CBC Acquires Ben Miller-Starring Comedy ‘Austin’ & Sets Launch Date For Jewel Thief Drama ‘Joan’

Jesse Whittock
·3-min read

EXCLUSIVE: As we near TV trade confab MIPCOM, more high-profile deals are being struck off-cycle.

Canadian pubcaster CBC has acquired streaming rights to Australian comedy Austin. The ABC show will launch on streamer CBC Gem on Friday, October 18, a week after the Sophie Turner drama Joan premieres on the platform on Friday, October 11.

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CBC picked up Joan, the ITV and CW jewel thief drama, in August. Yesterday, ITV confirmed it will launch the show in the UK on Sunday, September 29 on ITV1 and ITVX, with the second episode airing the following night. All six episodes will be made available on streamer ITVX after ep one has aired.

Austin is an eight-part comedy from Northern Pictures and Lincoln Pictures in association with Screen Australia and Screen Canberra for Australian pubcaster the ABC. It stars Michael Theo (Love on the Spectrum) as a neurodivergent 20-something who claims to be the son of a bestselling children’s author played by Miller (Bridgerton, Death in Paradise), which may be exactly what the recently-cancelled writer needs to save his career and marriage to Ingrid, played by Sally Phillips (Veep, Bridget Jones’s Diary).

Per the synopsis: “When beloved children’s author Julian Hartswood accidentally sparks a social media scandal, his career — and that of his illustrator wife, Ingrid — seems doomed. But then Austin, the neurodiverse son Julian never knew he had, unexpectedly shows up. Could embracing this modern, blended family be Julian’s way out of ‘cancellation’? And will Ingrid forgive him for being such a pompous jerk? One thing’s clear: if Julian thinks Austin will be easy to handle, he’s in for a big surprise.”

ITV Studios shops the series internationally and struck the deal with CBC. In the UK, the BBC acquired TV and streaming rights over the summer.

Joan, meanwhile, follows Game of Thrones star Turner as a devoted mother trapped in a violent relationship who seizes the opportunity to create a new life for herself and her daughter when her husband goes on the run. They adopt new identities and Joan soon becomes a master jewel thief, embarking on a high-stakes journey driven by the desire to care for her daughter and create a secure home for them both.

Anna Symon is the creator, with Richard Maxton the director. Snowed-In Productions is making it for ITV in the UK and The CW in the U.S., with All3Media International the distributor. It’s inspired by the real-life story of Joan Hannington, who operated in the 1980s.

The likes of Magenta TV (Germany), SVT (Sweden), NPO (Netherlands), DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway), YLE (Finland), Canal+ (France and French-speaking territories), Blue Entertainment (German-speaking Switzerland and Lichtenstein), RTÉ (Ireland), Hellenic Telecommunications (Greece), Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and Hot (Israel) have also acquired the show, which we first told you about back in November 2022.

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