Starzplay partners with Fremantle on slate of high-end dramas

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MENA-region streaming service Starzplay has signed a deal with global TV producer and distributor Fremantle for a slate of high-end dramas, including Baghdad Central and The Luminaries. 

Produced by Fremantle-owned Euston Films, crime series Baghdad Central is written and created by BAFTA-nominated writer Stephen Butchard, based on the novel by Elliott Colla. Set in 2003, when Baghdad was occupied by US-led coalition forces for six months, the thriller follows an Iraqi ex-policeman who finds himself embarking on a wider quest for justice in a society that’s become truly lawless. 

Starring Eva Green and Eve Hewson, epic drama The Luminaries is based on the Man Booker prize-winning novel by Eleanor Catton and was produced by Working Title Television and Southern Light Films for the UK’s BBC Two and New Zealand’s TVNZ1. Both Baghdad Central and The Luminaries will be available on Starzplay in 2020. 

Already streaming under the deal is psychological thriller Dublin Murders, adapted from Tana French’s first two novels in the Dublin Murder Squad crime series. Also produced by Euston Films, the series is written and created by Sarah Phelps (And Then There Were None). 

Starzplay, which is available in 20 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, streams a combination of Western and Arabic content, including originals such as Power, Outlander, Spartacus and The White Queen

Fremantle has a network of production teams in more than 30 countries, including UFA (Germany), Wildside (Italy), Miso Film (Denmark, Sweden and Norway), Blue Circle (Netherlands), Original Productions (US) and Easy Tiger (Australia).