Filenews 29 November 2022
"Olivewood" receives a vote of confidence from leading international entertainment companies such as Clapperboard Studios, which films Love Rat in Cyprus for Paramount's Channel 5.
Specifically, Invest Cyprus with an announcement welcomes another internationally acclaimed production that has currently chosen Cyprus for its shooting. As announced last week, a four-episode miniseries, Love Rat will be filmed in Cyprus.
Channel 5, the third largest commercial television station in the UK, owned by one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies, Paramount Global, has announced the assignment of the Love Rat, to Clapperboard which is distributed internationally by Entertainment One (eOne).
The miniseries' script is owned by Chalkboard, a script-making company affiliated with Clapperboard (2019 Producers of Cold Call) which owns Storyboard Studios in Scotland. Clapperboard has already created a wide range of drama series, including critically acclaimed The Teacher, highly rated Intruder, and the hit comedy drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries for Channel 5.
Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sale of entertainment content. As part of international gaming and entertainment company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), eOne's expertise spans the entire process of producing and selling film and television productions.
AboutLoveRat
The Love Rat has been pre-approved for the Audiovisual Industry Promotion Plan. Production has begun filming in Cyprus this month and is expected to air in 2023 on Channel 5.
Sally Lindsay leads the cast alongside Neil Morrissey, Alexis Georgoulis and Ramon Tikaram. The four-episode series will follow the recently divorced Emma, played by Sally Lindsay (The Madame Blanc Mysteries), as she enjoys a romantic vacation with the charming hotel owner, Nikos, played by Alexis Georgoulis (The Durrells) on Cyprus' paradise island. When she realizes that Nikos and his crime partner George, played by Ramon Tikaram (Pennyworth, Brassic, The Great), have deceived her financially, she embarks on a dangerous mission to get her money back, with the help of her ex-husband Pete, played by Neil Morrissey (Line of Duty, Unforgotten).
The Love Rat was commissioned for Channel 5 by Sebastian Cardwell, Paramount's Deputy Director of Content for the UK. Executive producers for Clapperboard are Mike Benson and Andy Morgan, with producer Jonathan Phillips. Polly Buckle (A Discovery of Witches) is the lead screenwriter and Katherine Churcher (Grantchester, Killing Eve) is a director.
On the occasion of her participation in the cast of Love Rat, Sally Lindsay said: "Love Rat is an extremely exciting story, full of twists and turns something that attracted me to the project. Emma is an interesting and multi-layered character who takes control of her situation and her fate."
On the new addition to the Channel 5 channel, Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Director of Content at Paramount UK comments: "I am delighted to once again work with the creative and talented team at Clapperboard Studios, to bring Love Rat to the screens and with a star-studded cast including Sally Lindsay, which our viewers know and love as Jean White in The Madame Blanc Mysteries and Cold Call. Expanding on the original dramatic content of Channel 5, this psychological thriller promises to be something to remember."
Mike Benson, CEO of Clapperboard added: "In the production of Love Rat we were determined to avoid some of the clichés one would expect when watching such a provocative topic. Polly and her team have done a great job of adding a variety of nuances, surprises and authenticity to the story and characters – and of course it's great to be working with the multi-talented Sally Lindsay once again."
"We are thrilled that Channel 5 and Paramount have approved and are supporting a production in Cyprus. "Olivewood" is steadily gaining ground as a destination for audiovisual productions. Invest Cyprus will continue to promote and support international productions that recognize the benefits of Cyprus and choose it over many other locations," said Lefteris Eleftheriou, head of the Audiovisual Production Attraction Unit at Invest Cyprus.
