StudioCanal and TV3 Russia have concluded a deal for the production of a Russian remake of STUDIOCANAL's Italian crime thriller with a supernatural twist, La Porta Rossa.

The series will be produced in-house by TV3’s new production arm, 1-2-3 Production and will be distributed internationally by STUDIOCANAL. The deal for the scripted format is the first of its kind for the title and was brokered by Sarah Mottershead, Sales Executive, Television Distribution at STUDIOCANAL. The finished Italian original has previously sold to AMC Networks Latin America, M-Net in Africa, Rialto in New Zealand, MTVA in Hungary and Manoto in Iran.

The original series, a Velafilm production for Rai 2 in Italy, aired in February 2017 with an average reach of 3 million viewers per episode. The premiere was the leading program of the night throughout the country and the average audience share across the series, 13.01%, was almost double that for its slot (6.48%).

Beatriz Campos, Head of International Sales at STUDIOCANAL, commented, “La Porta Rossa is a complex and intriguing crime drama with a supernatural twist which sets it apart. The series is full of universally relatable themes like love, loss and revenge which means it resonates with viewers in many different markets. At a time when local content is key to stand out, our high-quality scripted formats offer an effective solution for broadcasters and platforms operating in an extremely competitive marketplace.”

Lily Sherozia, Chief Marketing Officer at TV3, “The deal with STUDIOCANAL is even more pleasant for us due to the fact that it is the first international agreement for the young production company 1-2-3 Production, established in April 2018 to create TV3’s own projects. TV3 is the unique federal channel famous for mystery and drama. Our content surprises you, broadens your imagination and gives an opportunity to see the world wider than you used to see. We focus on unexpected, courageous projects, our slogan is everything but the usual. The series La Porta Rossa fulfils all the criteria”.

La Porta Rossa, created by Carlo Lucarelli and Giampiero Rigosi and directed by Carmine Elia (Il Sistema), is an intriguing crime thriller with a supernatural twist. In an industrial building on the outskirts of town, Police Commissioner Cagliostro (Lino Guanciale) takes in the scene before him: a man lies dead on the floor. In his ten-year career he’s seen nothing quite like this. For the dead man is him – he is staring at his own murder scene. A vision of the future stops Cagliostro from exiting this world – he must stay to find his killer, because it is the only way to save the life of his wife, Anna (Gabriella Pession). With the help of Vanessa (Valentina Romani), a seventeen-year-old who discovers she is clairvoyant, Cagliostro embarks on his unusual investigation – can he sort his friends from his enemies before his premonition comes true, and, at the same time, remedy the mistakes he made while alive?