Canal+ acquires Steven Knight’s wartime drama ‘Rogue Heroes’

Rogue Heroes

France’s Canal+ has acquired six-part wartime drama Rogue Heroes, from distributor Banijay Rights.

The series will be broadcast on Canal+ in France and for all Canal+ territories around the world in late 2022.

The agreement, which was struck at MIPTV this week, follows MGM-owned network Epix’s acquisition of the drama for the US in November last year – the first international deal for the series – and further sales to HBO Max in Europe, Prime Video in Canada and SBS in Australia in early 2022.

Produced by Banijay UK label Kudos and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight’s indie Nebulastar for UK pubcaster the BBC, the series is a dramatised account of how British special forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances during the Second World War. It will debut on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Based on Ben Macintyre’s book of the same name, the series centers on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalised after a training exercise gone wrong.

Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Knight and is directed by Tom Shankland, with Stephen Smallwood as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.

Isabelle Queme, SVP of French-Speaking EMEA, Banijay Rights, said: “Steven Knight and Kudos’ magnificent Rogue Heroes continues to build huge momentum worldwide and we are beyond thrilled to secure this latest deal with CANAL+; taking this epic – and important – Second World War story to a whole new audience across France and all Canal+ territories around the world.”