BBC’s Dumas-based “Musketeers” to swagger to screens overseas

PanARMENIAN.Net - A fresh take on the classic characters created by Alexandre Dumas in his much-loved novel, The Musketeers, will swagger to screens across Germany, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine, Greece and Turkey, The Hollywood Reporter said.

BBC Worldwide, the public broadcaster's commercial arm, inked deals for the ten-part drama season currently airing on the BBC in the U.K. for Germany with ARD, NRK in Norway, Sweden's TV4, 1+1 in Ukraine, OTE in Greece and Turkey's NTV.

The ink is drying on the deal memos ahead of the show's official launch to buyers at the BBC Worldwide Showcase 2014 in Liverpool, which runs Feb. 23 - 26.

In its 38th year, the BBC Worldwide Showcase is the world’s largest international television market hosted by a single distributor.

Set on the streets of 17th-century Paris, the show, made by BBC Drama Productions and co-produced by BBC Worldwide and BBC America, offers a fresh and contemporary take on the classic swordsmen characters created by Dumas.

The series launched on BBC One in the U.K. in January this year and has been renewed for a second season.

BBC Worldwide plans to host a specially-themed The Musketeers night at Liverpool’s Echo Arena Feb. 24 with Luke Pasqualino (d’Artagnan), Tom Burke (Athos), Santiago Cabrera (Aramis), Howard Charles (Porthos), Alexandra Dowling (Queen Anne) and Maimie McCoy (Milady) all scheduled to attend.

Executive producer and lead writer Adrian Hodges and BBC exec producer Jessica Pope (Burton & Taylor) are also expected to be on hand.

BBC Worldwide president of global markets, Paul Dempsey said the six deals ahead of the show's sales launch "emphasize BBC Worldwide’s standing as a leading distributor of world-class content."