,” adds Stoll. “Broadcasters
have opened up their schedules to some foreign
drama but because of money and budget
issues, you still want to produce really good
drama. But that’s expensive and this is the only
way to do it.”