Netflix UK is adding two new series to their slate of exclusive titles.
The UK arm of the streaming giant has secured the exclusive UK rights to the Syfy series Van Helsing and The Man In The High Castle creator Frank Spotnitz’s new series Medici: Masters Of Florence, TVWise has learned.
Van Helsing is distributed by Dynamic Television, while Wild Bunch TV handles sales for Medici: Masters Of Florence. Van Helsing and Medici will premiere next month, when the complete first seasons of both shows will be available to stream for Netflix UK subscribers.
Van Helsing picks up after a catastrophic volcano eruption, when the last remaining underground vampires rise up through a dark, ash-filled sky to overtake America. Vanessa Van Helsing, a descendant of the legendary line of vampire hunters, awakens from a three-year coma to discover that she’s not only immune to the bloodthirsty predators – but also has the ability to make them human again. With this “cure” threatening the vampire’s existence and a target on her back, can Vanessa save humanity?
The drama series is produced by Nomadic Pictures, which also serves as the studio, and stars Kelly Overton, Jonathan Scarfe, Christopher Heyerdahl, David Cubitt, Vincent Gale, Rukiya Bernard, Trezzo Mahoro, Aleks Paunovic, Laura Mennell, Tim Guinee and Paul Johansson. The executive producers are Chad Oakes, Mike Frislev, showrunner/writer Neil LaBute, Simon Barry, Evan Tyler, Dave Brown, Zadoc Angell and Daniel March. The series was recently renewed for a second season.
Medici: Masters Of Florence tells the story of the Medici family, headed by Giovanni de’ Medici, who founded a powerful bank he entrusted to his sons Cosimo and Lorenzo. With his strategic thinking, Giovanni devised a way to circumvent The Pope’s ban on “usury,” ushering in a new era of financial freedom that led to the expansion of commerce throughout Europe. The family became one of the wealthiest financiers in Europe and a political dynasty in the 15th Century and beyond.
Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man In The High Castle) co-created the series with Star Trek scribe Nicholas Meyer while Francesca Gardiner, who worked extensively with Spotnitz on Hunted, Transporter and Crossing lines, helped pen the scripts. The drama series is produced by Big Light Productions & Lux Vide and features a cast that includes Richard Madden (Game Of Thrones) and Dustin Hoffman (Luck). Medici was commissioned by Italian broadcaster Rai, who have already ordered a second season.
Netflix UK has been steadily upping their presence when it comes to first run acquisitions. These deals for Van Helsing and Medici: Masters Of Florence come after the streaming service previously struck exclusive licensing agreements for such shows as the new entry in the Star Trek franchise Star Trek: Discovery, Kiefer Sutherland’s ABC political drama Designated Survivor, The CW’s Frequency reboot, Syfy’s space-opera The Expanse and USA Networks’s Shooter.
