BritBox Boss on Streamer’s Transatlantic Mindset: ‘We’ve Always Thought: Born in Britain, Made in Hollywood’
30.11.2023 - 10:17
/ variety.com
K.J. Yossman As the streaming landscape continues to readjust after a turbulent few years, some platforms are riding the wave more comfortably than others. A case in point is SVOD service BritBox International, which was founded in 2017 as a joint venture by U.K.
broadcasters ITV and BBC. Available in eight markets outside the U.K. including the U.S., Canada and Australia, BritBox offers a uniquely specific output: namely, British content for international audiences.
(A sister service with the same name operated solely by ITV is available in the U.K.). In terms of genre, there’s everything from drama to soaps plus crime, comedy and what BritBox CEO Reemah Sakaan calls “British pastimes,” meaning shows about things like antiques and gardening. The streamer also boasts its own original content, such as upcoming Cary Grant biopic “Archie,” which stars Jason Isaacs (“Harry Potter”) as the Hollywood legend.
“You look for real British specificity in the storytelling, but real universality in its access,” Sakaan says when she sits down with Variety at the star-studded “Archie” press day in central London, which involves appearances from not only the cast and creative team (including Isaacs and showrunner Jeff Pope) but also Grant’s ex-wife Dyan Cannon and daughter Jennifer, who both advised on and executive produced the project. (The show launches in the U.K. on Nov.
28 and internationally on BritBox on Dec. 7). From Sakaan’s perspective, Pope’s tale about a Bristol-born working-class boy who transformed himself into an American movie star was the ideal project for the streamer.
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