Channel 4 has closed a deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution to acquire the exclusive first run UK broadcast rights to the fifth (and final) season of TNT’s drama series Southland and the third & fourth seasons of Showtime’s drama series Shameless (dubbed Shameless US by Channel 4 to differentiate it from the original) for its More4 channel.
Created by Ann Biderman, Southland follows the day-to-day lives of a group of police officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department. The drama series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and stars Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Benjamin McKenzie and Regina King. In the opening episode of the show’s fifth season, titled Hats and Bats, Officer John Cooper clashes with his new boot, Gary Steele (guest star Derek Ray), a vet from Afghanistan. Lydia struggles to balance detective work and motherhood. Ben Sherman falls in with a sketchy crowd of cops (Chad Michael Murray guest stars), while Sammy Bryant is trapped in a hellish custody battle with Tammi (guest star Emily Bergl).
Based on Channel 4′s series of the same name, Shameless (dubbed Shameless US by Channel 4 to diferentiate it from the original) was developed for US television by John Wells and follows the daily lives of the members of the blue collar Gallagher family who live in the South Side of Chicago. The working class family struggles to make ends meet while Frank, the patriach of the Gallagher clan, can usually be found at the local bar spending what little money they have. The drama series, which has already been renewed for a fourth season, stars William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Jeremy Allen White, Cameron Monaghan, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Joan Cusack, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton and Laura Slade Wiggins.
The pick up of the new seasons of both shows had been expected given their relative ratings performance on diginet More4. While not the huge breakout hits that The Good Wife and Nashville have been for the channel, both Southland and Shameless have been solid performers. The pick ups are in fact part of a larger deal that Channel 4 inked with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution which saw the broadcaster acquire the UK rights to CBS’ drama series Hostages and The CW’s The 100 and The Tomorrow People. I hear that, while nothing is set in stone, Southland is being eyed for an Autumn 2013 premiere, while Shameless season 3 will debut in 2014.
TVWise’s Acquisitions Scorecard has been updated with this new information.
