The six-part docuseries was also sold to Hearst Networks EMEA and Polsat, to reach over 60 territories total.
Keshet International, the global content producer and distributor, has completed a raft of sales for the first two unscripted docuseries greenlit by its burgeoning commissioning initiative, Greenlight: Factual & Formats.
The global content producer and distributor has completed three licensing deals that will see Perpetual Entertainment’s Hitler’s Treasure Hunters (6×60’) broadcast in more than 60 territories – the first to Hearst Networks EMEA in a pan-regional deal that will see the six-part docuseries broadcast in Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, and sub-Saharan Africa; the second to Warner Bros. Discovery in Spain and Andorra; and finally, a free TV second window to Polsat in Poland. Talks are on-going with other broadcast partners.
Greenlit by KI’s MD of Distribution Kelly Wright last year at the London TV Screenings to coincide with the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s death and the end of World War II this year, Hitler’s Treasure Hunters tells the stories of the many treasures and religious relics sought out by the Nazi SS, including the Holy Grail and Thor’s hammer, in an effort to win Germany the war and prove Aryan supremacy. KI launched this history docuseries to market at Mipcom 2024.
In addition, KI has also sold its first fully funded commission, Woodcut Media’s gripping true crime docuseries Catch Me If You Can (10×60′), to TVNZ in New Zealand in a multi-title deal that also includes Double Act’s recently acquired SAS: Catching the Criminals (10×60’, format and tape), alongside the first five seasons of Crackit Productions’ Trucking Hell (S1: 10×60’, S2: 20×60’, S3: 20×60’, S4: 12×60’, S5: 20×60’) and all three seasons of Hello Halo Productions’ River Hunters (S1: 8×60’, S2: 6×60, S3: 4×60’).
Catch Me If You Can is a gripping true crime docuseries that delves into the chilling world of murderers who evade capture while taunting their victims’ families and law enforcers until they are finally brought to justice. While Double Act’s SAS: Catching the Criminals is a BBC One crime enforcement docuseries that see ex-SAS leader Billy Billingham work alongside national and local council enforcement agencies to deploy covert intelligence, surveillance, and disruption tactics against Britain’s offenders.
KI’s Kelly Wright says, “Our Greenlight: Factual & Formats commissioning initiative is a collaborative response to the market needs. For us, it’s a different way of getting fresh, new content on TV screens around the world, while also supporting TV producers during a difficult time. It is so rewarding to see ideas that started off as just a pitch to us and a roomful of buyers are now fully produced TV series that we are selling well on the open market.”
In addition to entering a three-phase development deal with The Connected Set for its AI-powered dating format Too Good To Be True, KI recently signed four shopping agreements for shows pitched during its Greenlight: Factual & Format Producer Pitch events: two with Woodcut Media for the returnable true crime docuseries, Hotel Horrors (10×60’) and Captive Calls (10×60’); a second with Flicker Productions for Million Dollar Alien Hunters; a third with Hello Mary for Subterranean Secrets, and a fourth with Yeti Television for its Hugh Bonneville-fronted docuseries Secret Royal Homes. Pre-sales partners are being boarded by KI’s sales team now, with news to be announced soon.
Last December in London, KI hosted its third Greenlight: Factual & Format Producer Pitch event, where 30 projects were live pitched by 18 different producers from the UK, the US, France, Spain, Latin America and Australia to buyers in the room and via livestream. The global content producer and distributor plans to announce further shopping agreements and another greenlit production in the coming weeks.
At this year’s London TV Screenings, KI will be launching and screening two new factual series it boarded early and co-developed with each of the respective production companies – SandStone Global’s Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (3×60’) with Professor Bettany Hughes; and Roundtable Media and Bungalow Media+ Entertainment’s Dinner with Gavin Rossdale, which brings celebrities including Serena Williams, Common, actresses Selma Blair and Brooke Shields, iconic singer Sir Tom Jones, and comedian Jack McBrayer into Rossdale’s home for intimate cooking sessions, candid conversations, and, of course, music.
