News

22nd November, 2018 Channel 4 Factual has commissioned from Sundog Pictures (1×60 mins) Training Teachers to Kill.  This timely and shocking documentary will witness the heated debate playing out in real time where school boards in America are seriously considering … Continued

Broadcast Now, Frederick Blichert, November 22 2018. UK pubcaster Channel 4 has unveiled an expansive new slate of non-fiction commissions, including series on social welfare and health services, as well as arts programming and a doc on the controversial movement … Continued

C21 Media 4th October 2018 John Elmes A+E Networks is to launch a special programming strand focused on cults and zealous belief systems globally across its Crime+Investigation (C+I) network. Twisted Faith will launch in November as a seven-day programming block … Continued

C-21 Media, Nico Franks. 8th October 2018 UK indie prodco and sales outfit Silverlining TV has signed a first-look distribution deal with a fledgling company set up by a former BBC Earth executive. Bristol-based Mustang Films has been set up … Continued

‘Using innovative techniques blending documentary and drama to protect the identity of those involved, this powerful film reports on the impact this has on the families of the men involved’ The Sunday Mirror The unusual format and queasy subject matter … Continued

Broadcast Now, Manori Ravindran 9th May 2018 Original article Emporium Productions and Spun Gold have struck commissions around this month’s royal wedding for US cable channels Lifetime and Nat Geo. WW2 Treasure Hunters indie Emporium is producing one-off doc Harry … Continued

C21 Media, Nico Franks 3rd April 2018 Original article Broadcasters in Australia, France and the UK have pre-bought a documentary about the missing Malaysian Airlines passenger jet from Silverlining TV. Nine Network in Australia, RMC Découverte in France and Channel … Continued

Broadcast, Manori Ravindran 22nd September 2017 Original article Former A+E commissioner Rachel Job has landed at UK distributor-finance agent Silverlining as director of acquisitions. The former director of programming for History and H2 will be sourcing content for the London-based … Continued

Realscreen, Selina Chignall 26th July 2017 Original article Silverlining Rights picks up rights to GPs: Behind Closed Doors UK-based distributor Silverlining Rights has picked up the rights to the fifth season of the docusoap, GPs: Behind Closed Doors. The new … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 8th June 2017 UK-based distributor Silverlining Rights has picked up a one-off special about the truth behind long-haul flights. The Secret Life of the Long-Haul Flight follows Australian operator Qantas’s A380 plane as it flies from … Continued

Realscreen, Selina Chignall 2nd June 2017 Original article Silverlining Rights picks up The Secret Life of the Long-Haul Flight UK-based distributor Silverlining Rights has picked up the new one-off special The Secret Life of the Long-Haul Flight from indie prodco … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 16th May 2017 UK-based Silverlining Rights has picked up a fast-turnaround doc that explores the influence of US president Donald Trump’s eldest daughter.  Ivanka Trump: America’s Real First Lady? (1 x 60′) has been produced by … Continued

Broadcast Now, Rob McCabe 6th February 2017 I was sold on The Accused within five minutes of meeting Malcolm Brinkworth, executive producer at Brinkworth Films. His idea was ambitious and compelling: a documentary that, for the first time, took the … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 20th January 2016 UK-based distributor Silverlining Rights has added a one-off doc about survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp to its sales slate. The Girl Who Forgave The Nazis (1×60′) was produced by Testimony Films for … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 13th January 2016 UK-based distributor Silverlining Rights has expanded its sales slate after picking up a one-off doc produced for Channel 5 (Channel 5) that explores alcoholism. My Name is… and I’m an Alcoholic is produced … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 14th October, 2015 Silverlining Rights has picked up international distribution rights to a show from UK prodco Knickerbockerglory about doctors. GPs: Behind Closed Doors (40×60’) will start airing on Channel 5 in the UK this evening … Continued

Broadcast, Matthew Campbell 24th September 2015 Pioneer Productions will explore the explosive relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots in a one-off docu-drama for BBC2. The 60-minute Bloody Queens: Elizabeth and Mary will use dramatic reconstruction to bring … Continued

C21 Media, Clive Whittingham,24th September 2015 BBC2 in the UK has commissioned a one-off factual drama about the lives of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. Tinopolis-owned UK prodco Pioneer Productions is working on Bloody Queens: Elizabeth and … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 27th August 2015 National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) has linked up with Channel 5 (C5) in the UK and Smithsonian Channel on a two-hour special exploring some of the largest creatures ever to have lived on … Continued

Broadcast, Matthew Campelli 21st August 2015 Ben Fogle will front an ambitious ‘whale-fall’ experiment for ITV which will lure large sea creatures – including sharks – to the carcass of a whale. The natural history series, produced by Sussex-based indie … Continued

The Guardian, Press Association 21st August 2015 Adventurer Ben Fogle has embarked on an expedition to hunt for great white sharks in UK waters, using the carcass of a 30ft whale as bait. The investigation will reveal the hidden creatures … Continued

The Times (London), Gabriel Tate 19th August 2015 ★★★★☆ The producers of Terror on Everest: Surviving the Nepal Earthquake, meanwhile, Could Do Better. Even with extraordinary raw material, they couldn’t resist slathering a hyperbolic voice-over and soundtrack on top; what … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 18th August 2015 ABC in Australia and networks across Europe have picked up a documentary about a little-known hero of the 9/11 attacks in the US. 9/11: The Lost Hero has been produced by UK-based Testimony … Continued

Realscreen, Daniele Alcinii 14th August, 2015 The Testimony Films-produced doc reveals a firsthand account from Jason Thomas (pictured), a former Marine Corps sergeant, on the events surrounding his rescue of two New York City police officers – Will Jimeno and … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 13th August, 2015 A UK broadcaster has picked up Smithsonian Channel’s one-hour doc about the earthquake in Nepal that killed more than 8,000 people in April. Channel 4 has acquired rights to Nepal Quake: Terror on … Continued

Mail Online 5th June, 2015 It’s now a given that most every natural disaster, even in a location as remote as Nepal, will be captured by gripping amateur video. The challenge for the Smithsonian Channel was taking this material and … Continued

ABC.net 4th June, 2015 On Saturday 25th April 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake devastated Nepal, killing more than eight thousand people and leaving over a million homeless. As the quake struck, climbers on Mount Everest were caught in a massive … Continued

C21 Media, Richard Middleton 2nd June, 2015 Smithsonian Channel in the US has ordered a one-off documentary about the earthquakes that struck Nepal in April from a fledgling UK production outfit. Nepal Quake: Terror on Everest (1×60′) tells the story … Continued

TV By the Numbers, Amanda Kondolojy 1st June, 2015   SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL™ REVEALS HARROWING ACCOUNTS OF EARTHQUAKES AND AVALANCHE IN THE SHADOW OF MOUNT EVEREST NEPAL QUAKE: TERROR ON EVEREST PREMIERING SUNDAY, MONDAY JUNE 8 AT 9 PM ET/PT New York, June … Continued

Broadcast Now – Matthew Campelli 30 March 2015 Channel 4 has ordered a fast-turnaround documentary about the safety of flying following last week’s Germanwings air disaster. ITN Productions’ How Safe Are Our Planes? is an hour-long film which will investigate … Continued

The Daily Fray, JOHN HOWELL, 9th November 2014 Madison Stewart wanted to get one thing straight before production began on “Shark Girl,” a film that depicts global misunderstanding and a man-made attack against sharks. “I made them put it in the contract … Continued

C21Media, Richard Middleton 22nd October, 2014 Discovery Networks Western Europe has ordered an eight-part factual show for its Animal Planet channel in the UK from indie Blink Films. Meet the Orangutans (8×30) reveals the comical and sometimes tragic stories of … Continued

BroadcastNow 18 July 2014 Channel 4 has commissioned a fast-turnaround Dispatches investigating the tragedy of the Malaysia-bound flight shot down in Ukraine. Murder In The Sky – Flight MH17 will TX on Monday night (21 July) in the broadcaster’s 8pm … Continued

Channel 4 Press Release 13 JUN 2014 On Friday 23 May, British born Elliot Rodger killed six students, injured thirteen, caused carnage across nine locations in Santa Barbara before turning the gun on himself. Online he had posted his troubled … Continued

Smithsonian Newsdesk 7th May 2014 Madison Stewart is an inspiring young woman with a passion to protect the creatures most people fear: sharks. Known to many simply as “shark girl,” she’s been diving with sharks since the age of 12. … Continued

Realscreen, Kevin Ritchie 3rd April, 2014 U.S. cable networks Smithsonian Channel and Discovery en Español are to air one-off specials about the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mystery. Smithsonian Channel will air Malaysia 370: The Plane That Vanished on April 6 … Continued

C21Media, Nico Franks 3rd April, 2014 Discovery Networks International (DNI) and Smithsonian Channel in the US have both commissioned one-hour investigations into the disappearance of Flight 370. DNI has ordered Flight 370: The Missing Links, which attempts to gather the … Continued

C21Media, Clive Whittingham 22nd January, 2014 Discovery Networks International (DNI), Discovery Canada and PBS have commissioned a four-part series on the relationships forged between humans and animals. My Wild Affair (4×60’) is being produced by Blink Films and Newroad Media … Continued

Realscreen, Kelly Anderson  January 21, 2014 Discovery Networks International, Discovery Canada and PBS will air a four-part series on the friendships between animals and humans, from UK prodco Blink Films and Canada’s Newroad Media. My Wild Affair is a 4 x 60-minute … Continued

The Examiner 17th December, 2013 How Sherlock Changed the World In today’s world, we’ve been so inundated with coroner-related dramas, especially the Law & Order and CSI TV series that we think evidence over interrogation. The PBS two-hour documentary “How Sherlock … Continued

Newsday, VERNE GAY December 16, 2013 THE SHOW: “How Sherlock Changed the World” WHEN | WHERE: Tuesday night at 9 on WNET/13 WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The name is Holmes — Sherlock Holmes — and before launching a thousand movies, books … Continued

Radio Times 12th December 2013 Marina Chapman says she was raised in the jungle by monkeys. National Geographic have decided to test her claims… Marina Chapman clutches her tall glass of coffee with both hands, one on top of the … Continued

C21 Media 16 May 2013 Channel 5 (C5) in the UK has ordered a fast-turnaround doc about the three women imprisoned in a cellar in suburban Cleveland, which is being coproduced with Investigation Discovery (ID) in the US. Ohio Slave … Continued

Realscreen 16 May 2013  U.S. net Investigation Discovery (ID) and British broadcaster Channel 5 (C5) are co-producing a quick turnaround doc on the Cleveland kidnappings, made by ITN Productions and set to air in the UK next Wednesday (May 22). … Continued

C21Media, Nico Franks 26th February, 2013 A US broadcaster has picked up natural history special Shark Girl from its Australian distributor. Smithsonian Channel has acquired the 57-minute film, which tells the story of Madi Stewart, who left school at 14 … Continued

C21Media, Nico Franks 15th January 2013 PBS has ordered an “intimate portrait” of renowned physicist Stephen Hawking as well as a documentary on Sherlock Holmes. A Brief History of Mine (working title) doc features exclusive access to Hawking’s life story, … Continued