News round-up: ‘Kensal Town’ wraps production; ‘Clarice’ comes to UK’s Alibi; eOne takes global Alleycats rights

Kensal Town

‘Kensal Town’ wraps production

UK-based Edit 6 has wrapped production on Kensal Town, a new ‘hyper-real’ six-part drama based on the true stories of people living in North West London.

Written, directed and produced by William Sarne (Glastonbury: The Movie, The P) and produced by Bob Clarke (Boiling Point), the series is set in and around a 500-yard stretch of road in the poorest part of the richest borough in London.

It’s one of the most diverse – and iconic – areas of the world, a cultural melting pot where supermodels rub shoulders with gang members, media moguls live in multi-million-pound mansions next to struggling single mums in high rise estates, where often, the only escape from a life of crime and drudgery is through music and social media stardom.

The cast includes Emily Carey, Eric Roberts and Saffron Burrows, while many of the crew of the series, which received financing from Insight Media Fund and negotiated by Samahoma Media Advisors, were drawn from the local community, providing jobs and training for under-represented people aspiring to a career in television.

“I came up with the idea for Kensal Town through growing up and observing the lives of the amazing multicultural community living around me, and knowing that their nefarious activities are not always what they seem,” said Sarne.

“Working with the community to develop the story and script is a thrilling opportunity to bring an under-represented group of people onto television screens and create an authentic and unfiltered drama series.”

Clarice

‘Clarice’ comes to UK’s Alibi

UKTV has acquired drama series Clarice for its crime drama channel Alibi, following a deal with MGM Television.

The 13 x 60-minute series, which will air on Alibi in December, is a spin-off from from Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel The Silence Of The Lambs and its 1991 film adaptation.

Rebecca Breeds stars as FBI Agent Clarice Starling, who returns to the field one year after the events of The Silence Of The Lambs.

The series is produced by MGM Television and CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout. It is executive produced and co-created by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, with executive producers Heather Kadin and Elizabeth Klaviter.

eOne takes global Alleycats rights

Entertainment one (eOne) has signed a distribution deal with Alleycats Films, giving them exclusive global rights to the Northern Irish indie’s content.

Under the terms of the deal brokered by Noel Hedges, eOne’s EVP of acquisitions, Alleycats Films will develop and produce premium content to tell “informative, surprising and entertaining stories” for the global market. The content created under the first look deal will be distributed exclusively by eOne internationally.

Alleycats Films is behind programming including Tiananmen: The People v The Party for PBS/ARTE, How To Defuse A Bomb for BBC One/Four, and Helluva Tour for Channel 4.

“As we continue to bolster our expansive slate of compelling content, this deeper partnership with Alleycats builds on our existing relationship with the company and further strengthens our strategy to partner with top creatives to provide high-end factual content to clients around the world,” said Hedges.