Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, announces sales of two of its crime drama series during the LONDON TV SCREENINGS.

Catch Me A Killer has been acquired by BritBox North America, SBS Australia, UKTV’s Alibi channel, BBC First in Benelux and Poland, AXN’s Mystery Channel/NHK Enterprises (NEP) in Japan, and COSMOTE TV Greece.  This series has additionally been chosen as part of the International Panorama selection and will be screened at Series Mania next month.

AMR has also sold compelling crime drama Scrublands to the BBC in the UK and Ireland, RTE Ireland, Warner Bros Discovery New Zealand, and COSMOTE TV Greece.  As previously announced, Scrublands, a Stan Australia and Nine Network Original, has also been acquired by AMC Networks’ streamer Sundance Now (USA and English-speaking Canada).

Abacus Media Rights’ Head of Sales Hana Palmer comments, “These exceptional dramas, created with high-end production values, clearly demonstrate the continued international appetite for strong high-end crime series. We’re looking forward to screening the first episode of new drama The Boy That Never Was tomorrow during the London Screenings.”

Catch Me A Killer, 9 x one hour plus 1 x 90’ – also available as 11 x one hour, is produced by CMAK Films and Night Train Media for pay tv channel M-Net South Africa.  Based on the book of the same name, this intriguing drama series tells the harrowing true story of former journalist-turned-psychologist Micki Pistorius (Charlotte Hope – The Spanish Princess, Game of Thrones) – South Africa’s first serial killer profiler.

Set in 1994, against the backdrop of a country on the brink of democracy, Micki joins a task team on the hunt for a notorious serial killer and is launched into a dangerous underworld in Catch Me A Killer. She is assigned with profiling the Station Strangler; a serial murderer who has left a trail of 22 dead boys in his wake.

While finding her feet in a male-dominated arena, Micki must also battle with her status as an outsider in the police force and in the community she serves.

In each episode of this brooding dramatic thriller, Micki deals with the looming spectre of her personal life and confronts increasing darkness in her quest to entrap and understand some of South Africa’s most infamous serial killers.

Scrublands, a 4 x one hour crime series produced by Easy Tiger Productions, is based on the award-winning novel written by Chris Hammer and stars Luke Arnold (Black Sails, Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS), Jay Ryan (It Chapter Two, Top of the Lake) and Bella Heathcote (C*A*U*G*H*T, Relic). The series is directed by Greg McLean, written by Felicity Packard, Kelsey Munro and Jock Serong, and produced by Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, David Redman and Felicity Packard.

Scrublands is set in an isolated country town, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. One year later investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives in Riversend to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy. But when Martin’s instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart, and he finds himself in a life and death race to uncover the truth.

Additional cast in Scrublands includes Zane Ciarma (Neighbours), Adam Zwar (Squinters), Victoria Thaine (Nowhere Boys), Robert Taylor (The Newsreader), Stacy Clausen (True Spirit), Genevieve Morris (No Activity) and newcomer Ella Ferris.

As previously announced, AMR has additionally secured sales to UKTV for their Alibi channel and France Télévisions for The Boy That Never Was, a four-hour drama series based on the best-selling novel by Karen Perry.

The Boy That Never Was has been commissioned by RTÉ with support from Screen Ireland, and stars award-winning actor Colin Morgan (Belfast, Legend), Toni O’Rourke (God’s Creatures, Calm with Horses), Kerr Logan (Alias Grace, Strike) and Simon Callow (The Witcher, Four Weddings and a Funeral), and is directed by award-winning director Hannah Quinn (Vikings: Valhalla, Disenchanted, Fate: The Winx Saga).

The Boy That Never Was is a chilling story about Dillon, a three-year-old child who vanished in Essaouira, Morocco following an earthquake. When Dillon’s father Harry (Colin Morgan) races back to their tiny apartment to rescue his child, the apartment is in rubble and there is no sign of his son. Three years later, thousands of miles away in Dublin, Harry spots a six-year-old boy in a crowd and is convinced he is Dillon. Desperate to find his son, Harry’s obsession tears apart his marriage to Robin (Toni O’Rourke), exposing shameful secrets that lead to the truth of what happened to their son on the night he went missing.