Lionsgate ships out The Guard

Producer and distributor Lionsgate has sold Canadian drama series The Guard into 30 territories ahead of its debut at MIPCOM.

It has inked deals with A&E Latin America, South Africa’s MNet, Finnish public broadcaster YLE and Belgium’s RTBF.

The show, which is produced by DHX Media-owned producer Halifax Films and Brightlight Pictures, follows the lives of four coastguards as they risk their life and limb in the Pacific Ocean. It is produced for Global Television, which has just commissioned a second season.

Craig Cegielski, EVP, programming and sales, Lionsgate International Television, told TBIvision that it was actively seeking more third party programming and at MIPCOM it would be distributing six new shows that were not produced by the company’s production arm. "We’re looking at all kinds of shows from scripted drama, to gameshows and reality shows," he said.

Lionsgate is also bringing its TV adaptation of hit movie Crash to MIPCOM for the first time. The series, which will debut on Starz in the US, stars Dennis Hopper and is produced by Paul Haggis. "I think it’s going to go pretty fast before and at MIPCOM," he added.