MUMBAI: Televisioon format owner and distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has announced the acquisition of two drama shows which will launch at the television trade event MipTV in April.
The shows are Love You To Death and The Best Years. They join FME’s expanding drama portfolio.
The dark, funny Love You To Death stars filmmmaker John Waters Pink Flamingos, Hairspray in his television series debut as the ‘Groom Reaper’. It and tells the twisted, inspired-by-reality tales of spouses who have killed their loved, or not-so-loved ones.
The series is scheduled later this year in the US on Court TV as ‘Til Death Do Us Part and Global Television in Canada. It will be on offer to buyers worldwide from FME at MipTV for both TV (excluding the US) and DVD (excluding Canada).
As the ‘Groom Reaper’, Waters guides viewers through bizarre stories and cases of wedded woe, with his trademark wry sense of humour and definite macabre sensibility. Each episode – inspired by true crimes – dramatises the stories of ill-fated husbands and wives and reveals the flaws in what the killers thought was the perfect crime – like in the case of the ‘spend-a-holic’ spouse, who poisoned their other half to claim the life insurance, only to find that the cheque for the poison bounced! In each episode, viewers follow a murderous trail to find out whodunit and will be on the edge of their seats until the very end, as things are not always as they seem.
The Best Years follows a group of friends through the ups and downs of college life. It’s an insight into the real-life drama that is university – the excitement and pressures that go hand in hand with newfound independence.
Leaving her foster-home past behind, Samantha Best (Charity Shea) arrives on a scholarship for freshman year at the prestigious Charles University in Boston, MA and sets about finding her feet in the hallowed halls; not to mention finding a whole new set of friends – and ‘frenemies’ – along the way.
As Samantha learns to juggle academic pressures, the perils of the social scene, friction with roommates and liaisons with lovers, The Best Years will be compulsive viewing as she and this sometimes dysfunctional college family make their way together.
FME CEO David Ellender says, “We are delighted to add these two unique dramas from Blueprint Entertainment to our burgeoning portfolio of fine scripted entertainment, which we are committed to expanding further throughout 2007. We are thrilled to be launching both Love You To Death and The Best Years at MipTV. This gives broadcasters from around the world the chance to be the first on board with what will be very highly-prized additions to any schedule line-up for 2007.”
