Cineflix Rights is on the hunt for its next long-running series.
The U.K.-based distribution arm of Montreal-headquartered Cineflix Media has a longstanding history of selling domestic unscripted shows and giving them international appeal, from the Property Brothers home reno franchise with Scott Brothers Entertainment to the docuseries Air Crash Investigation (Cineflix Productions), which marked its 20th season last year.
During the Banff World Media Festival, the company announced a three-year partnership with Toronto’s Go Button Media to co-finance and produce 60 hours of unscripted history and science content. Go Button’s longstanding partners Super Channel remains its Canadian partner.
The distributor is currently shopping the upcoming Leonard Cohen love story So Long, Marianne, a coproduction between Montreal’s C3 Media, Greece’s Tanweer Productions and Norway’s Letters from Leonard.
The drama series has garnered notable international market interest since launching at the London Screenings and Series Mania earlier this year, Felicia Litovitz (pictured, below), VP, acquisitions, North America at Cineflix Rights tells Playback.
The drama has been sold to Crave (Canada), NRK (Norway), ITVX (the U.K.), ARD’s FabFiction (Germany), VRT Belgium, SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark), Yle (Finland), RUV (Iceland) Cosmote TV and Star Channel (Greece) and Movies Best HD (Cyprus), to date.
The company’s other scripted projects out of Canada include Crave originals In Memoriam (Passez-Go) and Late Bloomer (Pier 21 Films), and Syfy series Reginald the Vampire (Great Pacific Media, Modern Story, December Films, Cineflix Studios).
However, unscripted content is still king in the overall slate, with Litovitz noting that it accounts for the majority of Cineflix Rights acquisitions.
Playback: What role does Cinefix Rights play within the larger Cineflix Media ecosystem?
Felicia Litovitz: Cineflix Rights is the business’ distribution arm. We work closely with other parts of the company, including Cineflix Productions and Cineflix Studios. The rights team is primarily based in London, alongside the majority of distribution companies. I’m part of our North American focus team alongside one other acquisitions exec based out of Toronto. We also have a sales team based out of Toronto.
How many projects does the company acquire for distribution each year, and is that increasing or decreasing?
We pick up three to five new series per year across scripted, in addition to multiple returning seasons. It’s a lot more for unscripted: between 20 to 25 new titles, plus returning seasons. We’re on track to have a similar level of acquisitions this year.
What is the appeal of having a more extensive unscripted library?
There’s more content potentially being produced in the unscripted space. Many more resources also go into a scripted series than an unscripted one.
What kind of unscripted genres and stories are you interested in acquiring?
True crime is always a genre that works well internationally, both episodic and serialized. We’d be looking for something that’s approached in a modern way with exclusive access at the heart of it. That’s important.
We’re also looking for history series that bring new revelations and include compelling experts and rarely-seen archives. In reality and docuseries, we need big characters and high stakes for those to hit. In the lifestyle bucket, we want home reno and design, as well as celebrity-driven food series with a travel element. Returnable series are a priority for us.
What are you looking for in the scripted space?
Genres like crime, episodic procedurals, contemporary thrillers, elevated drama and YA series are always of interest.
How early in a project’s lifecycle do you like to come on board?
We can often provide insights on what may or may not resonate with an international audience. Specifically for scripted, we can come on board at an early stage to assist with funding, IP options and script development. We can also work with producers to package and pitch to local commissioning execs.
In what circumstances would you board a project later on?
If a broadcaster has already greenlit a project and there’s an opportunity to come on board, we would. We will really join at any stage, and can be helpful in different ways at different stages.
How would you characterize the current content sales landscape following the impact of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes?
The market has been challenging. We’re seeing tighter commissioning budgets and a slowing number of originals. But that is giving us a greater opportunity to close presales and acquisitions at a competitive level. Programming schedules have more space because buyers are commissioning fewer originals, so they’re looking for content.
Are there any notable Canadian projects in your catalogue that have done well with buyers?
We’ve had a lot of success with Canadian titles. Nat Geo picked up Ancient Bodies: Secrets Revealed from Farpoint Films and Mysterious Islands from Shark Teeth Films globally. We have two series from Go Button Media, Secret Nazi Expeditions and Secret Nazi Science, and we’ve made significant sales on those titles. We also have two CNN series from Cream Productions, History of the Sitcom and The Story of Late Night.
Then there’s Don’t Hate Your House with the Property Brothers (pictured). That’s the most recent Property Brothers series from Scott Brothers Entertainment. And then there are our own productions, Homicide: Hours to Kill and Somebody’s Hiding Something.
On the scripted side, it would be Wynonna Earp (SEVEN24 Films, Cineflix Studios), Coroner (Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films, Cineflix Studios) and Reginald the Vampire.
A version of this story appeared in Playback‘s Spring 2024 issue
Image courtesy of Scott Brothers Entertainment