BBC bags three huge US dramas in ‘really exciting’ streaming shake-up in bid to fend off Netflix
THE BBC has bagged three huge US dramas for its iPlayer streaming service in a bid to compete with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+.
The titles have been acquired from NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution.
BBC fans are in for a big treat as the broadcaster has announced that they will be airing all nine seasons of the hit American legal drama Suits, the popular mockumentary St. Denis Medical, and the TV spin-off of the hit Best Man films, The Best Man: The Final Chapters.
The successful Law drama Suits is set in New York City and stars Patrick J. Adams as Mike Ross, a college dropout who never attended law school, but uses his photographic memory to talk his way into a job as an associate working for successful ‘closer’ Harvey Spector, played by Gabriel Macht.
The pair win lawsuits and close cases together while hiding Mike’s big secret.
Suits boasts an all-star cast, including Gina Torres, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman, Katherine Heigl, and Meghan Markle.
The workplace comedy, St. Denis Medical, set in an underfunded and understaffed Oregon hospital, will also be landing on BBC channels and iPlayer very soon.
The series, starring Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper, Kaliko Kauahi, Kahyun Kim, and David Alan Grier, follows dedicated doctors and nurses who are trying their best to treat patients whilst maintaining their own sanity.
The Best Man: The Final Chapters, based on the eponymous Universal film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, follows the lives of Harper (Taye Diggs), Robyn (Sanaa Lathan), Jordan (Nia Long), Lance (Morris Chestnut), Quentin (Terrence Howard), Shelby (Melissa De Sousa), Candace (Regina Hall), and Murch (Harold Perrineau).
The hit series examines how each of their relationships have evolved and how past grievances resurface in the unexpected stages of midlife crisis vs midlife renaissance.
Speaking about the streaming shake-up, Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, said: “This is a really exciting and enjoyable trio of star-studded series.
“The hotly-anticipated comedy, St. Denis Medical, the sassy, romantic comedy-drama, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, and the smart and stylish legal drama, Suits.
“We couldn’t be more delighted to bring them all to BBC viewers.”
Most recently, the Beeb also confirmed that they’ve commissioned a whopping TWELVE new drama shows as part of an ‘urgent’ TV shake-up.