Beta Film has unveiled a broad international sales footprint for “Rex – Vienna Calling,” the latest incarnation of the three-decade-old “Rex – A Cop’s Best Friend” franchise, as production gets underway on a second season.
The series has been sold to SBS in Australia, Rai in Italy and TV 2 in Denmark. Elsewhere in Europe, buyers include Alpha TV in Greece, HRT in Croatia, Planet TV in Slovenia, STVR in Slovakia, Nova in Bulgaria and TVR in Romania, while Baltic deals take in Duo Media Networks in Estonia, SIA Tet in Latvia and LNK in Lithuania.
Action Channel in Japan and SHANT TV in Armenia are also on board, with further sales under negotiation.
The deals come as the evergreen IP continues to find traction in an increasingly on-demand television market. Audience analytics firm PlumResearch describes mature streaming markets as shifting “from hits to habits,” with much viewing taking place across the long tail rather than being concentrated solely around new releases.
The longevity of “Rex” offers a case in point. Over its 30-year history, the police-dog franchise has spawned multiple local adaptations. Canadian remake “Hudson & Rex,” another long-running Beta title, was recently renewed for a tenth season.
“Rex – Vienna Calling” stars Maximilian Brückner (“War Horse,” “Cherry Blossoms”) as detective Max Steiner, who teams with German Shepherd Rex to tackle cases across Vienna. Six new feature-length episodes are currently shooting at some of the Austrian capital’s most recognizable locations.
The first season opened to almost 1.6 million viewers on Germany’s SAT.1, posting a 7% overall share and 9.9% among 14-49s. In Austria, the six feature-length episodes averaged 701,000 viewers and a 27% share on ORF, while the Italian premiere on Rai 2 drew more than 750,000 viewers and a 5.6% share, rising above one million once on-demand and catch-up viewing was included.
Produced by MR Film in co-production with SAT.1 and ORF, “Rex – Vienna Calling” is distributed worldwide by Beta Film. The series is backed by FISAplus, the Austrian Television Fund and the state of Lower Austria.