A Small Light, Mike, Alaska Daily, The Company You Keep, Sons of Anarchy S1-7, Brothers and Sisters S1-5, set to premiere this year on Alibi, Drama, Dave and UKTV Play in the UK
UKTV has secured the rights to air Alaska Daily (11x60') and The Company You Keep (10x60') on its crime channel Alibi, A Small Light (8x60') on its free-to-air channel Drama, Mike (8x30') on entertainment channel Dave and all seven series of Sons of Anarchy (92x60') and all five series of Brothers and Sisters (109x60') for its streaming service UKTV Play. The deal was secured by Rachel Bailey, global senior acquisitions manager and overseen by Melanie Rumani, global head of acquisitions, UKTV and BBC Studios alongside Jenny Lamond, Senior Sales Manager Content Distribution on behalf of The Walt Disney Company.
These programmes are sure to be a hit when they air later this year
Melanie Rumani said: "I'm thrilled to announce this deal with Disney for these premium dramas. Growing our portfolio of content for UKTV Play, and providing Drama, Alibi and Dave audiences with more excellent content is a huge priority for us, and these programmes are sure to be a hit when they air later this year."
Dayna Donaldson, VP, Content Sales, The Walt Disney Company UK & Nordics, said: "It's great to be working with UKTV to showcase these brilliant dramas to new audiences across the UK. These engaging stories, and the great acting and behind-the-scenes talent that feature in them, are further examples of the outstanding dramas that Disney Entertainment is bringing to fans in the UK and the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region."
A Small Light is set to air on Drama in May, Alaska Daily and The Company You Keep are set to air on Alibi this Summer, and Mike will TX on Dave later in the year. Brothers and Sisters will launch on UKTV Play in late Spring and Sons of Anarchy will be added to the service in the Summer.
From the mind of Tom McCarthy, Alaska Daily stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a recently disgraced reporter who leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.
In The Company You Keep, a night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie (Milo Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the family business with sights set on getting out for good, Emma works to close in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie's family debts in hand -- forcing them to reckon with the lies they've told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences. The series is based on the Korean Broadcasting System series entitled My Fellow Citizens.
Based on a true story, A Small Light follows Miep Gies, a young, carefree secretary who hid Otto Frank and his family from the Nazis in World War II. For nearly two years, Miep and her husband Jan protected the Franks and others while she held down a day job, kept her marriage intact and shouldered more responsibility than anyone could imagine. While millions are familiar with Anne Frank's diary and her family's life in the Secret Annex, A Small Light is the lesser-known story of how an ordinary secretary showed extraordinary courage during one of the darkest moments in history.
Mike, which comes from creator/screenwriter Steven Rogers and the team behind "I, Tonya" and showrunner Karin Gist, Executive Producer of "Our Kind of People," explores the dynamic and controversial story of Mike Tyson. The eight-episode limited series explores the tumultuous ups and downs of Tyson's boxing career and personal life - from being a beloved global athlete to a pariah and back again. Focusing the lens on Mike Tyson, the series examines class in America, race in America, fame and the power of media, misogyny, the wealth divide, the promise of the American Dream and ultimately our own role in shaping Mike's story. Mike is an unauthorized and no-holds-barred look at the life of Mike Tyson- and it is one wild ride.
FX's Sons of Anarchy is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones about a notorious outlaw motorcycle club intent on protecting their sheltered small town against encroaching drug dealers, corporate developers and overzealous law officers. The club is equally determined to protect their ruthless and illegally thriving arms business. Charlie Hunnam stars as Jackson 'Jax' Teller, a man whose love for the brotherhood is tested by his growing apprehension for its lawlessness. Katey Sagal stars as Gemma Teller Morrow, Jax's force-of-nature mother, who along with Ron Perlman as Clarance 'Clay' Morrow, Jax's stepfather and MC president, have their own darker vision for the club.
Family is everything in Brothers and Sisters. Just take a look at the Walkers - they lead very different lives and may seem dysfunctional, but at the root of it, they are always there for each other - whether it's a family tragedy, professional misadventure or personal triumph. Sally Field is Nora, the strong matriarch, who taps into strength she never knew she had and discovers new ways to bring everyone together as a family.
For more information please contact:
Rebecca Ferris or the UKTV Publicity Front Desk
About Alibi
Sky 109/826, Virgin 126/200, BT 312/382, TalkTalk 312, TV Player On demand on Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk
Alibi is the only TV channel dedicated to crime drama, investigating the best selection from the genre and premiering hit series from around the world such as CSI: Vegas, So Help Me Todd, Dark Winds and Black Sands. Alibi's offering of UKTV Original crime drama series give viewers guaranteed thrills, twists and turns through hit shows including Annika, starring Nicola Walker, Traces, starring Molly Windsor and Martin Compston and We Hunt Together, starring Eve Myles and Babou Ceesay. Sophie Rundle also leads the cast in Barcelona-set drama, The Diplomat, while Anjli Monindra, Marc Warren and Adjoa Andoh star in the brand-new series from writer Toby Whithouse, The Red King.
Alibi is also home to fan favourites, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Murdoch Mysteries and Hudson and Rex, and gives viewers another chance to catch hugely popular British crime dramas including Death in Paradise, Father Brown and Silent Witness.
About Dave
Dave is the award-winning entertainment channel home to a veritable feast of UKTV Original comedy hits from some of the biggest stars in the UK - like BAFTA-winning Big Zuu's Big Eats, Battle In The Box, World's Most Dangerous Roads, David Mitchell's Outsiders, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Follow The Leader with Jamali Maddix and scripted comedy Meet The Richardsons.
But Dave isn't just restricted to television screens. There's exclusive online content, with YouTube's Outsiders: Gone Wild with David Mitchell and Get Off My Phone! featuring Grace Campbell, Thanyia Moore, Ania Magliano, Travis Jay and more, as well as Facebook series The Comedy Guide To Life, Bad Advice with Olga Koch and BackChat. Dave also crowns its winner of Dave's Joke of the Fringe at Edinburgh each year.
About Drama
Free-to-air channel Drama is passionate about bringing Britain the best quality drama. From period to contemporary, family to comedy, the channel is a treasure trove of well-loved classics and modern drama with stories for viewers to fully immerse themselves in.
With programmes including familiar favourites Call the Midwife, The Bill, New Tricks and Silent Witness, and brand new and exclusive hits Sister Boniface Mysteries, Whitstable Pearl and Signora Volpe this is the channel where viewers can escape and indulge in a handpicked range of the nation's most celebrated TV dramas. The channel's offering has also expanded in recent years with the UKTV Original TV adaptation of Robert Thorogood's hit novel The Marlow Murder Club. This two-part series stars Samantha Bond as no-nonsense, crossword-setter and wild-swimmer, Judith Potts, alongside Jo Martin, Cara Horgan and Natalie Dew.
About UKTV Play
UKTV Play is an on-demand TV service providing instant access to shows from UKTV's free-to-air channels - Dave, W, Yesterday and Drama. With the easy-to-use UKTV Play app you can browse and stream hundreds of shows for free via your computer, tablet or smart phone. You can also watch on the telly thanks to Freeview Play, Amazon Fire TV, YouView, Samsung TV, Apple TV, Freesat, NOW and Roku.
If you're a Sky, Virgin Media or BT TV customer, shows from other great UKTV channels - Gold, W, Alibi, and Eden - are also on the menu.
uktvplay.co.uk | Ways to Watch
About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.
UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.
UKTV Twitter: www.twitter.com/UKTV
UKTV Corporate Website: www.corporate.uktv.co.uk