BBC Studios Inks Deal With Youngest; Australian ‘Survivor’ Gets $3M In Govt Funding; Canneseries Delayed; Discovery+ Madeleine McCann Series — Global Briefs

Emmy-nominated David Oyelowo has signed on to star alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw in The Girl Before, a four-episode limited series based on JP Delaney’s best-selling psychological thriller, from BBC One and 42.

BBC Three is returning to UK TV screens. The channel is coming back to the air after pivoting to OTT back in 2015, the org confirmed today.

BBC Casts ‘My Name Is Leon’ BBC One has announced the cast for its adaptation of Kit de Waal’s debut novel My Name is Leon. Malachi Kirby (Small Axe), Monica Dolan (A Very English Scandal), Olivia Williams (Counterpart), Christopher Eccleston (The A Word), Poppy Lee Friar (In My Skin), and Sir Lenny Henry CBE (The Lord of the Rings) headline the drama special.

Facebook unveiled commercial agreements with three Australian publishers Friday capping a tense week that saw passage, the day before, of a law recasting how Facebook and Google must approach the use of news content.

Looks like Christmas came early for fans of Royal Family drama!

BBC Studios Inks First-Look Deal With Gobstopper Group BBC Studios has signed a first-look deal with Gobstopper Group, the company behind MTV’s Just Tattoo of Us and Revenge Prank With DJ Pauly D & Vinny. As part of its expansion plans, Gobstopper Group has launched Mermaid Studios in Belfast, helmed by Paddy Mckenna, the former head of development at Sony-owned Stellify, and Neil Dimmock, who joins from BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live.

Amanda Holden is being dubbed the next Cilla Black after being signed up by the BBC for a new dating show.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentCanal Plus and Sky Studios have teamed up on Spaghetti Western TV series “Django” with production set to start in May and German actor Matthias Schoenaerts (“Bullhead”) in the title role.Co-produced by Italy’s Cattleya, which is controlled by ITV, and France’s Atlantique Productions, “Django” is being described as a high-concept English-language reimagining of the cult 1966 Sergio Corbucci Western that launched the career of Italian icon Franco Nero,

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp announced “an historic” three-year partnership with Google to provide journalism from its news sites around the world in return for significant payments by Google.

Naman Ramachandran Sky Studios and Gaumont have teamed on “The Wasp,” the first Sky original comedy to be produced for Sky Deutschland.The six-part series follows Eddie Frotzke, a fallen professional dart player who, after a prolonged career slump, wants to return to his former glory.

EXCLUSIVE: Henrik Bastin, the driving force behind Amazon’s cop drama series Bosch, is launching a new production company after exiting Red Arrow Studios joint venture Fabrik Entertainment.

Marsha Thomason Joins ‘The Bay’; Season 3 GreenlitLost and White Collar actress Marsha Thomason has joined the cast of ITV drama The Bay, as the British broadcaster confirmed it has renewed the drama for a third season. Thomason will join the detective drama as Morecambe Criminal Investigation Department’s new family liaison officer, DS Jenn Townsend, following Morven Christie’s decision to leave the show.

‘Downton Abbey’ Sequel Film Edges Closer One of the worst kept secrets in the UK biz is closer to becoming a reality, as Carnival Films gears up to shoot a sequel Downton Abbey feature in the coming weeks. Hugh Bonneville told BBC Radio 2 today that planets are aligning on the second film.