TV Drama MIPCOM/OCTOBER 2022

Financing Trends / Nicola Walker / Robert & Michelle King / Jacob Batalon

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher

Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director

Mansha Daswani Editor

Kristin Brzoznowski

Executive Editor

Jamie Stalcup Associate Editor

David Diehl Production & Design Director

Simon Weaver Online Director

Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director

Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator

Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Battle of the Blockbusters

CONTENTS

FEATURE

HIGH DRAMA

With inflation causing the already sky-high cost of scripted production to rise, leading drama distributors weigh in on financing models and the keys to cutting through the clutter today.

Ricardo Seguin Guise President

Anna Carugati Executive VP

Mansha Daswani

Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

TV Drama

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And what a time it is to be a genre fan. I was thinking that weekends had become the ultimate treat with the double billing of House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . What more could a fan of epic-scale, ambitious, otherworldly episodic drama ever really need but the two biggest shows on television (well, streaming) dropping within days of each other? But I must admit—it’s giving me a headache. As a genre fan across TV, movies and books—and the editor of this magazine—I have become adept at keeping a shocking amount of information in my head. A veritable font of often thor oughly useless data. But it has made me quite good at fol lowing complex storylines and intersecting universes. And yet the double dose of these sprawling HBO and Prime Video shows might have been a bridge too far for me. I have resolved to stick with the Seven Kingdoms for now and return to Middle-earth when I have a little more mental bandwidth.

INTERVIEWS

It is fascinating how this overabundance has made just the process of picking something to watch so very agonizing sometimes. Shall I binge or wait? Is it worth investing time if it’s going to get canceled? I’m almost glad I didn’t get to Paper Girls , which Prime Video recently pulled the plug on. It feels like the type of show I would have fallen in love with. I do worry that as the streaming wars intensify, budgets soar and plat forms feel the pinch of flinging money at projects that don’t become immediate successes, great, break through ideas that take time to build will get lost in this ecosystem where everything seems to be getting bigger and more relentless. When announcing the formal greenlight of season two of Squid Game this year, the creator, director and writer of the Korean megahit, Hwang Dong-hyuk, noted: “It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever.” I cannot wait for that breakthrough piece of tele vision to return, and I do hope that 12 days won’t become the new standard for how quickly a show has to take off today.

Robert & Michelle King

Tewary

Mansha Daswani

I am an unabashed sci-fi/fantasy nerd. Do I love a gritty, rooted in real life crime thriller? Sure, but I’ll take all the dwarves, monster hunters, vampires and superheroes, please, everything from the family-friendly to dark and twisted.

Jacob Batalon

Nicola Walker

One

All3Media International

The English / The Gymnasts / The Ex-Wife

Leading All3Media International’s drama slate, The English stars Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer in a love story that takes place in the American Wild West in the late 1800s. The drama, written and directed by Hugo Blick, “has tremendous appeal for international buyers because of its large-scale, high-quality production values and brilliant storytelling,” says Lauren Jackson, scripted content executive at All3Media International. The young adult thriller The Gymnasts, from Indigo Film, features dramatic gymnastics routines, complex young adult relationships and a murder mystery. The Ex-Wife centers on a woman who has a seemingly perfect life. “International buyers are always looking for taut domestic thrillers, and The Ex-Wife is a stylish, hooky offering in this space,” Jackson says.

Atresmedia Televisión

UPA Next / La Ruta (The Route) / Heridas

Among the programs on Atresmedia Televisión’s slate, UPA Next is a revival of the Un Paso Adelante ( One Step Forward ) franchise. Characters such as Silvia, Rober and Lola will return alongside new students of the Carmen Arranz performing arts school. The eight-part drama La Ruta (The Route) found its basis in a real music revolution.

“It was one of the most important clubbing and electronic music movements in the world but also a revolution in fashion, culture, society and even language,” says Jose Antonio Salso, head of acquisitions and sales. Heridas, a 13part Spanish adaptation of the Japanese format Mother , tackles themes such as child abandonment and the search for one’s own identity. The cast includes Adriana Ugarte (El tiempo entre costuras), María León and Cosette Silguero.

ATV

A Little Sunshine / The Father

A Little Sunshine, leading ATV’s MIPCOM slate, centers on Elif, a woman struggling with fertility issues, and her husband, Hakan. One day, he dies in a car accident and is found next to a little girl. On record, Elif is listed as the mother. Her husband’s double life is revealed when she takes the little girl in. In time, Elif will get attached to the little girl and pursue the truth that lies beneath Hakan’s life. The Father, meanwhile, focuses on assassin Cezayir Türk, who fakes his death in order to protect his government and family. While abroad, he falls in love with Firuze and begins a family with her, thinking that returning to his wife and kids is impossible. When he is exposed and has to return to Istanbul, he must find a way to divide his love between the two families who don’t know about each other.

“I’m excited to build relationships with producers, hear about brilliant new ideas and find projects to partner on.”

—Lauren Jackson

“We are happy to be in Cannes and meet our clients and friends again in person.”

—Jose Antonio Salso

The Father

La Ruta (The Route)

Banijay Rights

Banijay Rights’ catalog features Marie Antoinette, created by Deborah Davis (The Favourite). The eight-part series follows as the titular woman grows from a stubborn young princess navigating the rules of the French court into a fashion icon and notorious figure. Bali 2002, meanwhile, explores how everyday heroes from Bali, Australia and beyond showed up to help the victims of the Bali terrorist attack that took place on October 12, 2002. Stonehouse stars Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) as disgraced Labour minister John Stonehouse, who tried to fake his death and seek a new life in Australia. “What all these dramas have in common is a gripping story arc—all based on true stories with an emotional investment that keeps viewers wanting to see more,” says Claire Jago, executive VP of sales and acquisitions.

Bavaria Media International

The Heart of Cape Town / Cold Valleys / Sugarlovedotcom

Bavaria Media International has on offer The Heart of Cape Town, a movie inspired by the true story of the first heart transplant, carried out by Christiaan Barnard in December 1967 in Cape Town. It tells the story of Hamilton Naki, a Black man who assisted Barnard. The ten-part crime series Cold Valleys sees an unlikely team of police officers solve twisted rural crimes. “Richly plotted, with its charming and charismatic investigator duo, the series is a must for lovers of the genre,” says Helge Köhnen, head of content sales. Sugarlovedotcom centers on an academic couple who invites a young student into their relationship for sex. Köhnen says the movie is “a multifaceted, clever drama around a love triangle, which surprisingly develops into an entertaining thriller.”

Blu. Digital Group

Mastering / Content Globalization & Accessibility / Packaging & Delivery

Blu. Digital Group is an end-to-end digital media solutions company with a mission to “empower distributors to easily process and deliver their film and TV content by using our services and custom-tailored cloud-based software,” says Silviu Epure, VP of content globalization. “Our mission is to continually innovate better ways to prepare, process and deliver media content, in an effort to empower distributors and video platforms with tools and services that will help them share their stories with global audiences.” BDG Studios, the group’s localization division, is one of the top audio postproduction facilities in the U.S. “Reaching over 9,000 native linguists across 80-plus languages, BDG offers high-quality dubbing, subtitling and audio description services to a multitude of high-profile clients,” says Epure.

“We are excited to be together after three years—bigger and better than ever before.”

—Claire Jago

Blu. Digital Group facilities

The Heart of Cape Town

“We invite all interested buyers to visit us and look forward to presenting our full catalog with the newest MIPCOM highlights.”

—Helge Köhnen

Marie Antoinette / Bali 2002 / Stonehouse

“For over 15 years, Blu. Digital Group has been in the business of ‘better’—better service, better technology and better results.”

—Silviu Epure

Eccho Rights

Desperate Measures / Golden Boy / Granite Harbour

Desperate Measures, a highlight of Eccho Rights’ catalog, tells the story of an ordinary woman who goes to extraordinary lengths to pull off a bank heist to save her son’s life. The series stars Amanda Abbington ( Sherlock ) and Warren Brown ( The Responder ). The Turkish drama series Golden Boy, from OGM Pictures, is also on offer from Eccho Rights. “The production is incredible, and it’s great, classic Turkish storytelling about a family that is destabilized by an unlikely romance,” says Fredrik af Malmborg, CEO of Eccho Rights. Granite Harbour follows a soldier from the Caribbean who dreams of serving in the U.K. police force but is first sent to train in northern Scotland. “There is a thrilling crime in the story but also real human heart at its core,” says af Malmborg.

Global Screen

Hostage / Munich ‘72 / Dome 16

Hostage is a six-part thriller on offer from Global Screen, a Telepool brand, that features a wide-ranging perspective on a multicultural Europe trapped in the long shadow of the war on terror. In the sequel to Stockholm Requiem, a plane is hijacked and a criminologist is tasked with figuring out the truth while her male partner tries to hide it. Meanwhile, Munich ’72 uses documentary and reenactment styles to tell the story of the 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack. Dome 16 centers on young people who find themselves on different sides of the class divide in a dystopian future. “Through danger, cliffhangers and abundant humor, it is the romance of the two main characters and all the hurdles they encounter that is at the heart of Dome 16,” says Julia Weber, head of international sales and acquisitions.

Inter Medya

Another Chance / The Girl of the Green Valley / Hicran

Sadi Payaslı leaves his bullying past behind when he becomes a high school geography teacher in Inter Medya’s Another Chance . Before long, his life takes another turn when the school welcomes a new student, who happens to be his long-lost son. Another Chance “tells a father-son story in a striking and heartwarming way,” says Can Okan, CEO and founder. In The Girl of the Green Valley , an orphaned child named Melissa finds an unlikely new home with the timid middle-aged Metin and his sister Meral on their farm. Hicran follows the titular young woman, who believes that the daughter she was told died at birth is actually alive. After meeting and saving the life of a young girl named Melek, she is hired as her babysitter, unknowingly looking after her own daughter.

“This year, as always, we have added many new and successful titles to our catalog.”

—Can Okan

“We are constantly improving our business so that we can offer our clients even higher quality programming.”

—Julia Weber

Another Chance

“Our lineup continues to expand and diversify, and we are excited to bring so many great titles to MIPCOM.”

—Fredrik af Malmborg

Granite Harbour

Hostage

Legendary Television

Drops of God / You Would Do It Too / Vanda

A multi-language title, the Legendary Television highlight Drops of God is an adaptation of the wine-centered Japanese manga series of the same name. It follows a daughter’s journey after she learns that her estranged father has left her with his wine collection—with the caveat that she must compete against his protégé. “This groundbreaking drama excels in character-driven storytelling,” says Anne Thomopoulos, partner. The company’s first Spanish-language production, the thriller You Would Do It Too is about an armed robbery that leaves the three assailants dead—and six witnesses who won’t identify the fugitive who saved their lives. A heist drama based on a true story of a woman in Lisbon who went on a bank-robbing spree in 2008, Vanda is also among Legendary’s highlights.

LEONINE Studios

Bonn / Troppo / Herzogpark

The six-part political espionage thriller Bonn, set against the backdrop of 1950s Germany, leads LEONINE Studios’ MIPCOM highlights. It follows a young woman who struggles to find her place in a male-dominated society. Based on the Crimson Lake novels by Candice Fox, the Australian eightpart thriller Troppo explores a criminal case in tropical Far North Queensland. Over the course of its six episodes, the dramedy Herzogpark offers a glimpse at the seemingly picture-perfect lives of five very different women who all live in the same posh neighborhood. “These series are from award-winning producers, directors and writers and have great casts with international appeal and are all very soughtafter genres,” says Patrick Phelan, director of world sales at LEONINE Studios.

Lionsgate

Leopard Skin / Nacho / Dangerous Liaisons

In the Lionsgate drama highlight Leopard Skin, a criminal gang fleeing a botched jewelry heist is forced to hide out in a beachside estate where two women live in seclusion. The slate also features Nacho, which explores the life of Spanish adult entertainment star Nacho Vidal, and Dangerous Liaisons , based on the novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos about a pair of scheming ex-lovers attempting to exploit others by using the power of seduction. “With talented international casts, these shows push the boundaries of what content can do, highlighting stories that may otherwise go untold,” says Agapy Kapouranis, president of international television and digital distribution at Lionsgate. “Each show possesses a unique and compelling narrative that will leave audiences wanting more.”

“Each of these series highlights aspects of the human condition and shares universal themes of loss, justice and hope that audiences can relate to.”

—Anne Thomopoulos

“Lionsgate is bringing a roster of new content to MIPCOM that is bigger and better than ever before.”

—Agapy Kapouranis

Dangerous Liaisons

Troppo

You Would Do It Too

“We’ve got a great lineup in store for MIPCOM, with three fresh and intriguing new series ready for delivery.”

214 WORLD SCREEN 10/22 —Patrick Phelan

MISTCO

Bahar / Alparslan / An Anatolian Tale

MISTCO is shining a spotlight on Bahar , a drama in its portfolio that it co-produced with ÜS Yapım. It tells the story of a young girl who has witnessed the murder of her father and is trying to prove that the murderer is her stepmother, Aysun. Amid her quest for justice, Bahar begins to fall in love with Demir, who is also the object of her stepmother’s affection. “We believe that it will get the attention of international audiences with its typical telenovela plot,” says Aysegul Tuzun, managing director of MISTCO. “It will match market needs perfectly.” The slate also features the historical drama Alparslan, as well as An Anatolian Tale , the “highest-rated drama in Turkey,” according to Tuzun. The high-budget action-crime series Shadow Team rounds out the catalog.

Paramount Global Content Distribution

Fire Country / Poker Face / Colin From Accounts

Among the dramas on Paramount Global Content Distribution’s slate, Fire Country is inspired by star and executive producer Max Thieriot’s experiences growing up in northern California fire country. The series has “very strong characters and a procedural element set against a life-and-death backdrop that will resonate with viewers around the globe,” says Lisa Kramer, president of international licensing. She calls Poker Face a “cinematic crime procedural series with a twist.” It marks the first TV series from director Rian Johnson and stars Natasha Lyonne. The duo of Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer star in and executive produce Colin From Accounts. “This very funny comedy had buyers from all over the world laughing out loud at L.A. Screenings,” Kramer says.

Saran Studios

A Mother’s Love

Saran Studios, the newest division within Saran Media Group, is presenting at MIPCOM the daily drama A Mother’s Love . In the series, when the mother of a little girl with a heart defect dies in a car crash, her father hires a lookalike to pretend to be her mother until she is old enough for heart surgery. Starring Selin Sezgin, Gece Işık Demirel and Erol Gedik, A Mother’s Love’s mysteries include the lookalike’s identity and who is pulling the strings from behind the scenes. It has already been sold into Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Israel, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru. “The success of our first production, A Mother’s Love, indicates our experience and professionalism in content creation,” says Esra Ercan, Saran Studios’ head of sales.

“Our focus is to make connections with new partners and present A Mother ’s Love and our other projects in the pipeline.”

—Esra Ercan

“Our slate continues to grow, which allows us to expand our licensing deals with key clients across the globe.”

—Lisa Kramer

A Mother’s Love

“MISTCO represents a multi-genre portfolio consisting of dramas, movies, animations and documentaries.”

—Aysegul Tuzun

Bahar

Fire Country

Voxx Studios

Dubbing / Localization / Subtitling

Voxx Studios’ 10,000 square-foot facilities offer 11 record ing studios used for dubbing, ADR, original voice anima tion, vocals and instrumental recordings; stereo, 5.1, 7.1 and Atmos mixing (including surround sound for music mixing); and a large venue available for concerts, screen ings, professional workshops, seminars and live-streamed productions of a variety of shows. “Voxx’s ownership and active managing partners are experienced filmmakers, producers and actors from Europe and Latin America,” says Danubia Farias, general manager. “Our team gives Voxx the ability to understand better and emulate the cre ative process of the original production, finding the best creative localization solutions that translate words, cul tures, mentalities and humor.”

ZDF Studios

Boundless / Clean Sweep / The Crimson Rivers

ZDF Studios’ main drama highlight at MIPCOM is the new big-budget period drama Boundless, which tells the story of the first circumnavigation of the Earth 500 years ago by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. “ Boundless is one of the biggest and most ambitious dramas that ZDF Studios has ever had the pleasure of being involved with,” says Robert Franke, VP Drama. Inspired by true events, Clean Sweep features Irish actress Charlene McKenna ( Bloodlands , Peaky Blinders , Vienna Blood ) in the lead role as a mother caring for an ailing son, her unfaithful husband and all the usual burdens of motherhood. ZDF Studios is also presenting the fourth season of The Crimson Rivers , set in a macabre world of gruesome crimes and harrowing rituals.

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises

Never Kiss Your Best Friend / Carmen / SER

There’s a mix of thriller, comedy and romance leading ZEE Entertainment Enterprises’ MIPCOM slate. Filmed on location in the U.K., Never Kiss Your Best Friend is the story of two best friends who fall in love but circum stances, time and time again, prevent them from being together forever. “Audiences will fall in love with the characters and cry, laugh and wish for their love to tri umph as much as they do,” says Manoj Mathew, executive VP, territory head for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, Turkey and the Americas. Carmen is a rom-com Arabic drama series filmed in Egypt about a young woman who uses lies to cover up her lies. SER is an Arabic coproduction filmed in Lebanon about love, murder, lust, betrayal and deceit.

Never Kiss Your Best Friend

“We are excited to showcase our new launches at MIPCOM, and many of them are filmed in international locations.”

—Manoj Mathew

Clean Sweep

Voxx Studios facilities

“Clean Sweep is a binge-worthy addition to our growing slate of English-language productions.”

—Robert Franke

“This year, and coming out of the pandemic, Voxx is stronger than ever.”

—Danubia Farias

The only video portal for the global TV drama community.

A+E Networks’ Miss Scarlet & the Duke

Drama H igh

Leading drama distributors weigh in on financing models and the keys to cutting through the clutter today.

By Mansha Daswani

Almost $60 million per episode. That’s how much Amazon is said to have spent on its epic new original The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Pow er, making it the most expen sive TV production ever, per a study by VPN Overview. In a distant sec ond? A five-way tie between five dif ferent Disney+ shows that cost about

$25 million an episode, including Loki and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The list is rounded out by several other Disney+ shows and Netflix’s The Witcher, alongside three non-streaming originals: HBO’s Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and Watchmen

The global streamers may be making the most headlines with their (oversized?) walled-garden originals, but as the IP owners surveyed for this report indicate, some produc ers aren’t as enamored with the global streaming cost-plus model as they once were. Meanwhile, distributors are finding lots of ways to create innovative funding mechanisms to maximize the value of their IP—a process that is not getting any easier amid inflationary concerns that are making an already expensive business even costlier.

“Consolidation, mergers, inflation and the cost of living, stock price drops and global political uncertainty will all have an impact on the drama business,” says Matt Creasey,

Banijay Rights’ executive VP of sales, co-productions and acquisitions for the rest of the world outside EMEA. “The incredible spending over the past few years to launch stream ing services has now hit the first roadblocks. Varied subscriber growth and the immediate impact on the markets have spooked the corporations that own the platforms, so we will see adjustments to spending and a churn of strategy and probable restructuring. There will inevitably be more consol idation in 2023. We are already seeing a knock-on effect with the U.S. co-production business, and I expect that to continue into next year; there will be fewer buyers in the market in 2023. However, I don’t want to be all doom and gloom. While doors close, other opportunities often appear, so our drive to create new partnerships continues.”

The rising cost of production and talent “is a major issue, par ticularly in the U.K.,” adds James Durie, the head of scripted at Cineflix Rights. “While financial models differ between the major platforms spending at a premium level and broadcasters and platforms that pay lower tariffs, all production budgets are increasingly stretched. Commissioners, financiers and distribu tors are going to need to take more responsibility for supporting the production community to sustain the pipeline and continue to deliver to the level of quality that audiences expect.”

Per Sam Kozhaya, executive VP of operations and cor porate development at Leg endary Entertainment, “The

amount of investment by the streamers themselves is mas sive and arguably unsustainable, so third-party financing and collaborative exhibition models will likely take on more importance going forward.”

With a slowdown in subscribers likely to have the streamers reevaluating content spend, distributors point to a new willing ness on the part of some global players to be flexible in the rights they acquire. “They are doing deals for territories or win dows—they are not insisting on worldwide,” says Nadav Palti, president and CEO of Dori Media Group.

Fredrik af Malmborg, the CEO at Eccho Rights, observes, “At some point, I thought that all projects would go to global deals with the platforms, but I see a very strong trend in the other direction.”

Eccho Rights, like many other distribution outfits, has been positioning itself earlier in the value chain to help cobble together the complex financing structures often needed to get premium drama off the ground.

“We are investing much more in develop ment financing with producers,” af Malmborg says. “Instead of going the commissioning route, we are going the acquisition route. We sell it as an acquisition to the platforms regionally and manage the rights from the start. There are several cases where the pro ducer keeps all the IP but is pretty much ful ly financed from the start. We sell the rights to different regional or global plat forms, in pieces and for shorter terms.”

FUNDING FORMULAS

A+E Networks is also aligning with produc ers early on in the process. “We believe in the prospect of profitable scripted projects,” says Patrick Vien, group managing director for international. “We focus on the independent film model in the scripted space, but we are not producing niche content for a niche audience.”

Vien continues, “We’re not a commissioning broadcaster. Rather, we establish a collection of players through a com missioning broadcaster and presale partners. In success, producers do well as a result. We’ve won projects against some heavy-duty competition on that exact formula. It’s about bringing key players together who get more screen value for their investment.”

Marta Ezpeleta, general manager of distribution, coproductions and international offices at The Mediapro Studio, stresses the importance of being adept in various financing mechanisms. “We work with very different business and collaboration models depending on each production. To a large extent, everything depends on the content before deciding who might be the most suitable partner, and from there, we implement the business model with the platform or network in question.”

“Each project has its own challenges and has to be con sidered on its merits and the local market setup,” agrees Banijay’s Creasey. “We, the distributor, may look at a deficit on a drama and decide the gap is too much of a risk to fully fund, so we will need to find a buyer or partner to help close said gap. For producers, this sometimes isn’t ideal as it could delay production, and the possibility remains that funding might not be raised. The more common model is where we are willing to take the risk up front and step in on the deficit, which we then look to recoup through co-production and sales. This way, our producers can start production immediately and hit the schedules needed. Soft funding— tax credits, location grants—remains important.”

Legendary is deploying a variety of approaches—deficit financing, co-productions and cost-plus structures with global streamers—Kozhaya says. “We construct a business model for each show. This allows us to find the best home for each project and maximize the value. For our projects that we deficit finance, the key is to start with channel part ners from the territories where the content has originated or where it will resonate the most, and then build out addi tional co-commissions and partnerships from there, har nessing local incentives, but never at the expense of the creative vision.”

As Durie at Cineflix Rights indicates, between rising costs and intense competition, it’s incumbent on distributors to

The Mediapro Studio is offering up a new season of The Boarding School: Las Cumbres.

Eccho Rights is a prolific provider of Turkish drama series, including Golden Boy

“be more creative as a company when we look at financing models and be flexible in our approach. This has meant a greater emphasis on getting in the door at an earlier stage and looking at development funding, but also co-production opportunities to assist in closing off the financing. Traditional deficit financing remains core to our business model, but we are seeing bigger deficits, so finding projects that stand out both creatively and commercially for us is essential.”

PERFECT PACKAGE

As for what it takes to stand out today—well, it turns out you need a fair bit to make an impact in the age of peaking peak TV. “Talent is a big one,” says Sally Habbershaw, exec utive VP for sales and co-productions in the Americas at All3Media International. “It does the marketing for you. We’re taking out The Marriage , starring Sean Bean and Nicola Walker. That caliber of talent immediately creates an appointment to view, so there is certainly interest from buyers. There’s also been quite a trend of revamping old classics—again, the preestablished IP does the marketing for you,” says Habbershaw.

It is all about casting and brand recognition, Cineflix’s Durie agrees. “Firstly, premium-level talent able to make noise assist in the promotion of the series and bring audi ences to a given project. Secondly, IP [buyers and commis sioners] can market effectively connects with an audience with more immediacy and can build into a high-profile, returning brand. That was our feeling when acquiring Last King of The Cross—not only did we have a series that was inspired by a best-selling memoir, but also it had the poten tial for some great casting in established Hollywood star Tim Roth as Ezra Shipman and the very talented Lincoln Younes as John Ibrahim, which, coupled with the explosive story, makes it a compelling series for buyers.”

Banijay’s Creasey says it’s all about the package that will give buyers and commissioners “comfort in the show’s poten tial. The local commissioning broadcaster, the creator/writer, director and production company are as key as the foundation

to getting that hit series,” Creasey explains. “Buyers need this assurance that a show can deliver creatively and practically. It’s the initial package that can get the program greenlit. To achieve attention, platforms increasingly rely on a big-name attachment or a piece of IP to build a campaign around.”

IDEAS THAT POP

Vien at A+E Networks has his eye on three factors when he and his teams are exploring properties to potentially invest in. “First, might the potential story be so fresh and unique that it can crack through the clutter and may not even need brand recognition? Second, can it be anthologized? Could we bring this concept back with new talent and a fresh story? We do this very successfully with our V.C. Andrews franchise. It means that seasons two and three are more manageable to bring to market, instead of starting from the beginning all over again. The third piece, could it be a returnable series? Return ability is probably harder now than ever, but it is achievable. That, of course, is what everybody is ultimately looking for.”

Returning series are indeed crucial, distributors assert, as both subs-driven platforms and ad-funded broadcasters look for ways to keep audiences tuned in and engaged. “For long-running returnable series, there is the obvious advan tage that you can build brands around them, bringing back a loyal audience season after season,” Durie says.

“Long-running shows that build an audience and grow over time are key for broadcasters and platforms,” Creasey adds. “It gives the platform and broadcaster less of a headache when they can pencil shows into their schedules knowing there is already a viewership.”

“While a long-running returnable show is generally the biggest prize, there’s no guarantee of sustained success at the outset,” says Kozhaya at Legendary. “So, while it’s good to have a plan for a multi-season show that could become a franchise, the producers and the commissioners/buyers need to adjust if the performance doesn’t warrant continuing. Many highly touted projects have not performed to expectations over the last few years, so perhaps that’s why we’ve seen so many

Slated for Paramount+ in Australia, Last King of The Cross headlines Cineflix Rights’ MIPCOM lineup.

lim ited event series come into the market as of late. Buyers can benefit from less of a long-term financial commitment. Yet, in some successful cases, there’s still the possibility of con tinuing the ‘franchise,’ maybe with a different cast or setting.”

“Event series can make for incredibly entertaining televi sion with many opportunities for impactful stories and interesting, high-level casting,” observes Durie. “Audiences are responding to this type of programming. It’s a shorter number of episodes, which is easy to consume, particularly across catch-up and on-demand, so it serves broadcasters and platforms alike.”

Vien at A+E Networks remarks, “You’ve got to give [broadcasters] a reason to deploy capital in marketing against the show. If it’s going to be one and done, it will have to be pretty remarkable. Streamers market differently than television broadcasters. If you’re asking the broadcaster to invest, they will be looking for ad sales ROIs.”

As for what’s next in the drama space, IP owners are keeping watch on various developments, from new narrative techniques to the increasing importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

“We are completely committed to DEI in terms of how we make shows and what shows we make,” Vien says. “We work very closely with our producing partners to under stand their own DEI policies. If they don’t have one, we don’t tend to want to work with them. DEI is a big part of who we are. It’s not something we want to spend much time talking about—it’s good to have a conversation, but it’s way better to take action. We’re on the let’s take action side of things.”

It’s a similar situation at Cineflix, Durie explains, “On-screen diversity is certainly something that is at the forefront of our minds and something we speak to buyers about regularly. That’s something that drew us to Last King of The Cross , an incredible story about a mix of cultures descending onto one very specific area in Australia. It comes down to great storytelling and an intriguing mix of characters.”

TREND TRACKING

Expanding its non-English-language offerings is a priority at All3Media International, Habbershaw says, referencing the MIPCOM launch of the Italian YA production The Gymnasts. “Aside from foreign language, we’re all impacted by monoliths like The Lord of the Rings and House of the Dragon launching, but I think there is quite an interesting development in seeing video games and graphic novels transformed into dramatic iterations.”

Asked about the trends he’s keeping an eye on, Banijay’s Creasey observes: “The beauty of the drama business is that there is always a surprise; and just as you predict one genre, another show comes along, sending everyone in a different direction. If the show is great, then the audience will come, whatever the genre!”

And it’s incumbent upon distributors to be flexible in the deals they are structuring. “Ultimately, you’re trying to look for the most promising opportunity,” says Vien. “The most promising opportunity is also about where the show will perform best. It’s a fluid marketplace. The way new players in the market are making windowing decisions is evolving, and we are evolving with it.”

As for if peak TV has hit its peak, the verdict is out on that, but the consensus is—probably. “We may be gravitating toward a world where less is more,” Vien observes. “There’s been some research about the number of minutes spent perusing the menu before you make a choice; it’s 45 hours per year. That’s one of the reasons people fall back on familiar shows. Those of us in the business are spending much more time being very thoughtful about every single initiative, finding a way for the show not to get lost in that marketplace. You’re seeing some of our bigger competitors pull back in volume. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. The search fatigue is very real. The industry, over time, will react to it. The last thing any of the tele vision broadcasters or streamers out there want is for you to turn off. I think the bar will continue to be raised, and everybody will win as a result.”

Inspired by a true story, Vanda, a Portuguese heist thriller, is among Legendary’s new series slate.

Banijay Rights is showcasing the ITV drama Stonehouse , which stars Matthew Macfadyen.

Nicola Walker

Nicola Walker is one of the U.K.’s most accomplished and popular TV and stage actors. She has played a variety of roles on the small screen, from a spy in Spooks to a farmer in Last Tango in Halifax to a high-powered divorce lawyer in The Split. She has been cast as a detective several times— Jackie “Stevie” Stevenson in River, Cassie Stuart in Unforgotten and currently as Annika Strandhed in Annika. She also recently starred alongside Sean Bean in Stefan Golaszewski’s Marriage, an unflinching, up-close look at a couple, Emma and Ian, wedded for 27 years.

TV DRAMA: What appealed to you about Marriage and work ing with Stefan Golaszewski?

WALKER: Stefan was the main, immediate draw for me because I’m a huge fan of his work. So as soon as [I heard there] was a new piece by him, I thought yes, I want to get involved. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever done before and anything I’ve ever seen before.

Stefan was interested in looking at a real marriage and tak ing a snapshot of these people’s lives. Sometimes not very much happens, which is like our real lives, not the lives we all adore watching on television. I love watching incredibly dra matic, exciting pieces of work. But for me, this felt like, Oh, this is dropping in on these people’s lives for a period of time and seeing them cope with loving each other for 27 years and [dealing with] the weight of that shared experience. They don’t talk about their awful, shared history, but it is always there. That was the appeal for me—to see something a bit more real.

TV DRAMA: Much attention is given to the minute-by-minute interactions between your character, Emma, and Ian, played by Sean Bean. There are scenes with few words and uncom fortable silences. What was that like for you as an actor?

WALKER: Silence is the hardest thing to do. There’s a sense, for all of us, that in a relationship, when you’re talking, it’s to prove that you’re OK. As long as you keep talking, you’re fill ing those gaps and those silences, everything’s all right. But Emma and Ian have been together for so long that there are comfortable silences as well. They comfortably move around each other in the kitchen, making tea or filling a dishwasher, knowing what the other feels. That seemed very realistic to me. Then there are the absolutely appalling silences like the silence that Emma has with her father, played by the brilliant James Bolam, while she’s making him a sandwich instead of going out for the anniversary dinner with her husband. Those silences are difficult to play because ordinarily, as actors, we’re used to being given words by brilliant writers to express our emotions and state of mind and tell the audience how we

By Anna Carugati

feel. What was brilliant about the script is that Stefan does not give that to the audience that easily because people don’t give themselves out that easily, minute by minute, day to day. Yes, silence is harder than words. Words can be tricky. On a basic level for actors, it’s tricky to learn those fast-paced scenes when there are 12 of you around a table. I’m thinking of all my years in Spooks where, very early on, I said, I think Ruth always has a file with her so that I could have notes scribbled down! But the silence between two actors, it’s a lot harder not to fill it, but with Stefan we’d be encouraged to hold and hold. Your instinct is to do something, say something, show some thing, and tell the audience how to feel. And he took that away from us. So it’s quite uncharted territory. I’m used to that on stage, but I’m not used to that in front of a camera.

TV DRAMA: Did you have rehearsal time, and is that unusual for a TV series?

WALKER: We had a week’s rehearsal. When I first started acting in my early 20s, that was normal. For dramas, you would get a week’s rehearsal. Over the years, it’s increas ingly fallen away. Sometimes it can feel like you turn up to start a drama, and you’ve all been working on your character in solitude at home and thinking you’re doing a great job, talking at yourself in your bathroom or your kitchen. Then you’re faced with other human beings, and everything changes because, suddenly, you’re inhabiting this real world rather than just your character. It was bril liant to have a week with Stefan, Sean and everyone in the show. We got to sit in a Covid-friendly tent, talk about the piece, run through everything and understand the stage directions. I always adhere to stage directions; I find them helpful. But Stefan’s stage directions are really pre cise. He tells you when to open the recycling bin. He tells Sean when to take a squashed tomato out of the fridge that’s been left while they were away for the week. All those actions are part of your script. So it was amazing to get a week rehearsing. It had that feeling of knowing each other before we stepped in front of the camera.

chance? Are you drawn to the genre?

WALKER: It’s an interesting question because I think about it a lot. I look at my CV and wonder why there are so many detectives on there! There was a year when I was a detec tive on two shows almost back-to-back. At the time, I was working on Broadway. My father phoned me and said, You’re a detective on one channel, and I switch over, and you’re a detective on the other! In my defense, I would like to say that those two detectives, one was Cassie in the show Unforgotten, and [the other] was Jackie in the Abi Morgan show River. Cassie Stuart, created by Chris Lang, is one of the finest detectives ever. Then I got offered River, which was Stellan Skarsgård manifesting me as a version of his mental health. And I’m sorry, I challenge any actor to say, Oh, no, I’m not going to play this other detective. They were so different. So that’s my defense on those two. They were both incredible scripts.

But I think there’s something else going on as well, cul turally. There has been a drive over the years to get women at the front of shows. And I think, interestingly, audiences, myself included, accept a female leading a police show.

They believe that a woman could do that. In the early years of my career, there were so many [detectives] because they were the best parts. It was where you were allowed to be pushed a little bit out to the front. That might be why. All actors have a bit of a type, and maybe the policewoman is my type. It’s not a bad type. I’m very happy!

TV DRAMA: What drew you to Annika?

WALKER: It’s another policewoman, but I had been playing Annika on the radio for eight years. Covid hit, and my agent phoned me and said the company Black Camel Pictures wants to make Annika into a TV show. They want to do it by the end of this year. This was at the beginning of the first lockdown. We were so stunned by their hopefulness and their desire to make something when everyone else was terrified about what Covid was going to do to the industry. I was so impressed by the drive to say we’re going to get this done. [Accepting that role] was a no-brainer because I’ve played her on the radio. I love her and wanted to see what it would be like to transplant her to Scotland. She

radio show. And it gave me a chance to work with Nick Walker again, but in a completely different format. And Annika is very different. The [TV] show is quietly subversive because it’s aware of our love affair with police procedurals. But it’s gently asking about that, and it’s in Annika’s head [and she] speaks to us directly. There is something philosophical going on with Annika It’s a little bit different. I like its difference.

TV DRAMA: I love when she speaks directly to the audience. WALKER: Nick, the writer, was thinking, Well, in the radio series, there are no other characters. It’s just Annika. And because it’s radio, you have this direct line with the person listening. It’s very personal. He came up with the idea as a way of keeping that direct relationship with the audience. The audience see her confessionals and are her silent part ner in crime. She goes to them with problems and with joys. In season two, it’s very interesting because she starts to think that maybe the audience is thinking that she’s not behaving very well. So we’re doing quite interesting [shots] to the camera where she’s trying to slightly defend herself. She’s aware that she might be being judged.

TV DRAMA: The outdoors is almost a character in the series, isn’t it? What’s it like shooting in Scotland?

WALKER: Yes, the landscape is Scotland is another character. When we did the first season, it was very cold. It was winter in Scotland, and it toughened me up. Since then, it has to be very cold back home for me to complain anymore because I have experienced a winter in Scotland. We [started filming the second sea son] in the last few weeks of summer. That was glori ous sunshine, and Loch Lomond in the sunshine is incredible. But you do get midges! Most of the other actors and a lot of the crew were Scottish, and they were laughing at me because I was wearing the full midges net with pride! There was no vanity happily covered in spray and wearing a net! There were those challenges. But it looks incredible. We’re here until December; the cold will come again. But I’m not frightened this time. I’ve survived one Scottish winter. I think I can do a second.

Nicola Walker stars opposite Sean Bean in the BBC One drama Marriage, sold by All3Media International.

Jacob Batalon

Jacob Batalon was catapulted into global stardom in 2017 when he made his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Ned Leeds, Peter Parker’s best friend in Spider-Man: Homecoming. This year, with Reginald the Vampire, Batalon finds himself number one on the call sheet. In the SYFY series, adapted from the Fat Vampire books by Johnny B. Truant and premiering this October, Batalon plays Reginald Andres, an unlikely hero navigating the ups and downs of undead life while surrounded by arrogant, beautiful vampires. TV Drama caught up with Batalon to talk about his starring turn in Cineflix Rights’ Reginald the Vampire , serving as co-executive producer and what he learned from his time in the MCU.

TV DRAMA: What attracted you to Reginald the Vampire?

BATALON: It was a sci-fi show where the leading man wouldn’t be a prototypical Hollywood sort. And that really intrigued me. I read the first two episodes and the story was just funny, relat able and very sweet.

TV DRAMA: Tell me about Reginald Andres.

BATALON: Reginald is a thoughtful, neurotic person. He’s dealt with a lot of societal stigma throughout his life because of the way he looks. And he’s never let that deter him from being who he wants to be, even though he may be lost in who he wants to be. That played a big part in how he became a vam pire—he found new life through death. It’s a poignant [reflection] of how we let life go by without understanding what we’re doing. That’s Reginald in a nutshell. He’s also self ish and shy and all these things. But we’re all human, right?

TV DRAMA: We’ve seen the sexy Twilight and True Blood vam pires. What are Reginald and his crew like?

BATALON: Reginald is the bane of the vampire community. He definitely does not fit into their ways. The main antagonist, the reason she wants him dead is because he’s a blemish on their perfect community. That’s his deal. Our vampires are obvi ously all beautiful, cool and suave. I’ve got a few vampires on my side who are amazing.

TV DRAMA: Everyone knows you best from the Spider-Man movies. How was that shift, going from big Hollywood block buster movies to the production schedule of a TV show?

BATALON: It was a big change in preparedness. With SpiderMan, we wait around a lot. You’re filming one scene all day. With Reginald, we go through 10, 11 pages of dialogue every single day. It taught me a lot about being prepared, open and present. We don’t have time to waste. You have to be on your game. Otherwise, you’re throwing everyone else, and the schedule, off. And making sure I am good enough to carry a

By Mansha Daswani

show and work well with everyone—and to continually bring through Reginald.

I feel like a lot of actors work toward this idea of knowing that they have the ability to do these things. Coming into work every single day and having people look to you to continually perform and bring the energy and work well with other people and not be difficult—it’s a lot of self-preparation. Everyone’s really counting on you to perform.

TV DRAMA: You’re an EP as well. Tell me about being involved in the behind-the-scenes aspects.

BATALON: As an actor, you don’t really think about the process—the nuances that come along with producing. But being a producer, you see everything. You have to understand why we do the things we do. The story and the message, mak ing sure that everything is still coming through very clear. A lot of business stuff. I feel like I learned a lot about how things are run. I’ve learned a lot on Spider-Man, but to have a hand in the pie was eye-opening.

TV DRAMA: What’s your sense of how Hollywood is doing in terms of upping Asian American representation on-screen?

BATALON: Being Filipino, I’d never seen anyone like me on TV, much less be the lead of a show. Especially with Spider-Man, we were all happy to be part of this narrative of diversity. A lot of Asian actors are very much deserving of the spotlight. And that’s important. I do feel like the industry is moving to where inclusivity is the name of the game. I want it to be a lot more than what it is. I’m sure it will be, sooner rather than later.

TV DRAMA: Do you plan to continue going back and forth between television and film?

BATALON: Hopefully Reginald will go on for a bit. I’ll do movies for sure. Now that I’ve been the star of something, I don’t want to be a sidepiece anymore. I want to be like the main dish all the time!

Siddharth Kumar Tewary

One Life Studios

By Chelsea Regan

Abranch of India’s Swastik Productions, One Life Studios was set up in 2017 by Siddha rth Kumar Tewary, the founder and chief creative behind Swastik. A producer and distributor with its own editing and VFX studios, the company’s main mission is to bring stories from India to audi ences around the globe.

“We want to tell stories that are very Indian at their core and take them to the world,” says Tewary. “We went into distribution for the first time with our flagship series, Porus, in 2017—which has been licensed to over 17 countries— and today, we have partnered with some of the biggest broadcasters and film companies to represent their content. We aggregate and curate to get the best Indian and interna tional content to the world.”

Not only is Tewary the founder of One Life Studios and Swastik Productions, he is also the writer, director and producer behind the tech thriller web series Escaype Live, which has found success on Disney+ Hotstar. Tewary was inspired to make the series from everyday life in the modern world, which sees people glued to their phones and social media—and how social media has the potential to create overnight stars as well as to have myriad negative impacts on one’s life.

In Escaype Live, the titular live-streaming app holds a contest that gives contestants the chance to win half a million dollars. The series follows six characters who hail from different cities across India as they vie for the money and delves into the effects that the competition and social media at large have on their personal lives.

In this video interview, Tewary also talks about One Life Studios’ Indian adaptation of The Cleaning Lady, locally titled Saaf, as well as what One Life Studios and Indian content uniquely offer to the international market. “I genuinely feel that, as a country and as a company, we are quite well poised to take our stories to the world,” he says. “My vision for One Life Studios is that we should be known for bringing Indian and international stories that are very much local in nature and heart but narrated with a global appeal.”

“We want to tell stories that are very Indian at their core and take them to the world.”

Robert & Michelle King

By Anna Carugati

TV DRAMA: What issues have you wanted to explore in The Good Fight ?

ROBERT: Right now, what drives the show is fear of civil war in America. It seems like an extension of what we were doing with [Judge] Wackner’s court last year, which was all post-January 6 worries about a Balkanization of American politics. You see this in Ukraine, too; how do people live their lives, start their businesses and run their businesses as warfare is going on around them? So, we are taking it to a political dimension.

MICHELLE: And much of this, of course, is through the eyes of Diane Lockhart, played by Christine Baranski, who’s torn. On one end, she is very political and wants to fight the good fight; on the other, she is sick of feeling miserable. So [we look at] wanting to be happy, and is that selfish?

TV DRAMA: How did Evil come about, and what served as inspiration?

ROBERT: I think our relationship served as inspiration, as it did for The Good Wife and even The Good Fight, in that we have a very strong religious distinction between us. I hate saying I am devout Catholic, but I go to mass every week.

MICHELLE: And I’m Jewish but on the agnostic side. For as long as we have known one another, over 30 years, we have been talking about how one explains evil in the world. You read every day in the newspaper yet another evil act. How does one explain it? Robert goes more toward a supernatural demonic explanation, and I am more likely to look at psychology or a sociological explanation.

ROBERT: It’s that basic question of why bad things hap pen to good people. That is a lot of the discussion. We were intent on having two people on opposite ends of this question but had respectful conversations, even lov ing conversations, and didn’t, as in most of American society now, start screaming at each other and throwing things. Hopefully, that’s what you are attracted to when you see it because even though it has scares and comedy, the emotional core is two people who have a very differ ent epistemological view of life but are still able to talk about it and not hate each other.

TV DRAMA: Was the fact that the characters treat each other so respectfully, with different opinions, one of the aims of the show?

MICHELLE: That’s exactly right. I would say the aim of the show as far as I was concerned. You want it to be enter taining, but to have those questions discussed with peo ple who didn’t anticipate changing the other’s point of view but were listening and open-minded.

ROBERT: It’s interesting; most people think of drama as yelling, but in fact, there is a lot of drama in two people who struggle with each other’s view of the world. And that’s what Katja [Herbers] and Mike [Colter], the two actors who play Kristen and David, are doing whenever they face the dilemma of a school shooting or someone dying of cancer. How can that happen if you don’t believe in God? How do you deal with those tragedies? If you do believe in God, does God just ignore you? And what do you do when a bastard gets a miracle? Why does he or she get one and you don’t? There are all these dilemmas about the struggle of life and how you deal with them both when you believe or don’t believe.

TV DRAMA: How do you oversee all the shows you do? Do you divide responsibilities between the two of you?

MICHELLE: Yes, some are divided. There’s overlap in others; weirdly, Zoom has been helpful in that you get more done quicker, although it’s not as fun because you aren’t in the same room with people you like.

ROBERT: We had an overlap between the Evil and The Good Fight writers’ rooms this year. Evil started earlier, and because we were doing a lot of Zooms, we could squish more into one day, as insane as that sounds! Michelle is more about casting, wardrobe and dealing with the producers. I deal probably a little more with the writers’ room and the directors. Our only agreement between us is that we’ll never disagree in front of other workers.

TV DRAMA: How do you run your writers’ rooms, and how do you go through the process of breaking stories? Do you outline? Do you have a board with the beats?

MICHELLE: Yes, there is a board that, when you start, is empty in a terrifying way!

Creators of the critically acclaimed series The Good Wife, the husbandand-wife team of writers and producers Robert and Michelle King have followed that hit with other shows, including The Good Fight and Evil. With their signature blend of drama and satire, they offer viewers thoughtpro voking examinations of current events and human nature, with a particular interest in what drives people to behave badly.

The final season of the hit series The Good Fight premiered on Paramount+ in September.

ROBERT: We have two ways of talking about an episode. One is you start with what we call a white board, but, in fact, it’s an app where we all can see at the same time what’s being written on it. What do we really want to see? What is this about? Is there any thing even there? And then, when you feel like you are getting closer to building the episode, you go to a Miro board, which has virtual cards that everyone can move around on their individual screen to see how beats look differently. Then the writers are off and writing. But you do not see a chalkboard. You’re not seeing actual 3x5 cards. Everything is virtual, so it melts your mind slightly because it’s not real!

TV DRAMA: Can you talk about the importance of colle giality in the writers’ room?

MICHELLE: First, the writers’ rooms are extremely collegial, and we hire with that in mind. These are very smart and very nice people. They are respectful of each other from the jump. We’ve been fortunate; it’s almost been a non-issue because hiring someone who is not a good listener is cruel to the other writ ers. Before [the pandemic], it was an actual room; you were putting someone in a submarine because you are in that room for eight or ten hours a day. Now it’s Zoom, so it’s a virtual room. It would be impossible if someone was rude or couldn’t listen to others.

ROBERT: The key is that the showrunner has to listen. We write down the names of everybody holding up their hand. And then we go down [the list] and say, OK, you’re next, then you’re next. What’s important is that no one feels they have to give speeches. Because if anybody starts giving speeches, everybody realizes it might be another four minutes until it comes around again to them. Almost everybody knows that you

[need to] share your thoughts very succinctly. We all do that by example. Whenever we either call on our selves or call on each other, we try to keep it [short]. If anybody wants to interrupt us, we shut up. So, it’s very clear. It’s not a showrunner’s ability to say, No, I’m going to barge right in and talk over you. Let the other person talk. Also, make it an example for the youngest writer in the room by going to them just as much, if not more so, than you would to an older writer. [That way] everyone starts realizing it [doesn’t] come down to any prestige from being older or being in the writing room longer.

MICHELLE: There is a hierarchy of titles, but in terms of treatment, there actually isn’t.

ROBERT: There should be a class on how writers’ rooms should run because it makes all the difference for anyone to feel happy in what they do and how they contribute.

TV DRAMA: You are executive producers on Your Honor . What appealed to you about that project?

ROBERT: The Israeli format that started that was excep tional. You’re always looking for an innocent person who has to put him or herself in a position where they break the law or bend the rules. It’s almost Hitchcockian: I’m an innocent man or woman, but I have to do this. And to do it for a loved one like a child—we’re parents—there just seemed to be nothing that was more heartrending and understandable. And then when you think of Bryan Cranston [who stars in Your Honor], who was so perfect for Breaking Bad because your heart goes out to him at the beginning as someone who felt like prestige and money passed him by, what do you do? In Your Honor, his dedication to his son was the core of the show. We just fell in love with that.