ITVS drama ‘World On Fire’ finds home in the US

PBS in the US, BBC First in Australia and SVT in Sweden are among companies to have struck deals for upcoming World War Two drama World On Fire.

The 7 x 60 minute show was originally commissioned by BBC One in the UK and is sold by ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE), with ITV Studios-owned Mammoth Screen producing.

It will now air on PBS Masterpiece in the US, which has become a co-production partner. Masterpiece chief Rebecca Eaton has also been attached as executive producer, joining writer Peter Bowker, Mammoth Screen duo Damien Timmer and Helen Ziegler, and Lucy Richer for the BBC.

The series has also been picked up by TVNZ in New Zealand, M-Net for Africa, NRK for Norway, DR in Denmark, YLE for Finland and Viasat World for Central and Eastern Europe. Second window rights have also been acquired by SBS Australia.

World On Fire stars Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) and explores the story of the war through the lives of ordinary people from all sides of the conflict, with the story starting at the outbreak of the conflict.

Ruth Berry, managing director at ITVSGE, described World on Fire as “simply one of the most important pieces of television ever to be made.”

She added: “It is our privilege to share this multi-faceted story of World War Two globally and take a step to ensure that the stories around such a pivotal moment in history are not lost for younger generations.”

PBS Masterpiece previously worked ITVSGE on returning dramas including Poldark and Victoria, which were also produced by Mammoth Screen.