A+E Networks has broadcast rights in in the UK, Benelux, CEE, Greece and Middle East, while its Sky Crime channel will run it in Italy.
A+E Networks EMEA and Germany’s Quintus Studios have joined forces with UK indie Spirit Studios to co-produce the true crime series Missing, Presumed Dead.
The 10-part series, each episode spanning 60 minutes, delves into the accounts of real people who have gone missing – and their subsequent journeys back to safety – as recounted from their own perspectives. Through interviews with the missing individuals, their families and friends, as well as experts in abduction, identity fraud, and survival techniques, the series explores their ordeals and the circumstances leading to their reunification with their loved ones.
A+E Networks EMEA will air the series on Crime+Investigation in the UK, Benelux, CEE, Greece, and the Middle East, and on Sky Crime in Italy. Quintus Studios will handle distribution and streaming via AVOD service FD Crime outside the UK.
UK indie Spirit Studios is making the show. The Channel 4 Growth Fund-backed producer is behind shows such as The Stand Up Sketch Show, podcasts including Private Parts and The Lion Whisperer YouTube channel.
Executive producers for Missing, Presumed Dead are Dan Korn and Di Carter for A&E, Adam Jacobs for Quintus Studios and Matt Campion and Martin Sadowski for Spirit Studios.
Dan Korn, VP of Programming at A+E Networks EMEA, said: “We have all heard of the infamous cases of child abduction, such as Elizabeth Smart and Natasha Kampusch, in which the victims were forced to endure a living hell for years before being reunited with their families. Missing, Presumed Dead focuses on those cases which might not be so well known but which are every bit as harrowing and does so from the unique perspective of the abductee, their agonised families and the investigators.”