‘The Family’ Limited Series About Secretive French Cult Set By SND, Easy Riders (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Lupin and Intouchables star Omar Sy will now co-star opposite Emmy winner Kerry Washington (Scandal, Django) in Lionsgate action-thriller Shadow Force, we can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: French major Superprod Group’s distribution arm Superights is to shop Emmy Award-winning pre-school series Go! Go! Cory Carson worldwide.

EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Olson (Our Flag Means Death) and Britian Seibert (The Knick) have been cast in heavily recurring roles on Retreat, a limited series from The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, starring Emma Corrin.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentGaumont, the powerhouse behind “Narcos,” “Lupin” and “Barbarians,” has boarded “Le Prince,” a period mystery thriller series written by Charles den Tex and Paul de Vrijer (“Hunter Street”). Currently in development, “Le Prince” will be produced by Gaumont, as well as Stories, a label launched by France TV Distribution, and Dutch producers Paradise Media.

Naman Ramachandran Arrow Films have acquired U.S., Canada, U.K. and Ireland rights to Berlinale title “Incredible But True,” by French writer-director Quentin Dupieux (“Mandibles”).The quirky comedy, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, sees a husband and wife move into a suburban house of their dreams only to discover that a mysterious secret is hidden in the basement, which may change their lives forever.

Dawn French delighted fans with a new selfie on Sunday, almost a week after she revealed she tested positive for coronavirus. The Vicar of Dibley actress, 64, revealed that despite still testing positive for COVID-19, she is feeling "springy".MORE: Dawn French reveals the cheeky comment she made when she met Prince Charles"Still with the [COVID-19] but cheerfully Springy as hell here…" she remarked alongside a stunning new selfie which was taken against a beautiful backdrop of primroses and daffodils.WATCH: Dawn French clarifies flippant Strictly Come Dancing remarkFans flocked to the comments section with one writing: "Hopefully soon you will be negative.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Theodosia,” the Egyptology-themed adventure series which just premiered on HBO Max in the U.S., has been acquired by BBC, along with a bevy of other partners.Produced by Cottonwood Media, “Theodosia” is represented in international markets by ZDF Studios and Federation Kids & Family, a subsidiary of Federation Entertainment.“Theodosia” follows a smart and bold 14-year-old named Theodosia Throckmorton (aka Theo) who is the daughter of two intrepid Egyptologists excavating in the Valley of the Kings. When Theo and her younger brother Henry stumble upon a hidden tomb and a mysterious artefact, the ‘Eye of Horus’, Theo unlocks the power to see and perform true magic, thus discovering a whole new world of mystery as well as danger.

Those lockdown months taught us plenty of things about our hair: scrunchies are an acceptable hair accessory at any age, yes we CAN survive without our six-weekly highlights top-ups – and seeing naturally grey hair on display is no longer as taboo as it once was. In fact, in a recent poll Wella Professionals discovered that 57% of women feel that “grey is back in fashion”, with one in five seeing going grey as an “exciting new chapter” in their lives.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentWarnerMedia Kids & Family EMEA has acquired broadcast rights to “Jade Armor,” a banner martial arts action comedy animated series from France’s TeamTO, one of Europe’s foremost kids entertainment production companies.As part of Cartoon Network’s declared commitment to broadcasting more animation targeting girls, “Jade Armor” will be released on both HBO Max and Cartoon Network in Europe, West Asia and North Africa later in 2022.An instance of platforms’ drive into local animation and diversity which is galvanizing animation in Europe, the new licensing deal builds on last year’s sale of “Jade Armor” to WarnerMedia Kids & Family in the U.S., ensuring classy powerful premium platform distribution for the series. Produced by multi-award winning TeamTO founder Corinne Kouper and co-created by showrunners Chloé Miller whose anime passions shines through in the series, “Jade Armor” turns on Lan Jun, who bucks any kind of gender stereotyping, as Miller noted for Variety: She likes pink but likes to fight and likes to watch soccer games and paint her nails.Martial-arts loving, she also becomes an unexpected and unlikely teen hero when she dons a mysterious jade bracelet, obliging her to learn the ancient secrets of her family and uncover the unexpected, including a cohort of super villains, while navigating the typical challenges of teen life.Kouper and Miller are supported by an all-female key creative team: Head writer M.J.

Ben Croll Following only the U.S. and Japan (though operating, it should be noted, on an exponentially smaller scale) France has become the world’s third-biggest animated content supplier, producing an average of 300 hours of programming each year and banking $137.7 million in global sales in 2020.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has the first exclusive track from Jeff Danna’s score for Julia, which is set for release tomorrow via Watertower Music.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTikTok, which as become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, has assembled the prestigious jury of its inaugural #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical shorts.Rithy Panh, the BAFTA-nominated Cambodian filmmaker of “The Missing Picture,” will preside over the international jury, which comprises Basma Khalifa, the Sudanese multi-disciplinary creative, Camille Ducellier, the artist and filmmaker of “Bachi-Bouzouk,” Angele Diabang, the screenwriter and producer of “Un air de kora,” as well as Khaby Lame, the Senegalese-born TikToker and content creator. Eligible short films will be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes in length.

French hip-hop series Le Monde de Demain has scooped the Grand Prize at the Series Mania International Competition.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLondon-based Headline Pictures (“Kin”) and French banner Itineraire Productions (“Oussekine”) are set to produce together “Who Killed Lady Di?,” a drama mini-series set in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death in Paris in 1997. The series re-teams Itineraire Productions with Julien Lilti, the up-and-coming creator and screenwriter of Disney Plus Star’s original series “Oussekine” and Canal Plus hit show “Hyppocrates.” Lilti is writing the scripts for “Who Killed Lady Di” with the collaboration of Martine Monteil, who led the criminal investigation division of the French police at the time of Diana Spencer’s death.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentUGC, the long-running French film studio whose biggest hits include “Amelie Poulain,” has successful branched into TV series by acquiring stakes in a flurry of talent-driven production companies such as Itineraire Productions (“HPI”) and Headline Pictures (“Call My Agent!’s” British remake) in the U.K.Opting for a different approach to Gaumont’s or large media groups like Mediawan, the company has been building its label UGC Series as a coalition of independently-ran production companies under the leadership of Laurence Lenica, a veteran UGC executive, and Franck Calderon, a well-known writer, producer and former boss of TF1 Productions.So far, UGC Series comprises six banners. Along with Headline Pictures and Itineraire Productions, these include Henri Debeurne’s Next Episode whose credits take in “Christmas Flow” for Netflix and “J’ai tué mon mari” for NBCU and TF1; UGC Fiction, which Calderon is leading with Karine Evrard and Sophie Exbrayat, and which has delivered the ratings hit ”Jacqueline Sauvage, It was Him or Me”, and most recently “La Traque” for TF1.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentVariety shined a spotlight on European talents at its jam-packed dinner cocktail party at Series Mania Festival in Lille, France.The event, which was co-hosted by Variety and Series Mania Forum, celebrated Mo Abudu, the CEO of Nigeria’s EbonyLife Media who won the 2022 Woman in Series Award. The party also brought together the laureates of the Copro pitching sessions and over 800 international industry players.Following an introduction by Series Mania Forum’s head Francesco Capurro, Variety‘s international editor Manori Ravindran welcomed on stage three rising series directors and creators who are part of Variety’s 10 European Talents to Watch: Chas Appeti and Junior Okoli, the cinematographer and director of “Jungle,” and Quoc Dang Tran, the creator, showrunner and writer of Disney Plus’ French original “Parallels.” “Jungle” is an Amazon Original Series showcasing the creativity of the U.K.’s drill, grime and rap music.

Fanny Herrero, the showrunner of hit French comedy-drama Call My Agent!, discussed the genesis of the show’s success during a panel at the Series Mania festival today.

Frank Doelger, who was an executive producer on Game Of Thrones between 2011 and 2019, provided an update on his new company in Germany during a Series Mania panel today.

EXCLUSIVE: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.