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Zombie no Afureta Sekai de Ore Dake ga Osowarenai (“I am the only one who is not attacked in the world filled with zombies.”), a series of “zombie-panic action” novels for mature audiences, is being adapted into a TV anime that will broadcast in Japan on At-x. At the time of this writing, no further details have yet been revealed for the production. Zombie no Afureta Sekai de Ore Dake ga Osowarenai Volume 1 Related: The Legend of Super normal Pref. Chiba TV Anime Hits Tokyo Mx in January 2024 The Zombie no Afureta Sekai de Ore Dake ga Osowarenai light novels are written by Rokuro Uraji, illustrated by Saburou, and published in Japan by Frontier Works under their Nox Novels imprint. A manga adaptation with artwork by Chihiro Masuda is also published by Frontier Works. The story of the series follows Yuusuke Takemura, a former salaryman with a selfish personality who...

Lille’s Series Mania Forum is kicking off today with a packed schedule of talks, screenings and competitions.

Fighting it out in International Competition are the likes of Prime Video’s Toni Collette starrer The Power, Haven of Grace from Magnetic Beats director Vincent Maël Cardona, and Quoc Dang Tran’s Apple TV+ series Drops of God.

They compete against Greek series Milky Way, which opened the festival, Viaplay’s futuristic Russell Tovey drama The Fortress, Red Skies from Israel, The Actor from Iran and Fleeting Lies from Spain. Each will have its world premiere at the event.

The Power is a fantasy series set in a world where the physical balance of power between men and women switches when electric arcs emerge from the fingers of teenage girls all around the world. Debuting later this month, it comes from Sister, the UK producer behind Chernobyl and is based on Naomi Alderman’s sci-fi novel.

U.S. streaming service Topic is expanding its roster of French content with such recent acquisitions as the Arte fantasy-thriller miniseries “The Rope,” picked up from Wild Bunch TV, and Season 2 of political satire “Parliament,” sold internationally by France TV Distribution.

Launched by First Look Media in 2019, Topic specializes in crime and thrillers, including top Nordic shows like “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Arctic Circle” and “The Bridge”-inspired German thriller “Pagan Peak.”

Jennifer Liang, Topic’s vice president of programming strategy, acquisitions and sales, is attending this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV programming market in Biarritz for the first time and on the lookout for titles that fit the niche streamer’s high standards.

“For over a year, Topic has been hyper-focused on elevated crime, true crime, thriller and suspense programming from all over the world,” Liang said. “We found that our subscribers appreciate how we bypass the standard crime...

Universal Studio Group Chair Pearlena Igbokwe says the “arms race” to sign creative talent on exclusive deals is “subsiding” as the scripted market readjusts economically.

Igbokwe — whose studio houses Universal International Studios, Universal Cable Productions (UCP), Universal Television and Universal Television Alternative Studio — said the big-ticket ‘golden handcuffs’ deals of the past half-decade would become less commonplace and fewer creatives would be able to demand top dollar for their services in the future.

“I don’t know if the arms race that we were in for the last five years is still in effect,” she told journalists at on-record lunch in London yesterday. “I don’t think the agents are very happy at all. There will still be some people who command big dollars but they are proven entities with track records.”

She predicted the days of agents calling the shots and pushing up prices were numbered, as streamers and...

Variety shined a spotlight on European talents at its jam-packed dinner cocktail party at Series Mania Festival in Lille, France.

The event, which was co-hosted by Variety and Series Mania Forum, celebrated Mo Abudu, the CEO of Nigeria’s EbonyLife Media who won the 2022 Woman in Series Award. The party also brought together the laureates of the Copro pitching sessions and over 800 international industry players.

Following an introduction by Series Mania Forum’s head Francesco Capurro, Variety‘s international editor Manori Ravindran welcomed on stage three rising series directors and creators who are part of Variety’s 10 European Talents to Watch: Chas Appeti and Junior Okoli, the cinematographer and director of “Jungle,” and Quoc Dang Tran, the creator, showrunner and writer of Disney Plus’ French original “Parallels.”

“Jungle” is an Amazon Original Series showcasing the creativity of the U.K.’s drill, grime and rap music. Comprising six 30-minute episodes,...

Universal International Studios has struck a first-look deal with “Call My Agent!” and “Parallèles” writer Quoc Dang Tran as it continues a charm offensive directed at international creators.

Uis has inked a first-look deal with the French-Vietnamese writer and showrunner who will develop and produce English and French-language television projects with the studio for the global market. French-language series will be co-produced with the “Marianne” writer’s recently formed label, Daïmôn Films.

“He really leads from themes that speak to his heart versus responding to the industry, so we’re excited to do business with a creator who listens to their gut instead of just what the network is mandating,” Beatrice Springborn, president of Universal International Studios, tells Variety ahead of a keynote at French TV festival Series Mania.

“That has helped him stand out as someone with a real point of view, [who] is a real visionary.”

Dang Tran added:...

Exclusive: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.

The French-Vietnamese scribe will develop and produce English and French-language television projects with the Universal Studio Group division for the global market, co-produced with his recently-created label Daïmôn Films.

Dang Tran has written on hit French series Call My Agent!, French Netflix horror Marianne and is the creator of Canal+’s Nox.

His Disney+ original Parallèles, the streamer’s first in the French language, will debut on the platform tomorrow and is being premiered at Series Mania, where news of Dang Tran’s partnership has just been unveiled by Universal International Studios President Beatrice Springborn.

Springborn called him an “incredible storyteller and producer who works across all genres and elevates everything he touches.”

“We are honoured he...

Woodcut International has boarded “(K)nox: The Rob Knox Story,” a feature documentary about the tragic story of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” actor Robert Knox, who was stabbed to death at the age of 18.

Woodcut will executive produce the film and act as worldwide distributor.

Knox had just finished filming for “Half-Blood Prince” in 2008 when he was stabbed in south-east London while protecting his younger brother. A perpetrator was subsequently charged and sentenced for the murder.

Knox had previously appeared in Keira Knightley film “King Arthur” and, before his death, had reportedly been signed up to reprise his role of Marcus Belby in a subsequent instalment of the “Harry Potter” franchise.

“(K)nox” features interviews with family, friends and members of the film community, including Ray Winstone (above right) and some of the “Harry Potter” cast, such as Tom Felton and Jim Broadbent. The doc is intended to...

A scene from the French crime thriller TV series “Nox,” streaming on Topic. Courtesy of Topic.

“Nox” is a six-episode subtitled miniseries from French TV that is far more complicated than most, but worth investing the requisite degree of concentration. It’s perfect for binging, since that makes it easier to stay with all the characters and subplots unfolding before you. It starts as cops vs. bank robbers, from the vantage of detective partners Julie and Raphael as they figure out which bank will targeted next. They nail it, but most of the thieves manage to escape into Paris’ elaborate underground systems of tunnels. Julie dashes into the dark ahead of her partner and inexplicably vanishes.

The hunt for her is on, but subterranean Paris is three levels of spider webs under the entire city, with the lowest dating back to the Roman Empire’s occupation. No one has explored all of them.

Exclusive: Quoc Dang Tran, writer of Netflix’s horror drama Marianne, has scored Disney+’s first original French-language drama.

Tran, who also created Canal+ crime drama Nox, has created Parallels, a fantasy drama for the Walt Disney streamer. He will act as showrunner and will also write with fledgling writer Anastasia Heinzl.

It is part of a slate of European originals, as revealed by Deadline, put together for Disney+.

The six-part series follows four teenage friends, on the French-Swiss border, whose lives are turned upside down by an experiment of the Lhc – the world’s biggest particle collider.

During a split second, the Universe abolishes its rules: time, space and multiverses all get jumbled together. The teenagers will do everything in their power to try to fathom out what happened and turn the clocks back. The mysterious event propels the group of 14-year olds into parallel dimensions, leaving them racing...

The video game division of JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot has formed an in-house game development studio, tapping industry veteran Michael Booth to serve as its general manager.

Booth, most recently social VR director for Facebook, is best known as the creator and lead designer of survival horror game Left 4 Dead. He will report to Anna Sweet, CEO Bad Robot Games.

Bad Robot Games will now have two teams: an in-house studio and a creative co-development team working with external partners. Bad Robot Games Studios will uniquely develop original IP for all platforms in collaboration with colleagues from Bad Robot’s Film and TV departments. The studio will create gaming destinations whose worlds and stories designed for multiple mediums.

The official announcement described the goal as “making them as much fun to watch as they are to play.” The first game under the new division will be “a Aaa title for...

Bad Robot Games, the video game division of J.J. Abrams’ production company, is launching an in-house game development studio.

Industry veteran Michael Booth will serve as general manager, leading the creative team through its first game and subsequent titles. He will report to Bad Robot Games CEO Anna Sweet, who was appointed in July.

As a former Valve, Blizzard and Electronic Arts/Westwood Studios executive and the founder of video game developer Turtle Rock Studios, Booth has been a project lead for games including first-person shooter CounterStrike: Condition Zero and action, role-playing game Nox. He has also worked on multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 and strategy ...

Bad Robot Games, the video game division of J.J. Abrams’ production company, is launching an in-house game development studio.

Industry veteran Michael Booth will serve as general manager, leading the creative team through its first game and subsequent titles. He will report to Bad Robot Games CEO Anna Sweet, who was appointed in July.

As a former Valve, Blizzard and Electronic Arts/Westwood Studios executive and the founder of video game developer Turtle Rock Studios, Booth has been a project lead for games including first-person shooter CounterStrike: Condition Zero and action, role-playing game Nox. He has also worked on multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 and strategy ...

Les Films du Kiosque, the Paris-based production company behind Nicolas Bedos’ Cannes-premiering “La Belle Epoque” and Netflix’ hit original “Family Business,” is set to reteam with Bedos on “Masquarade,” and will produce Mabrouk El Mechri’s “Kung Fu Zohra.”

El Mechri’s film follows Zohra, a young cashier from the suburbs who is being physically abused by her violent husband Omar. Zohra is trying everything she can to shelter her 6-year-old child and sets off to learn how to defend herself. Her life changes after she crosses paths with Chang Sue, a kung fu master who runs the municipal gymnasium. Set to start shooting in March, the film will star Sabrina Ouazani, Ramzy Bedia and Eye Haïdara.

Gaumont has come on board to acquire French distribution and international sales rights to the film.

François Kraus and Denis Pineau-Valencienne founded Les Films du Kiosque. Kraus told Variety that “Kung Fu...

Welcome to this week’s Nxt UK review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I used to be Amanda Bynes, but a bee stung me and I turned into a pasty-faced loser who can’t even spell the word “a”. It took me twenty minutes to figure out what letter to press for that damn word. I miss my old variety show. I made Taran Killam famous! That big dumb lurch owes me a buck an hour. I was friends with a giant lobster. Any-way, Nxt UK is on the docket, so let’s get my Penelope wig back from the Nickelodeon storage locker, because I want my !@#$?%& show back! Amanda please!

Match #1: Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner def. Danny Jones & Harry Green The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Imperium opened Nxt UK with an address to the WWE Universe, basking in supreme glory in the...

We still don’t have a title for “Bond 25,” but we’ve got a baddie (“Bohemian Rhapsody” Oscar winner Rami Malek), a Bond lady (Ana de Armas from “Blade Runner 2049”), and a premise for Cary Joji Fukunaga to direct. Obviously, it was less than what we were hoping for, as producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced the full cast during a live stream event Thursday from author Ian Fleming’s GoldenEye retreat in Jamaica (the spiritual home of the franchise where “Dr. No” and “Live and Let Die” were filmed).

Eschewing the usual Bond launch press conference, they were joined by James Bond star Daniel Craig and Fukunaga, who answered a few fan questions from Twitter. Meanwhile, Malek provided a quip via a video feed from New York about “making sure that Bond doesn’t have an easy ride.”

A word about #BOND25 from Rami Malek pic.

Studiocanal has pre-sold Movistar+’s original drama “Instinto” to Amazon Prime Video in Latin America and to Pantaya, the premium Spanish-language streaming service recently launched by Lionsgate and Hemisphere Media Group.

An erotic thriller, “Instinto” is produced by Bambú Producciones, the Studiocanal-owned Spanish company behind Spanish-language hit series such as “Velvet” and “Grand Hotel.” The series will mark the first show from Bambú distributed by Studiocanal and the company’s first partnership with Telefonica.

The eight-part drama, directed by Carlos Sedes, will premiere on Movistar+ in Spain and will also roll out on a first-run basis across the U.S. on Pantaya. Amazon Prime Video will then stream the series in the entire Latin American region, including Brazil.

“Instinto” stars Mario Casas (“The 33”) as Marco, a tormented young businessman who regularly escapes to a private club to fulfill his fantasies. The show was created by executive producers Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés.

The export of French programs rose by 18% in 2017, bolstered by factual programming including nature documentaries and crime series.

France was the third biggest country for TV exports and the leading supplier of non-English-language TV series worldwide in 2017, according to a report compiled by Eurodata TV Worldwide and based on finished series or adaptations launched across 48 territories and around 550 channels. Unveiled at the Rendez-Vous market in Biarritz, France, the study didn’t include one-offs and co-productions.

Factual programs represented 55% of the best-selling French programs in 2017, followed by fiction shows with 36% and entertainment shows with 9%.

Among the scripted series which traveled best were thrillers such as “Nox,” a series from Gaumont Distribution and StudioCanal, “The Accident” from Banijay Rights and “Mother is Wrong” from France.tv Distribution, as well as the science fiction series “Missions” from Empreinte Digitale and Ab International, “Proud” from Scarlett / 13 Productions and “Philarmonia” from Lagardère Studios.

As...