The network just picked up the Ken Follett miniseries World Without End and now is adding another mini, a docu-series and a scripted series to the lineup beginning in the fall. The newly announced miniseries, Barabbas, is a four-parter that follows the life of the man who in the Bible was spared because of the crucifixion of Christ. The docu-series Beverly Hills Pawn, from Asylum Entertainment, is set at a luxury shop where Hollywood’s elite go for cash. The original series Bomb Girls, meanwhile, stars Meg Tilly and takes place during World War II when women risked their lives in a munitions factory in support of the war. It’s from Muse Entertainment, the producer of the ReelzChannel miniseries The Kennedys. The network already announced the second season of Steven Seagal’s True Justice and the spy thriller XIII, which premieres June 29. Here’s the descriptions of the new shows:
Mini-Series
Barabbas
Based on the novel by Par Lagerkvist, winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature, Barabbas is a four-part mini-series that explores the story of a man whose life was spared because of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. To be shot on location in Tunisia, this sweeping epic is an ultimate story of redemption that will pick up where the Bible left off. Barabbas is produced by Compagnia Leone Cinematografica.
Docu-Series
Beverly Hills Pawn
This new half-hour docu-series from Asylum Entertainment explores Yossi Dina’s extraordinary pawn shop in the heart of world famous Beverly Hills. The master businessman and former army captain runs his luxury shop with an iron fist and is known for his savvy negotiating and his superior taste. When Hollywood’s elite fall on hard times, they know exactly where to go to find a lot of cash…fast. Yossi makes multi-million dollar pawn deals at a moments notice for masterpieces, gems, antiques, and priceless Hollywood treasures only attainable by the rich and famous. Each episode follows Yossi and his loyal team as they dole out massive pawn loans to the wealthy for their incredible collectibles.
Scripted Series
Bomb Girls
From Muse Entertainment Enterprises and Back Alley Film Productions, Bomb Girls takes place during World War II and captures a period when society was experiencing fundamental changes in the workplace and at home. At the heart of Bomb Girls are the stories of women who risk their lives in a munitions factory in support of the European front. Liberated from social and cultural restrictions, they embraced their newfound freedom, changing their lives—and the world around them—forever. Bomb Girls stars Oscar®-nominee and Golden Globe®-winner Meg Tilly (Agnes of God, The Big Chill), Jodi Balfour (The Sinking of Laconia), Sebastian Pigott (Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, Being Erica) and multiple Gemini® Award-nominee Peter Outerbridge (The Listener, Nikita).


It’s amusing that the press release says nothing about Bomb Girls being a Canadian series set in early 1940′s Canada that has already aired on TV, in Canada. ReelzChannel clearly don’t want to scare away Americans allergic to anything foreign.
Maybe it’s not a good idea to let the audience know it’s an acquired series and has already aired somewhere else.
Recently The CW acquired a series that had originally aired 3 months before it debuted in the US. They made the announcement about 2 months before it would start airing on the network. Rather than waiting until then, a lot of American viewers found the show online and watched it that way. Even though fans really like the show and it’s a hit in Canada, it debuted to very poor ratings on the Cw because anyone who was really interested in seeing it had already watched the Canadian version online.
This happens all the time with these types of shows. If something is available in another country before it reaches yours, people are going to find it online.
ReelzChannel is smart to pretend Bomb Girls is new. If that series was good, why haven’t we heard of it till now? We are all on the internets, right? Anything good gets free PR pretty quickly. For it to get no buzz at all is a pretty bad sign…
I am sure there are plenty of GOOD foreign shows you have never heard of, so your remark is rather silly. Bomb Girls would appeal to a lot of Americans, but not necessarily you. It is fair to say it is “female skewing” and even “older female skewing.” A show like that is not going to get much internet hype, is it “scifi_fan? It is not like it is something that would appeal to computer geeks. I think the Americans who liked Pan Am would be interested in Bomb Girls. Since I enjoy historical shows I watched both Pan Am and Bomb Girls this past season. Bomb Girls was better than Pan Am, frankly, even if it had a much lower budget.
Par Largerkvist! Brilliant! Someone should do ‘The Sibyl,’ too, and remake ‘The Dwarf’.
Maybe someone should remind ReelzChannel that their slogan is “TV About Movies” and everything we movie fans wanted to see from them they have avoided by adding this type of crap.
Everyone knows Reelz spent almost all the money they had for the crappy Kennedys mini which leaves them with two nickels to start a scripted and non-scripted division. BAD IDEA. Do it right (like AMC) or don’t do it all.
American media doesn’t cover Canadian shows. It is about that simple. The only reason Continuum got any coverage is because the star of the show is a hot American model-actress. When Continuum eventually finds a US broadcaster chances are they will claim it is an original series because that is what always happens even though we all know it will be a lie.
Reelz picked up The Kennedys for pennies because it would have been more embarrassing to have no US broadcaster. Shaw commissioned the mini-series yet they sacrificed their own announced March 2011 world premiere broadcast in order to secure sale of the series to Reelz. A+E Networks thought The Kennedys was good enough for their international channels (it was on History in the UK) but called it crap that wouldn’t be shown on their domestic History channel. The Kennedys was made with A+E having final say over ever line in the script and frame of video so if they said it was no good it was their own fault it was how it turned out. If Reelz spent almost all the money they had on The Kennedys then they didn’t have much money in the beginning. Reelz picked up XIII and will be showing it more than a years after its broadcast in France and Canada and they claim XIII is an original series. American media companies have this definition of “original” that is not at all what the rest of the world understands the word to mean.
As for The LA Complex failing on The CW months after it was on in Canada, of course those who wanted to see it found it early (it was on MuchMusic not Global). But it isn’t really a hit in Canada either. Same thing with CBC’s 18 To Life the year before – half a season in the US and two seasons in Canada.
Bomb Girls is a hit in Canada and will skew to older women and those who have an interest in military historical fiction. Two demographics that tend to not bring in large, young audiences. That is why Bomb Girls didn’t score much coverage in American press. But that doesn’t mean it is no good. Bomb Girls was created by the author of the Murdoch Mysteries novels and developed for television by one of the guys responsible for Queer As Folk. Bomb Girls’ production has a very nice pedigree. It is one of those shows that has good writing and an interesting story to tell and was never intended to cater to the sci-fi – Survivor – Big Brother loving 18-34 demographic.
Paul D., you clearly don’t know just how many of those shows on AMC come from Canada. The Killing ia made in Vancouver and Hell On Wheels is made near Calgary. Most of the people you see in both shows are Canadian.
Reelz is quickly becoming the home of Canadian tv shows south of the border. Methinks they don’t think The Kennedys was such a bad acquisition if they are acquiring more shows from the same production companies. Maybe they will even pick up The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour.