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Prime Video Italy is taking a leap “not only at national level but at international level” with its originals strategy, its scripted boss has said.

Davide Nardini was bullish with his confidence in upcoming shows including Costiera from Adam Bernstein and Citadel: Diana, as he addressed attendees on the first day of the AVPSummit in south Italy.

The likes of Costiera, he said, “create a competitive framework for us not only at national level but at international level,” describing its potential to be a “big series devised for international audiences travelling abroad.”

“We asked Adam Bernstein to work on a quintessentially Italian project trying to be strong in the international market,” said Nardini. “This is the type of partnership we would like to build.”

Starring Greys Anatomy’s Jesse Williams, the show from Fargo helmer Bernstein is an Italian action-drama series filmed in English. Williams plays Daniel De Luca, a half-Italian former U.

Box To Box Films has expanded its senior team, tapping Shine TV producer Tom Hutchings in an executive producer role.

Hutchings joins co-founders James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, kicking off with what Box to Box describes as one of its “most successful properties.”

Previously at Shine TV for eight years, Hutchings marks the first major hire since Bruin Capital’s investment in Box To Box. His industry journey began at BBC Drama, and he has produced acclaimed unscripted content globally. His credits include Channel 4’s “Hunted” and “Celebrity Hunted,” Disney+’s “Finding Michael,” BBC’s Comic Relief docs and “Bear Grylls Meets President Zelenskyy.” He also contributed to “Gogglebox” at Studio Lambert and “Goldrush” at Raw.

Based in London, Paris and Los Angeles, Box To Box Films is renowned for sports documentaries like Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” “Full Swing,” “Six Nations: Full Contact,” “Tour de France: Unchained” and the upcoming “Sprint.

AI is at the center of a new Italian primetime comedy show. Italy’s Rai has ordered Fake Show — Diffidate delle Imitazioni, a celebrity improv series in which famous faces respond to a comedic AI machine “generating unpredictable situations, rules and games.”

Endemol Shine Italy, part of Banijay Italy, is producing Fake Show, which will air in primetime this fall. Hosted by actor, comedian and author Max Giusti, the format will “put AI in the spotlight and celebrates the highest form of flattery, imitation,” according to its producers.

In each episode, celebrities will showcase improv skills by impersonating characters, dialects, objects, sounds and showbiz counterparts.

James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development at Banijay said: “We are seeing continued demand for light-hearted formats that put a smile on viewers’ face, and Fake Show guarantees just this. With AI at its heart, this ground-breaking format is versatile, scalable, connects audiences and we...

Nicole Morganti, Amazon Studios head of Italian originals, is being promoted by the streamer to the newly expanded role of head of local originals for Southern Europe encompassing Italy, France and Spain.

Morganti, who has over 20 years of experience in the Italian entertainment industry, joined Amazon Studios as head of unscripted originals for Italy in February 2019 from her previously held position of Discovery Italy’s VP of talent and productions. She was promoted in April 2020 to the role of head of Amazon originals — scripted and unscripted — for Italy.

Since joining Amazon, Morganti has led the streamer’s multi-pronged approach in Italy combining scripted, unscripted and sports content. She has launched a mix of bold scripted shows such as hit dark Mafia comedy “The Bad Guy” and young adult coming-of-age drama “Prisma,” which is about twin brothers who go against gender norms in different ways. She has also worked on the docu-reality series “The Ferragnez,...

Amazon Prime Video has unveiled seven new shows from the likes of Jean Dujardin, Nicolas Bedos, Franck Gastambide and Maïmouna Doucouré, while recommissioning Celebrity Hunted and Lol: Qui Rit, Sort!. in the region.

The new shows include Academy Award-winning The Artist star Dujardin’s Alphonse, based on an original idea by Dujardin and Bedos and produced by Alain Goldman, who recently signed a deal with Banijay.

The show was positioned by Amazon as a “surprising and funny take on comedy.”

Gastambide’s feature Medellín follows Pablito, a young YouTuber fascinated by Pablo Escobar, who makes his dream come true by flying to the Colombian city to walk in the notorious drug lord’s footsteps. A few days later, a video is posted on social media, showing that Pablito has been kidnapped by a group of dangerous Narcos.

Meanwhile, Federation Entertainment and Yvette Production’s comedy Clasico will be out later...

Amazon Prime Video has ordered its next French series original, “Darknet-sur-Mer,” (“On the Darknet”) a crime comedy series produced by Noor Sadar’s White Lion Films, a Mediawan Group company.

The six-episode series, directed by Remy Four and Julien War (“On The Other Side of the Tracks”), has just started filming in the Charente Maritime region of Southwest France. “Darknet-sur-Mer” is the first scripted program to be supported by the Selective Platforms Fund recently launched by the National Film Board for content backed by streamers.

“On the Darknet” revolves around a mysterious website named Vrasesin which offers services from contract killers and turns out to be a scam created by Ben and Flo, two amateur hackers who live in a quiet fishing resort at Ponet-sur-Mer. But Ben and Flo’s enterprise soon get them in trouble with Alkan, an Albanian criminal who is searching for a contract killer to assassinate the chief of a gang.

Amazon Studios has greenlit a German comedy series titled “The Bedfellow” (“Der Beischläfer”) starring comedian Markus Stoll, who is popular locally for playing a funny guy named “Harry G” who satirizes life in his native Bavaria.

Shooting has started in Munich on the six-part series, which is directed by Anna-Katharina Maier (“Die Klempnerin”) and produced by Thomas Peter Friedl’s The Amazing Film Company (“Cold Hell”).

In the show, an easygoing mechanic named Charlie Manzinger, played by Stoll, is selected for jury duty by the Munich district court. He comes to realize that the position offers “certain advantages,” such as his interaction with the female judge, played by Lisa Bitter (“Tatort”), according to an Amazon synopsis.

The show is slated to play on Amazon Prime Video in spring 2020 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Amazon is pursuing production of local content as part of its overseas strategy. Earlier this month, the...

Royal documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which featured the former Suits star opening up about her anxiety over the British tabloid press and motherhood, failed to deliver in the ratings on Sunday.

The documentary, which aired on ITV at 9 Pm, could only muster 2.8M viewers in the hour slot, being comfortably beaten by BBC One drama World on Fire, which averaged 4.3M for its fourth episode.

Given the publicity around the ITN Productions doc, which was hosted by Tom Bradby, it was thought that it would be a massive ratings performer for the British commercial broadcaster. However, it’s also the half-term holidays in the UK, a time at which a lot of British families go away on holiday.

To put it into context, its lead-in, an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? scored 3.7M viewers in the 8 Pm slot, while Strictly Come Dancing averaged 9.3M viewers at 7 Pm on BBC One.

Amazon has ordered its first unscripted Italian Original TV series, “Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo,” from EndemolShine Italy.

The series will launch on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories next year. The format is a real-life thriller spanning six episodes where eight local celebrities are being hunted by professional investigators, cyber analysts, online profilers and human trackers from law enforcement and military intelligence. The celebrities have to stay off the radar and remain at large for 14 days across Italy with limited financial resources.

The show’s first season brings together football player Francesco Totti, artist Fedez, YouTuber Luis Sal, actor Claudio Santamaria alongside the journalist and writer Francesca Barra, popular anchorman Costantino della Gherardesca (“Pechino Express”), actors Diana Del Bufalo (“Che Dio ci aiuti”) and Cristiano Caccamo (“Matrimonio italiano”).

“With ‘Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo’ we are bringing a truly innovative concept to viewers,” said

Georgia Brown,...

Amazon Prime Video is furthering its content push into Southern Europe with its first unscripted show in Italy: Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo.

Celebrity Hunted was first launched in the U.K. on Channel 4 by Endemol Shine Group’s Shine TV. The Amazon announcement marks the eighth international adaptation for the popular series. EndemolShine Italy is producing the new version, which will launch on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories in 2020.

The unscripted format is described as a real-life thriller where expert hunters chase after stars over a series of six episodes....

Amazon is making an Italian version of British entertainment format Celebrity Hunted – its first non-scripted original in Italy.

The Svod service has ordered Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo from Endemol Shine Italy with the six-part series set to launch around the world in 2020.

The series, which follows celebrities on the run from a team of expert hunters, will feature Italian soccer star Francesco Totti, artist Fedez, YouTuber Luis Sal, actor Claudio Santamaria, journalist and writer Francesca Barra, anchorman Costantino della Gherardesca and actors Diana Del Bufalo and Cristiano Caccamo.

The celebrities must attempt to stay off the radar and remain at large for 14 days across Italy with limited financial resources. Hunting them down are some of the most renowned and feared Italian professional investigators, cyber analysts, online profilers and human trackers from law enforcement and military intelligence. The Hunters can use any legal means to trace the celebrities including call tracing,...