M-Net acquires Midnight Sun, The Five from Studiocanal
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Rebecca Hawkes
| 31 January 2017

African pay-TV network M-Net is to broadcast the two TV series Midnight Sun and The Five, following a deal with European content producer and distributor, Studiocanal.

Swedish/French drama Midnight Sun (pictured), a Canal+/SVT/Filmpool Nord co-production, will debut across 58 territories in Africa on M-Net’s new foreign-language block. The thriller has drawn critical acclaim, recently winning Best New TV Series, Best Director and Best Screenplay awards at the Roma Fiction Festival.

The content deal also gives M-Net the best-selling author Harlan Coben’s original ten-part drama thriller The Five, produced by Red Production Company (a Studiocanal company) for Sky 1.

“We’re delighted to sign this new deal with M-Net ... which will see these leading prime time dramas broadcasting throughout Africa. Our titles have grabbed the attention of international buyers, offering intelligent, thought-provoking and absorbing content,” said Katrina Neylon, EVP sales and marketing at Studiocanal.

Nelson added that the company is “incredibly pleased” with the debut of Midnight Sun in Sweden, where it debuted on SVT to a 39.7% market share, attracting an audience of 1.8 million.

Created by Mårlind & Stein and based on an idea by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Patrick Nebout, the thriller is set in a small mining community in remote but beautiful northern Sweden where a series of brutal murders conceal a secret conspiracy.

Midnight Sun will also be shown in the UK on Sky, Germany on ZDF, Australia on SBS, Russia on Channel One, Israel on HOT, Norway on NRK, Denmark on DR, Iceland on RUV, Finland on MTV3, Belgium on VRT and Benelux on Lumière.