#Paramount+ Plans Global Rollout for International Original Series (Exclusive)

Internationally produced Paramount+ original content is set to travel to the U.S. and beyond, going global on the company’s streaming service, Paramount Global said Monday. The move arrives as Hollywood giants are reshuffling fall and winter premiere plans amid the double strike of actors and writers that has halted production for weeks this summer.

Unveiling worldwide premiere dates for key originals from outside the U.S., Paramount+ said that British drama The Gold will become available across all of its international markets Sept. 14 and in the U.S. on Sept. 17; globally acclaimed Korean crime-thriller Bargain will debut globally Oct. 5; and the second season of the Spanish-language series Los Enviados will land on Paramount+ globally by the end of this year, following the success of the first season as the service’s best-performing Spanish-language scripted series in the U.S. to date, the company said.

Other international series going around the world on Paramount+, with premiere dates to be unveiled at a later date, include British drama Sexy Beast, as well as South Korean series Queen Woo and A Bloody Lucky Day. The three shows will premiere exclusively on the streamer in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, it said.   

“The service’s international slate of content sees strong performance among subscribers around the world and continues to expand, with 85 international originals already produced, in production or greenlit for Paramount+, driving the service to become a leading streamer globally,” Paramount Global said. 

“At Paramount+, we believe in the power of internationally originated content to drive engagement,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO, streaming at Paramount. “We know there is a huge appetite for premium high-quality programming from around the world, and we are thrilled to leverage Paramount’s global scale and expertise to build a slate of new hits and franchises with worldwide appeal.”

Earlier this year, the Hollywood conglomerate launched Paramount Television International Studios as its new international studio division, focused on creating premium international scripted content to fuel the growth of Paramount+. The international studios unit “recently surpassed the mark of 70 percent of viewership from outside the content’s origin country,” the firm said Monday. “Recent successes include the Mexican films At Midnight and Uno Para Morir (Death’s Roulette) having surpassed 85 percent of viewership from non-Mexican markets, with Uno Para Morir (Death’s Roulette) becoming a top 10 title watched across the globe.” 

Here is a closer look at the Paramount+ internationally produced originals that are set to go global on the streamer.

The Gold (U.K.)
The show will premiere Sept. 14 in Paramount+ international markets, with all episodes available immediately, and Sept. 17 in the U.S. with the first two episodes available right away, followed by weekly episode releases.

The miniseries is inspired by the real-life events that took place Nov. 26, 1983, when six armed men broke into the Brink’s-Mat security depot near London’s Heathrow Airport, and inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth 26 million pounds ($33 million based on current exchange rates). It “became a seminal event in British criminal history, remarkable not only for the scale of the theft, at the time the biggest in world history, but for its wider legacy,” according to a show description. “The disposal of the bullion caused the birth of large-scale international money laundering, provided the dirty money that helped fuel the London Docklands property boom, united blue and white collar criminals, and left controversy and murder in its wake. ” The Gold stars Hugh Bonneville, Jack Lowden, Dominic Cooper, and Charlotte Spencer.

Bargain (South Korea)
The show will premiere on Paramount+ globally, except for South Korea, on Oct. 5, with all episodes dropping right away. Bargain revolves around a group of strangers who gather at a remote motel with ulterior motives — seeking to bargain. Unlike the original film, the series follows the characters after an unexpected earthquake traps them inside the building. “With no one to trust, they must find a way to survive,” according to a plot description.  

Los Enviados (The Envoys), Season 2 (Latin America) 
“To find out whether there’s truth to the miracles that occur around the world, that is Pedro Salinas and Simón Antequera’s mission,” reads a plot description. “Together with Sister Emilia, they form an effective investigation team, unafraid to face the divine and the human to find the truth. Even if they have to put their faith, their intelligence, their values and their contradictions at stake.”

Sexy Beast (U.K.)  
This is a prequel series to the film of the same name. James McArdle (Mare of Easttown, Angels in America) leads the cast as Gal Dove, with Emun Elliott (The Rig, The Gold) starring as Don Logan — they are best friends and small-town thieves who are living the good life in 1990s East London. Sarah Greene (Dublin Murders, Normal People) plays Deedee, an adult film star, who has the potential to turn Gal’s whole life upside down. Stephen Moyer (Shots Fired, True Blood) portrays Teddy Bass, a rising name in the gangster world, with whom Gal and Don are offered the chance to work on a high-profile heist. Tamsin Greig (Episodes, Friday Night Dinner) is Don’s stern and formidable older sister Cecilia. “The prequel series will explore Gal and Don’s complicated relationship as Gal finds himself descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s, while falling in love with DeeDee,” according to a plot description.

Queen Woo (South Korea) 
“Upon the death of King Ko Nam Moo, Korea’s Goguryeo region’s ninth King, a fierce battle between all the tribes owned by the late King’s brothers begins,” reads a plot description. “In efforts to inherit the throne, a chase to marry one of the King’s brothers ensues, and the series follows the journey of Queen Woo Hee, the first woman in history to become queen twice.

A Bloody Lucky Day (South Korea)
The thriller action series follows ordinary taxi driver Taek, who gets entangled with a customer who turns out to be a serial killer.