ITV Studios has sold a range of French and English language drama to the recently launched French SVOD service, Salto. The platform which aggregates content from France Télévisions, TF1 and M6 for streaming, has acquired a range of premium scripted content produced by Tetra Media Studios, ITV Studios France (ITVS France) and Jeff Pope’s Factual Drama label - all part of ITV Studios.

The package includes seven seasons of Tetra Media Fiction’s long-running, multi award-winning World War Two period drama The Line (Un Village Français). Created by Frédéric Krivine, Philippe Triboit and Emmanuel Daucé it was the winner of the Historia Award in 2018 and Best French series at Séries Mania 2013, among several others. The Line is produced by Tetra Media Fiction and Terego for France 3.

Salto also acquires Tetra Media Fiction and Monogo’s award-winning Une Belle Histoire, based on Big Talk’s hit series Cold Feet, Macondo’s thrilling Speakerine and Beaubourg Stories’ intriguing Les Secrets.

Based on Chris Lang’s Undeniable, ITVS France, Vema Production and Les Gens’ Quand Je Serai Grande, Je Te Tuerai has also been picked up, along with Piégés, another drama based on a Chris Lang original screenplay, produced by ITVS France, Capa Drama and Be-Films. A Mother’s Son (Tu Es Mon Fils) from Europacorp Television and ITVS France, rounds out the French language content.

Additionally Salto has opted for the critically acclaimed, high-rating factual drama A Confession, from ITV Studios Factual Drama and Urban Myth films, written by the Oscar-nominated Jeff Pope.

Ruth Berry, Managing Director Global Distribution at ITV Studios, said, ‘We are delighted to partner with Salto to bring these successful and iconic French drama series to a new domestic audience. We’re also pleased to have a new home for our iconic British crime drama, many more of which are in the pipeline for 2021.”

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Full programme descriptions:

Un Village Francais (The Line)

This period drama, set in a French village during the Second World War, has been a huge success in France since 2009. ‘To live is to choose’ is the motto of the series, as we see characters confronted with daily dilemmas of collaboration, resistance and survival. This is a sensitive look at ordinary people tested by war in their home town.

During WWII, half of France was under Nazi occupation, this is where this period drama starts: in June 1940 in Villeneuve, a small village in the French Mountains, with the arrival of the German soldiers.

Hortense, Jean, Raymond, Marie, had been living an ordinary life, but from then on everything changes: some will become patriots, others traitors, others collaborators, and others will join the resistance. Each season of the series is a year deeper into the war which intensifies, and characters are pushed closer to the edge.

• Series 1-2 : 6 x 60 mins
• Series 3-7: 12 x 60 mins

Une Belle Histoire

Inspired by Mike Bullen’s much-loved hit Cold Feet, Une Belle Histoire is a dark-humoured romantic comedy-drama developed by the creative team behind scripted successes including Un Village Français and Les Hommes de l’Ombre. Following the unpredictable and eventful paths of three couples as they navigate love and life together, this engaging French-language adaptation will resonate with viewers of all ages

Awards:

La Rochelle Festival de la Fiction 2019
Winner of Best French TV series
Best Young/Promising Actress (Tiphaine Daviot)

Created by: Frédéric Krivine (Un Village Français) and Emmanuel Daucé (Un Village Français)
Produced by: Tetra Media Fiction and Monogo for France 2.
Series 1: 8 x 60 mins

Speakerine

In 1960s France, a famous TV presenter does everything to succeed in the world of men, until a violent attack sets her on a new destiny.

Christine is considered the perfect post-war French woman, efficiently juggling her life as a wife and mother, alongside her promising career. But one night, as she is preparing for a broadcast, she is mysteriously assaulted. Suddenly this protected icon of the small screen becomes a woman hunted, as all of her certainties are shattered.

Facing an unknown enemy, Christine will need to have her eyes wide open to the realities that surround her as she fights to save her life, her family and her freedom. Facing conflicts, betrayals and political games, Christine’s fate will be symbolic of the evolution of women in 1960s society amid an industry manipulated by power.

Series 1: 6 x 60 mins
Produced by Macondo for France 2

Les Secrets
Sarah and Alex are young, beautiful, they love each other, they own their lives. Until tragedy strikes. One morning, Alex's body is found down a cliff. The investigation rules Alex's death a suicide. Sarah's life breaks down.

Back in Paris, gripped by grief and sorrow, Sarah does not understand what made her husband commit such an irredeemable act. But one day, she receives a letter from Ardeche. A passionate love letter from a woman she does not know, called Ines and that is addressed to Alex.

Series 1: 3 x 60 mins
Produced by Beaubourg Stories for France 3.

Piégés

Adapted from an original screenplay by renowned writer Chris Lang, Piégés is a breathtaking French drama thriller starring Odile Vuillemin and Thierry Neuvic. Elsa Aubry, an ordinary woman, discovers she is the lucky beneficiary of one million euros, a legacy left by a complete stranger. But before she can touch it, she must complete one macabre task: “To kill a man who deserves to die”. It’s an unthinkable demand - but Elsa needs the money to look after her sick daughter - leaving her facing a moral dilemma.

Adapted from a Chris Lang (Dark Heart, Undeniable) original screenplay

Series 1: 2 x 60 mins
ITV Studios France, Capa Drama, Be-Films for TF1 and RTBF.

Tu Es Mon Fils (A Mother’s Son)
How far is a mother willing to go to protect her son? This chilling retelling of a successful British thriller is set in a small town, where the discovery of the lifeless body of a teenage girl triggers a murder investigation.

Series 1: 1 x 90 mins
Europacorp Television and ITV Studios France co-production for TF1.

A Confession
Featuring an A-list cast including Martin Freeman and Imelda Staunton, this suspenseful contemporary drama centres on the thought- provoking true crime story of an investigator determined to bring a killer to justice – whatever the cost.

In 2011, after a night out with friends, 22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan disappeared. When her worried boyfriend reports her missing, Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher (Freeman) begins to piece together her last movements. Believing Sian may still be alive and being held somewhere against her will, Fulcher initiates an urgent full-scale search operation. Through diligent and painstaking police work, Fulcher and his team discover CCTV footage of Sian in the High Street, which leads to vital clues in the investigation. Racing against time, Fulcher edges closer to a chief suspect, local taxi driver Christopher Halliwell. But, after a tense confrontation at a remote location, what Halliwell discloses sees the investigation taking a completely unforeseen turn. The revelation leaves Fulcher standing on the precipice of a life-changing choice between following police protocol and catching a killer.

Through the story of this gripping manhunt, A Confession brings into question how we want our police to behave when someone goes missing. Should Fulcher be praised as a courageous officer fighting for the life of a missing woman or punished for riding roughshod over the law?

Writer & Executive Producer: Jeff Pope (Philomena, Little Boy Blue, Stan & Ollie)
Produced by ITV Studios Factual Drama and Urban Myth Films for ITV.
Series 1: 6 x 60 mins