July 2018

DRG & Synchronicity Films announce partnership with Sundance Now for The Cry

DRG and Synchronicity Films can today confirm they have struck a major pre-sale for The Cry with Sundance Now, AMC Networks’ direct-to-consumer SVOD service curated with high-quality dramas and crime thrillers. Sundance Now will be the exclusive home to the series in the U.S. but it will also play on the Sundance Channel, after its Sundance Now premiere. The four-part drama, produced by the UK’s Synchronicity Films, was commissioned by BBC One and is being co-produced with ABC in Australia. It is due to premiere on BBC One in the autumn of 2018.

Based on Helen Fitzgerald’s best-selling eponymously titled book, The Cry is a powerful psychological thriller starring Victoria and former Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman and Ewen Leslie from Top of the Lake: China Girl. Filmed in Scotland and Australia, it tells the story of Joanna (Coleman) and Alistair (Leslie), parents to a newborn son, who find themselves at the centre of an unthinkable tragedy. As they face the glare of public scrutiny, alongside this deeply personal trauma, the consequences of the tragedy succeed in changing their lives and their relationship forever.

The gripping screenplay for the series has been written by Jacquelin Perske (The Secret Life of Us), with Glendyn Ivin (Gallipoli) directing and Brian Kaczynski (Peaky Blinders) producing. Executive producers are Synchronicity’s Claire Mundell (Weekend, The Party’s Just Beginning, Only You), and Gaynor Holmes (Trust Me) and Elizabeth Kilgarriff (McMafia) for the BBC.

Elin Thomas, DRG’s EVP of sales concluded the deal with Sundance Now, comments: “From day one The Cry has succeeded in attracting a great deal of interest. Synchronicity’s vision for the book and high-profile lead cast allowed us to bring ABC in as a co-production partner early on and these same factors – now coupled with beautifully shot footage – are generating extensive pre-sale conversations. We are delighted to be partnering with Sundance Now as it will provide the perfect U.S. home for this riveting and intelligent drama.”

Jan Diedrichsen, general manager of Sundance Now, comments: “The Cry is exactly the sort of top-quality, psychological thriller that our discerning audience craves and we are excited to be the exclusive home of The Cry in the U.S.”

Claire Mundell, executive producer of The Cry and Founder /Creative Director of Synchronicity Films says: “We couldn’t be more excited to find a U.S. home for The Cry than with Sundance Now. It just feels like the perfect fit for our show, and the series will be in good company alongside the kind of high quality, distinctive programming the Sundance brand is known and loved for around the world.”

The Cry is a Synchronicity Films production for the BBC, in association with ABC, Creative Scotland, December Media, Film Victoria and Sunbird Media Ltd.