CANNES -- A joint U.K.-German drama initiative has been formed by FremantleMedia and UFA Prod. aimed at making quality shows "at competitive prices."
Announcing the new Berlin-based drama development division at Mipcom, the move aims to build on a collaboration between FremantleMedia-owned U.K. shingle TalkbackThames and UFA that saw them work jointly on a storyline for their respective police dramas "The Bill" and "SOKO Leipzig."
New unit will primarily focus on producing drama for the U.K. and German markets but with the possibility of expanding internationally and into the digital space in future.
TalkbackThames CEO Lorraine Heggessey said: "With the current challenges in the drama arena and the shifting media landscape it is more important than ever that we find new ways to fund drama.
"Our aim is to make high quality shows at competitive prices. We want to provide good value but viewers will not be short changed."
The two partners are already collaborating on "Laconia," scripted by leading U.K. scripter Alan Bleasdale, which will air on the BBC in Blighty and ARD in Germany.
The two-part film is based on an incident in World War II when a German submarine officer mistakenly sank a British ship carrying Italian prisoners of war and many civilians.
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