Max Italian Series; WGGB President On AI; Moonbug In Holland; WBD Unveils EMEA Unscripted Slate — Global Briefs

Max Sets First Italian Scripted Series 

Max has set Portobello, a series by Marco Bellocchio, as its first Italian-scripted original production. The show will debut on Max in 2026. Production began in Rome last September and will also shoot in Sardinia, Campania, and Lombardy. The six-episode series tells the story of Enzo Tortora, the host of the real-life television show Portobello – which aired in 1977 for seven seasons – who was accused by justice collaborators of being part of a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking. Tortora was imprisoned and tried for years before being definitively acquitted of all charges. The cast features Fabrizio Gifuni as Enzo Tortora, Lino Musella, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Barbora Bobulova, Alessandro Preziosi, and Fausto Russo Alesi.

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WGGB President Warns About AI Changes

Writers’ Guild of Great Britain President Sandi Toksvig has asked the UK government to reconsider proposals that will allow tech companies to use creators’ work without payment or permission to train AI. In a statement on the WGGB website, Toksvig writes that if the plans go forward, we will see a “fundamental change to how copyright works” and one that “gives tech companies an incredible ability to take what they like, when they like, without informing or compensating the writers of the work they use to train their models.” Toksvig ends the statement calling on “everyone to respond to the Government’s consultation, rejecting their preferred option and encouraging them to introduce proper transparency measures.” You can read the full statement here.

CoComelon Outfit Launches Dutch Channel

Moonbug Entertainment, best known for its children’s shows such as CoComelon, is launching the Moonbug Channel in the Netherlands. The channel will launch on Ziggo on March 4. The company previously expanded into Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland last year. All Moonbug shows will be featured on the channel, including CoComelon, Blippi, Little Angel, Gecko’s Garage, Morphle, and Oddbods. As part of the partnership, the shows will also be available on-demand in both English and Dutch languages for Ziggo subscribers in the Netherlands.

Warner Bros Discovery Unveils Unscripted Deals For EMEA

Warner Bros. Discovery has unveiled a lineup of new and returning unscripted series for Discovery-branded channels and WBD’s streaming platforms across EMEA. Outback Crystal Hunters has landed a new season that will run on DMAX in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, and on Discovery in the Benelux, CEE and Nordics regions, and Discovery Hungary. The Prospero Productions show follows the booming crystal hunting industry in Australia. Also set in Oz, Treasure Hunters Down Under has a new 12-episode season premiering on DMAX UK, Italy, Turkey, Iberia and Germany, with Discovery running it in Benelux, Nordics, Hungary and South Africa. Both shows launch on Discovery channels on May Marooned with Ed Stafford, from Relay Productions in collaboration with Chinese streamer China Bilibili, is set up as a co-production between Warner Bros. Discovery APAC and EMEA. The latest season rolls out on DMAX Turkey and Discovery Channel Africa, Central Europe, Nordics, Hungary, Romania and Middle East, France, Benelux and Flanders. It will also air on Discovery Spain and Portugal next month.

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