Quizzical unveils Murder by the Sea
South African indie Quizzical Pictures is shifting from gritty crime thrillers to “cosy crime” for its next series and will launch the project to buyers at C21’s Content London.
Murder by the Sea is an eight-part series and comes after the Johannesburg-based prodco made the crime thrillers Reyka, starring Kim Engelbrecht, and White Lies, starring Natalie Dormer, for Fremantle and M-Net.
Season one of Reyka sold to more than 140 territories, while White Lies is being featured as a Hot Property at Content London this year.
Murder by the Sea, meanwhile, is currently in development and being scripted by writer Darrel Bristow-Bovey, based on an original idea from Bristow-Bovey and Joanna Simon.
Bristow-Bovey regularly collaborates with Quizzical Pictures, having written White Lies, among many others, as well as joining Quizzical’s Nimrod Geva to pitch crime thriller Paradys at Series Mania in 2022, which went on to beat 700 entries and win the Best Project Award.
Set in Blaasgat, a fictional coastal town named after its giant blowhole, Murder By The Sea is described as a warm, gently comedic and character-driven series featuring sunshine, whales, mountains and murder.
Geva, producer and head of development at Quizzical Pictures, said: “This new series leans into our expertise in bringing compelling crime stories to the screen but moves away from the more recent dark, tense productions such as Reyka and White Lies to create something light, bright, funny and fresh.”
Harriet Gavshon, Quizzical Pictures co-founder and creative director, said: “Cosy crime is increasingly popular with international broadcasters and streamers. From early conversations, we are confident that this original piece of IP will tick many boxes, with the potential coproduction partners we’ll meet next week.
“Furthermore, with our skilled talent base, production economies, great weather and incredible locations – such as the Garden Route – South Africa is fast becoming an attractive destination for international producers.