Fireworks International, a division of the UK’s ContentFilm plc, announced on Tuesday 14 August that it had negotiated a raft of deals for the crime thriller Blood Ties, which will see the 22 x one-hour drama set to air in a range of territories worldwide including South Africa and French speaking Africa.
Created by award-winning producer and writer Peter Mohan, Blood Ties, based on Tanya Huff’s best-selling “Vicki Nelson’ novels known as the “Blood’ series, charts the misadventures of ex-cop turned private investigator Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox). In South Africa, the SABC have snapped up the series. In the UK, Virgin Media Television channel Living will air the series shortly as part of its primetime schedule. NBC Universal has licensed the series for Calle 13 for Spain, Andorra and Portugal; STAR has licensed the series for its Star World channels for Asia; Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has acquired the series for its AXN channels in Italian speaking Europe, Latin America and Israel; whilst Tele Muenchen Fernseh GmbH & Co has committed to the series for Germany. Further licenses confirmed for Blood Ties include Orion Cinema Network, Inc. for audiences in South Korea and Euro TV for French speaking Europe.
Produced by Toronto’s Kaleidoscope Entertainment Inc. and Vancouver’s Insight Film Studios in association with Citytv and SPACE, and airing on those channels in Canada, Blood Ties follows Vicki Nelson, a gorgeous and determined 29-year old whose world is turned upside down after witnessing a horrific murder. She finds herself caught up with a mysterious stranger who is also investigating the murder — Henry Fitzroy (played by Kyle Schmid; A History of Violence) — a 450-year old vampire who just happens to be the bastard son of King Henry VIII. After solving the murder, Vicki finds her new venture into supernatural crime is far from over as she is drawn into more intriguing cases involving a terrifying pantheon of occult adversaries. Vicki and Henry’s unlikely alliance soon progresses beyond a purely professional arrangement, creating a love triangle dilemma for Vicki and her long-suffering ex-partner in policing and love, Detective Mike Celluci (played by Dylan Neal; CSI Miami).
Kaleidoscope’s President, Randall Zalken, commented, “Blood Ties has far exceeded expectations. The fans are awesome…the broadcasters supportive and the press flattering overall for our romantic vampire love triangle adventures.’
Greg Phillips, President, Fireworks International, added, “Blood Ties has generated great attention from broadcasters worldwide since its launch and these deals are testament to the quality and universal appeal of the series. We are confident that the drama will prove a hit with international audiences.’
