Bell Media, SBS nab acclaimed French series “The Returned”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Acclaimed French series The Returned continues to win new fans with Canada's Bell Media and SBS in Australia picking up the supernatural thriller for subtitled runs in their respective territories, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Bell Media plans to air The Returned on its specialty network Space this Fall. SBS will bow the 8x60 minute first season in Australia before the end of the year.

A huge hit in France for pay network Canal Plus, The Returned has been a phenomenal success in the UK on Channel 4, where it has averaged 1.8 million viewers in primetime. Universal Pictures in the UK snatched up home entertainment rights for the series, releasing season one on DVD in Britain earlier this month.

Zodiak has racked up international deals including with Sundance Channel and Music Box for home entertainment in the U.S., public broadcaster SVT in Sweden, Hungary's Viasat and Sinema TV in Turkey.

French shingle Haut & Court produce The Returned for Canal Plus. FremantleMedia has acquired the English-language remake rights for the series and has brought on Shameless creator Paul Abbott to adapt the show.

The Return is set in a remote Alpine village where a small group of men, women and children are trying to return to their homes. What they don't know is that they have been dead for years and no one in the village is expecting them back. Their return coincides with a series of brutal murders that parallel the work of a serial killer for years past.