EXCLUSIVE: Cozy crime is hot and viewers in Canada, Scandinavia and Japan can get a fresh hit after Cineflix scored new international deals for Whitstable Pearl.
Based on the popular Julie Wassmer novels, the series stars Kerry Godliman (After Life) as Pearl Nolan. She divides her time between serving up seafood in her restaurant in the English seaside town of the title, and solving the crimes and murder brought in by the tide. Howard Charles (The Musketeers) is a cop, Mike McGuire, and her on-off rival and love interest.
The series is from Marcella producer Buccaneer and for AMC Networks’ Acorn TV, which has greenlit three seasons thus far. Cineflix Rights handles sales. Corus in Canada has now bought all three seasons, Warner Bros. Discovery has season 1. NHK in Japan has snagged season 2.
SVT in Sweden, NRK in Norway, DR and TV2 in Denmark have all bought season 3, as has BBC Worldwide for its channels in Asia and Benelux, and NBCU for its channels in Africa.
In a tough drama market, cozy crime series have proved popular and are seen by many buyers as a safe bet. The likes of Whitstable Pearl, Midsomer Murders, Death In Paradise and TF1’s HPI (High Intellectual Potential) — which is being remade for U.S. net ABC — are all international hits and offer acquisition execs volume and a degree of security in a post-peak TV world.
“Buyers can’t get enough of cozy crime as it remains one of the most in-demand drama genres,” said Tim Mutimer, CEO, Cineflix Rights. “Whitstable Pearl delivers the perfect mix of quirky plots, loveable characters and a beautiful seaside landscape, really bringing Julie Wassmer’s novels to life for fans around the world.”
