Keshet, ABC team for political drama Black B*tch

Keshet International (KI) has partnered with Australia’s ABC and Screen Australia to bring Blackfella Films’ political drama Black B*tch (WT) to global audiences.

Black B*tch focuses on a charismatic and contradictory Indigenous woman who is thrust into national limelight after a horrific event where Australia’s embattled Prime Minister Rachel Anderson sees a publicity goldmine for her party.

The title is the second to benefit from the financial support from the KI content fund, following its first investment in Ecosse Films’ The Trial if Christine Keeler– a six-part series from award-winning screenwriter Amanda Coe starring Sophie Cookson as Christine Keeler for BBC One.

Launched earlier this year with several of Israel’s largest holding and asset management companies, KI’s five-year content fund aims to bring high-profile projects with global appeal to a wider audience by also utilising KI’s worldwide distribution business.

KI will distribute Black B*tch internationally, while working alongside Endeavor Content to co-distribute the six-part series in the US.

Directed by Rachel Perkins (Mystery Road), the series will star Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters) alongside Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires).  Blackfella Films’ Darren Dale and Miranda Dear produce, with Griffiths as executive producer.

Black B*tch will film in Canberra, Sydney and Far North Queensland and air on ABC in 2019.

Sebastian Burkhardt, KI’s managing director of global content,says, “Black B*tch (W/T) is a strong local story with the potential to resonate and connect with audiences around the world, which is why it immediately stood out to us. This second investment by the KI Content Fund reinforces our commitment to bring more high-end dramas to global audiences and also demonstrates our belief in the team behind this compelling story of power, loyalty and betrayal.”