The BBC has commissioned a new 10-part daytime crime drama from Clerkenwell Films and Cosmopolitan Pictures scripted by Dan Sefton, the writer behind The Good Karma Hospital, Trust Me, Delicious and Porters.
It was ordered by Dan McGolpin, Controller of BBC Programming and Daytime.
The Mallorca Files, set amongst the expat community on the sunny Spanish island, features a British and German detective clashing over their different approaches to policing the island. While “self-confessed introverted Brit Miranda Blake takes her career (as well as everything else in life) seriously, German Max Wolf is a classic extrovert and unashamedly unconventional. The combination of these two characters and the sun-drenched setting sets the stage for humour as well as thrills, as the duo do battle to solve each new crime.”
The Mallorca Files is a Cosmopolitan Pictures/ Clerkenwell Films co-production for the BBC, distributed by BBC Studios. The show will begin production in November this year and air on BBC One Daytime in 2019. All ten episodes will also drop on to iPlayer on the first day of transmission. Casting is yet to be confirmed.
Dan McGolpin, Controller of BBC Programming and Daytime, said: “I’m delighted to be working with Dan Sefton, Clerkenwell Films and Cosmopolitan Pictures on an enjoyable and action-packed series following two very different police officers thrown together in a Mallorcan melting-pot. Viewers on BBC One Daytime and iPlayer are in for a treat.”
Showrunner Dan Sefton added: “With influences from Almodovar to Coen Brothers, The Mallorca Files brings a fresh new spin to the story of two supposedly mismatched cops forced into an uneasy partnership. Set in the picture-perfect Balearic Island of Mallorca, action-packed, quirky and full of memorable characters, wit, and spectacle, this show is the perfect antidote to the British Winter (and possibly Spring and Summer too!). Created by a team of talented writers including Rachael New, Alex McBride, Sarah Louise Hawkins and Dan Muirden, it has fun with a classic TV genre.”
Ben Donald, Founder, Cosmopolitan Pictures, said: “Right from the beginning I’ve wanted to make a series like the cop shows I grew up with and loved, with a pair of loveable characters people are drawn back to and want to hang out with; a show that is unashamedly entertaining and quite honestly a fun antidote to the pretty bleak world out there. In its funding, this series represents the very best of what co-production can do to add value for the UK audience and licence fee payer. I’ve always wanted to find a way to bring the Anglo-German relationship on television out of sketch comedy and into the 21st century.”
Murray Ferguson, Chief Executive and Director, Clerkenwell Films, commented: “When entering into the partnership with Cosmopolitan Pictures we were excited by the ambition and variety of ideas on their slate. It’s fantastic to be collaborating with Ben on what we hope will be the first of many productions.”
The Mallorca Files is the first production greenlit for Cosmopolitan Pictures, the independent production company founded by Ben Donald in 2014. It has been created with his production partners at Clerkenwell Films and commissioned by Controller of BBC Programming and Daytime, Dan McGolpin. BBC Studios and Cosmopolitan Pictures have jointly put a co-production deal in place with BritBox for the US and Canada, and with ZDFneo for Germany. Other partners on board include France 2.
Jon Creamer
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