5USA is adding two U.S. scripted dramas to their slate.
The Channel 5 owned digi-net has agreed separate deals with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and NBCUniversal Television Distribution for first run rights to CBS’ short-lived Training Day reboot and free-to-air rights to NBC’s Taken prequel series.
Set fifteen years after the film, Training Day follows an idealistic young African-American police officer, who is appointed to an elite squad of the LAPD where he is partnered with a seasoned, morally ambiguous caucasian detective. The drama series, which was cancelled after a single season, is produced by Warner Bros Television and stars the late Bill Paxton, Justin Cornwell, Katrina Law, Drew Van Acker, Lex Scott Davis, Julie Benz, Christina Vidal and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
Taken is described as a modern-day edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows the origin story of younger, hungrier former Green Beret Bryan Mills as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the trauma of the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative. In 30 years, this character is destined to become the Bryan Mills that we’ve come to love from the “Taken” films.
The ten episode drama series is based on the Liam Neeson film franchise of the same name and is set up as a co-production between EuropaCorp and NBC’s sister studio Universal Television and stars Jennifer Beals, Gaius Charles, Brooklyn Sudano, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Irby, James Landry Hébert and Jose Pablo Cantillo. Alex Cary serves as writer and executive producer. Luc Besson, Matthew Gross, Edouard de Vésinne, Thomas Anargyros and director Alex Graves also executive produce. Amazon Prime Video UK retain first window rights to Taken.
These two deals come mere days after Channel 5 announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution for free-to-air rights to The CW’s Riverdale. As with the Taken deal, the agreement for Riverdale does not impact the first run rights to the show, which remain with Netflix UK. In somewhat related news, after a delay to the previously announced plans, Channel 5 will be launching their new “premium channel”, now known as 5SELECT, on February 13th. The channel’s launch schedule includes the UK premiere of Irish legal drama Striking Out.
