https://arab.news/9yyd4
- ‘Doctor Foster’ is the group’s second Arabic-language adapted show of the year after ‘The Office’
LONDON: BBC Studios and MBC Group announced on Thursday the signing of a deal that would see the first Arabic-language adaptation of “Doctor Foster” brought to audiences across the Middle East and North Africa region.
MBC Group, the largest media company in the MENA region, said it has acquired the rights to the BAFTA-award-winning show, which is already in the making with Turkish production company Medyapim. The company previously produced the Turkish version of the show, called “Sadakatsiz.”
“Earlier this year, we commissioned ‘The Office’; today, we can also confirm the Arabic-language adaptation of ‘Doctor Foster’ — a superb title that received outstanding reviews when the original UK version debuted on BBC One in 2015,” commented MBC Group’s CEO Sam Barnett.
“We cannot wait for audiences to watch our very own regional ‘Dr. Gemma Foster’ and to discover such a captivating character.”
Originally created by Mike Bartlett and produced by London-based independent television production company Drama Republic, the series centers around a doctor whose life implodes when she suspects her husband of having an affair.
The series will air across both MBC’s linear channels and its video-on-demand streaming platform Shahid, reaching across territories including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and the Maghreb.
Besides Turkey, “Doctor Foster” has previously been adapted in markets such as France, India, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines, where the series recently won the award for Best TV Format Adaptation (Scripted) at the Content Asia awards.
Tommaso Muffato, format sales manager for BBC Studios, negotiated the deal with MBC Group, which also licensed the sitcom television series “The Office” to the Riyadh-based group in May, highlighting the excellent relationship between the Saudi media group and BBC Studios.
“It’s a real treat to see that ‘Doctor Foster’ continues to find voice around the world, bringing to viewers this powerful and gripping story. It’s exciting to bring more of our BBC-owned and represented formats to MBC viewers so soon after the commission of ‘The Office’ and I look forward to seeing this Gemma Foster sit alongside her contemporaries from around the world,” said in a statement André Renaud, senior vice president of global format sales at BBC Studios.