Cuba Libre
Keshet Int’l Takes Selling Rights to “Cuba Libre”
Keshet International has acquired the international distribution rights for the Portuguese period drama Cuba Libre.
Produced by Hop! Films for pubcaster RTP, the 6 x 45 minute series tells the true story of a young Portuguese woman who gave her all to the Cuban Revolution and Che Guevara.
Beatriz Gordinho plays Ana Maria Silva Pais, the only daughter of the director general of PIDE, the Portuguese secret service, who is secretly in love with the Cuban revolutionary.
Anke Stoll, Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions of Keshet International, said: “This is the incredible true story of a woman who changed so many lives to follow her passion and strong political beliefs. The Hop! The films did a fantastic job of bringing its vibrant story to life for viewers.
Peacock enters adult animation
NBCUniversal streamer Peacock has ordered his first adult animated comedy series, Awareof Beavis and Butthead creator Mike Judge.
Judge will create, executive produce and star in the series, which comes from Universal Television and executive producers Bandera Entertainment.
The series follows Lauren Caspian, who is NPR’s third most popular host; a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod. He is also a stop motion puppet. Each episode follows the making of an episode of Lauren’s show In the Know, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real-world human guests.
Zack Woods (Silicon Valley) and Brandon Gardner will co-create and executive produce, while Woods will also star alongside Judge. Greg Daniels (Office) and Dustin Davis executive producer for Bandera Entertainment.
“Aware will capture the conversations many of us have in our daily lives in a hilarious and hilarious way,” said Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We are thrilled to work with the best in the business, namely Mike, Greg, Zach and Brandon, and our partners at Universal Television.”
Espresso strikes deals with Germany
German broadcasters Deustche Welle, Spiegel TV and Welt have acquired a slew of factual content following deals with distributor Espresso Media International.
Deutsche Welle took over open the road (1 x 52 minutes), which follows filmmaker Kelly Mason’s mission to solve the environmental crises of plastic waste and road pollution in Costa Rica, as well as Above Ground (1×52 minutes), which examines the new industrial frontier in space from the commercial flights of Elon Musk and Richard Branson to manufacturing.
Meanwhile, Spiegel TV will present the German premiere of The largest airplane in history (7 x 45 minutes). Funded by A+E UK and CEEMEA, this seven-part series examines some of the greatest contributions to modern warfare, capturing and celebrating some of the greatest icons in aviation history.
Welt took a space documentary The story of Saturn V (1 x 52 minutes). The title follows the story of Saturn V, the most powerful machine ever built, and the colossal challenges NASA faced to get it to fly.
Lineup & Gil Formats Reach Distribution Deal
Lineup Industries has signed an agreement with Gil Formats of Israel to represent the company’s content roster for global sales.
Additionally, the two format specialists are establishing a creative fund to develop in-house and third-party formats for broadcasters and platforms in Israel, Europe and the United States.
The distribution deal includes all Gil Formats series, including hits such as life in service, Capture the momentand pregnant and platonic as well as newly launched shows such as laugh to the bank. Lineup Industries will represent titles in all available territories worldwide, with the exception of Israel.
Ed Louwerse, Founder of Lineup Industries, said: “This is a very exciting opportunity to collaborate with one of the industry’s leading format specialists and pool our respective expertise and market insights to develop revolutionary and remarkable new ideas for channels and platforms.
“As we look to expand our list of top factual and entertainment formats for the international market, we are also very excited to welcome Gil Formats’ content library to our offering as we head into MIPCOM.”