MBC Group strikes deal for BBC Studios scripted format ‘Doctor Foster’

Doctor Foster

MBC Group has acquired the rights to produce the first Arabic language adaptation of BBC Studios scripted format Doctor Foster. 

Originally created by Mike Bartlett and produced by Drama Republic, the series centers around a doctor whose life implodes when she suspects her husband of having an affair.

The local adaptation is already in production with Medyapim, which previously produced the Turkish version of the format, Sadakatsiz. The series will air across both MBC’s linear channels and its VOD streaming platform Shahid, reaching across territories including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and the Maghreb.

Doctor Foster has previously been adapted in markets such as France, Turkey, India, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia.

The format license agreement with MBC Group was brokered by Tommaso Muffato, format sales manager for BBC Studios, which in May also licensed scripted comedy format The Office to the Riyadh-based group.

André Renaud, SVP global format sales at BBC Studios, said: “It’s a real treat to see that Doctor Foster continues to find voice around the world, bringing to viewers this powerful and gripping story. It’s exciting to bring more of our BBC-owned and represented formats to MBC viewers so soon after the commission of The Office and I look forward to seeing this Gemma Foster sit alongside her contemporaries from around the world”.

Sam Barnett, CEO at MBC Group, added: “Earlier this year, we commissioned The Office; today, we can also confirm the Arabic-language adaptation of Doctor Foster – a superb title that received outstanding reviews when the original UK version debuted on BBC One in 2015.”