French TV shows: “Agatha Christie’s Criminal Games” and “Syndrome E” sold as Sky Italia, Canada’s CBC and others swoop

EXCLUSIVE: Sky Italia and CBC are among international buyers looking for Gallic content after the first French TV shows last week.

Local distributors are calling the event a success and hope it becomes a permanent part of the international calendar.

Nine French sales houses held two days of film screenings as part of Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris at the Club de l’Etoile. With 106 buyers in the city, deals were always likely. Deadline has learned that Newen Connect and France TV Distribution, among others, have achieved international sales.

France TV Distribution sold the library title Crime Games by Agatha Christie to season 1 and 2 of Sky Italia. The light crime drama, which first aired in France in 2009, is a French adaptation of author Agatha Christie’s crime stories.

“Rendez-Vous Unifrance in Paris was a great opportunity for our entire sales team to start the year presenting our new drama series, documentaries and animation series,” said Julia Schulte, SVP, International Sales at France TV Distribution. “Our main European assumed and actual buyers of linear networks were present.”

TF1-owned Newen Connect closed several deals that surfaced during the event. On the stage front Syndrome E, Promethea and addicted All international houses secured during the Doc Series Paris: The Mystery of the Lost Palace pre-sold to SBS in Australia and RTVS in Slovakia.

Syndrome E will be broadcast on LRT in Lithuania, Québecor in French Canada and RTP in Portugal. Starring Vincent Elbaz, Jennifer Decker, Kool Shen and Emmanuelle Beart, the series follows a brooding, lonely police officer as he investigates a case of missing children and a disturbing 1960s film that incites viewers to bizarre and dangerous acts. A lone detective teams up with him after realizing that events in her own past may be connected to his case.

addictedit is from the authors of Face au Diable and Rebecca, was sold to Radio Canada/CBC. The show will also air on Swiss RTS and French-language Belgian TVI, although these deals were made directly by producer Morgane Productions.

The domestic thriller series follows a family whose life is turned upside down after a move. Directed by Didier le Pecheur with Cecile Bois, Sagamore Stevenin, Cecile Rebboah and Medi Sadoun.

French streamer Salto has also made deals Syndrome E and UGC Fiction’s coming-of-age fantasy drama series Promethea. However, the status of these agreements is unclear as Salto is believed to have closed at the end of the week.

Mediawan Rights, whose parent company made headlines for acquiring Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, aired such programs haven of mercy and Start from scratchand is in follow-up discussions with buyers.

Randall Broman, head of international distribution, Scripted Content at Mediawan Rights, said: “The French TV shows were undoubtedly a good and successful initiative, as evidenced by the very positive feedback we received from customers in the following days. And with the success of this first edition, we trust and hope that Unifrance will make it an annual event in the future.”

Alix Lebrat, COO of TV Series at Studiocanal, said she was “very excited to start the year by visiting this enlightening market in Paris and it was a great opportunity to present our incredibly well-received fact sheet.

“Paris was the perfect place to show our highly anticipated range air cocaine and to expand on the three editorial pillars we will focus on for our unscripted pipeline: True Crime, Sports and Spotlight on Europe.

Unifrance created the French television screens to allow the country to ride the wave of interest in Gallic content that followed streaming series Call my agent! and Wolf. The UK, Germany and Scandinavia are among the European territories that already hold annual screening events.