Marking out one of the hottest properties at this year’s Series Mania, the world can’t get enough of “Long Bright River” starring Amanda Seyfried, with Sony Pictures Television (SPT) securing multiple new markets with muscular regional or local distributors such as Max and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The twisty crime drama has been claimed by Channel 4 (U.K.), Quebecor Content (French-speaking Canada), Max (Latin America, France, Central & Eastern Europe, Poland), Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ (New Zealand), Bs10 Star Channel (Japan), RTE (Ireland), Movistar Plus+ (Spain), AXN (Portugal), Tim Vision (Italy), VRT (Flemish speaking Belgium), BETV (Belgium), Nova (Greece) and beIN (across Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa).
Following its global premiere in the U.S. on Peacock March 13, the series was already aired in Canada (Crave and USA Network), Australia (Stan), South Korea (LG Uplus), Hong Kong (Now TV), and Israel (DBS).
Seyfried, an established actor nominated for an Academy Award for “Mank” and awarded an Emmy for “The Dropout,” now takes on the role of police officer Mickey Fitzpatrick, dealing with a wave of highly suspicious murders – as well as single motherhood and disappearance of her own sister.
“The thing that attracts me the most, or that really takes hold of me when I’m watching something, is when I feel this person is real. There’s so much happening you can’t help but be on Mickey’s side, despite the way she handles things and the mistakes she makes,” Seyfried told Variety ahead of the show’s premiere at French festival Series Mania.
Apart from the yet-unsolved crimes, and the opioid crisis which transformed her beloved Philadelphia neighborhood, Mickey also has to face her own past and her sister’s heartbreaking addiction, which ultimately drove them apart.
“Show me someone who hasn’t a relationship to addiction. For me, it brought up a lot of stuff. It tears people apart,” said Seyfried. “We need more support and, especially in America, we need to understand it more. We need to learn what people suffering from substance use disorder really need – not what we think they need. It’s a disease. It’s god-awful. But you can also recover.”
Eight-episode show was written by Nikki Toscano (“The Offer,” “Hunters”) and Liz Moore, who also exec produce, with Toscano serving as showrunner.
Based on Moore’s New York Times bestselling novel, “Long Bright River” is “the limited series that buyers are looking for right now,” noted Mike Wald, co-president, distribution & networks, Sony Pictures Television.
“It’s got huge star power and propulsive storytelling that culminates in a satisfying conclusion. It has been extremely well-received since we debuted at the Los Angeles Screenings this past May and has already been sold, or is close to being sold, in nearly every territory,” he added.
According to Variety’s TV critic Aramide Tinubu, the series “offers audiences a much more distinctive tale than the typical murder mystery,” morphing into “a layered narrative about two sisters, an inescapable family history and a community doomed by poverty, addiction and negligence.”
She added: “A beautifully structured series, ‘Long Bright River’ is about sisterhood, connection and the truths often buried under deep-seated guilt and shame.”
In the show, Seyfried is joined by Nicholas Pinnock, Ashleigh Cummings, Callum Vinson and John Doman.
“Long Bright River” comes from SPT and UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Amanda Lewis executive produce for Original Film. Amy Pascal executive produces for Pascal Pictures. Russell Rothberg also serves as executive producer.
SPT holds international distribution rights.
