BBC Studios announced that McMafia, the eight-part drama series set in the international world of organized crime, has been sold to Russian free-to-air channel Pyatnitsa (Friday TV).

Created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, McMafia is inspired by the best-selling non-fiction book by Misha Glenny. The series which stars James Norton (Happy Valley, War and Peace) made its premiere on BBC One in the UK, AMC in the US and international premiere on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, (excluding the UK, China, US and Canada). Most recently the series was sold to IPTV service providers OPG and Youku in China and linear broadcasting rights were agreed with SVT in Sweden.  

The sale of McMafia is part of a wider agreement with Friday, who secured the rights to become the new TV home of the Sherlock franchise in Russia. The channel has also acquired a number of BBC natural history titles including Planet Earth, Planet Earth II, and Blue Planet II as well as premium BBC science titles, Earth From Space and The Planets. 

Commenting on the deal, Salim Mukaddam, Vice President and General Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, BBC Studios said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Friday on this superb package of content. Sherlock is adored in Russia and was the highest rating non-Russian program in the territory last year. We are looking forward to taking the show to a brand new audience through this agreement. Friday has also become our free to air partner for premium natural history and science programming and we hope this is the beginning of a long and successful partnership between Friday and BBC Studios.”