Uma Thurman plays a prominent businesswoman whose son is kidnapped in action thriller “Suspicion.”
“Suspicion” has become the first ever Apple TV+ drama to be sold on to another broadcaster, with ITVX buying it for the UK.
Apple has long been on a drive to get its Apple TV+ seen by more viewers, whether they’re on an aircraft, in France subscribing to Canal+, or even using Android. Now for the first time, a single show has been put up for sale and will be screened on another streamer.
According to UK trade magazine Broadcast, ITVX bought “Suspicion” from Apple TV+ via international sales distributor Fifth Season. If that is strictly accurate, that it came direct from Apple TV+, then it is the first such deal and suggests that Apple is now marketing its shows internationally.
It’s possible, however, that despite being an Apple TV+ show, “Suspicion” could be sold on because of how it came to the streamer as an existing property. “Suspicion” is an Apple TV+ commission, but it was based on the Israeli series “False Flag.”
Conceivably, then, the deal with Apple TV+ to produce the English-language remake may not have been a complete buy-out. It may instead have included the rights for the production company to sell on the show in what’s called a second-window.
Apple TV+ ordinarily goes to lengths to completely own its commissions, however. It was the only streamer willing to entirely fund the high-budget drama “Pachinko,” for example, instead of sharing costs with other studios.
Then Apple TV+ is the first streamer to have won a Best Picture Oscar, but it did so with the film “CODA,” which was an acquisition instead of a commission. Apple reportedly spent millions negotiating to buy worldwide rights to the film, and in fact failed in some territories.
It’s possible that similar rights negotiations may be how series such as “Severance” and “For All Mankind” have had limited Blu-ray releases.
There has been no announcement from Apple TV+, ITVX, or “Suspicion” production company Keshet UK about when the series will be available on the British streamer. At time of writing, though, “Suspicion” remains available to watch in the UK on Apple TV+.
The eight-episode drama was intended to be a returning series, but Apple TV+ cancelled it in 2023. The Israeli original ran for three seasons.
