‘Spitting Image’ Plans U.S. Election Specials; ITV Orders ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ Series; Fremantle Promotes Seb Shorr — Global TV Briefs
‘Spitting Image’ Films U.S. Election Special
Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s battle for the White House will be captured in two Spitting Image specials coming to BritBox and, for the first time, ITV. The two bonus election episodes will premiere on BritBox on October 31, while one of the installments will also broadcast on ITV. Kevin Lygo, BritBox originals creative chief and ITV’s director of TV, added: “This is a great chance to celebrate Spitting Image’s noisy return after 18 years and give ITV viewers a taste of the full series, available on BritBox.” BritBox has already commissioned a second season of the Avalon-produced satirical puppet show, which does not currently have a broadcast network home in America.
ITV Orders ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ Series
ITV is to follow-up its successful true-crime series Des and White House Farm with another factual drama from All3Media producer New Pictures. The company will make The Yorkshire Ripper (working title), which will tell the story of the hunt for British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe between October 1975 and January 1981. The six-part series is written by Killing Eve and Criminal scribe George Kay and is based on Michael Bilton’s book, Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. New Pictures co-founder and CEO Willow Grylls will executive produce, while the director is Paul Whittington. Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke, Kay, Whittington, and Bilton are also executive producers. Kay said: “In a story full with eye-watering statistics, one for me has always stood out: Peter Sutcliffe rendered 23 children motherless. That one fact in itself demands that any definitive drama about this case should encompass far more than just the story of a police investigation. We will focus not just on the police, therefore, but the victims, their families, those who were attacked but not believed, those who whose lives were permanently changed. This is not the story of a Ripper who hailed from Yorkshire, but the story of how Yorkshire was ripped apart.”
Fremantle Promotes Seb Shorr
Fremantle has elevated Sebb Shorr from head of legal and business affairs, international co-production, to EVP, of commercial and business affairs for scripted. He will support Fremantle’s drama labels in the negotiation of development, co-development and co-production deals. Shorr will work closely with Fremantle’s newly-promoted global drama chief Christian Vesper.
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