Factual

Red Arrow Studios International has secured the first wave of international deals for Framing Britney Spears (1 x 75’), the high-profile new feature documentary that examines what the public might not know about the pop star’s court battle for control of her estate and re-examines the media’s handling of one of the biggest pop stars of all time, which is generating huge media coverage and social media buzz around the world.

Produced by The New York Times and Left/Right, a Red Arrow Studios company, for FX and Hulu in the US, the documentary has initially been picked up by: Sky (UK & Ireland), Nine (Australia), Crave (Canada), Three (New Zealand), Talpa TV (the Netherlands), NRK (Norway), TV2 (Denmark), TV4 (Sweden & Finland), Discovery (Italy), Originals Factory (French & German-speaking Europe), OSN (Middle East), Odisea / Odisseia (Spain & Portugal), HOT8 (Israel), yes (Israel), DPG (Belgium) and CANAL+ Poland.

In addition, TV2, Nine, Crave, Odisea / Odisseia, HOT8 and yes have also secured the entire The Weekly: Special Edition documentary collection, of which ‘Framing Britney Spears’ is a part.

Directed by Samantha Stark, ‘Framing Britney Spears’ re-examines the pop icon’s prolific career and offers a new assessment of the movement rallying against her court-mandated conservatorship, capturing the unsavoury dimensions of the American pop-star machine.

In the documentary, people close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life. The meteoric rise and disturbing fall of Spears has devolved into a Kafkaesque legal dispute that has reawakened her fandom and raised pressing questions about mental health and an individuals’ rights.

‘Framing Britney Spears’ forms part of Red Arrow Studio International’s The Weekly: Special Edition collection of eight premium standalone documentaries, which are driven by the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times. Branded as ‘The New York Times Presents’ in the US, the collection is produced for FX and Hulu, and executive produced by Jason Stallman, Sam Dolnick, Stephanie Preiss from The New York Times, and Ken Druckerman, Banks Tarver and Mary Robertson from Left/Right.

Tim Gerhartz, SVP Global Sales at Red Arrow Studios International, said: “Over the last few weeks, Framing Britney Spears has captured the pop culture zeitgeist, generating a huge amount of social media coverage and think pieces about how the media and society at large viewed the pop icon. As a result of the documentary there has been a resurgence of interest around Britney Spears’ ongoing conservatorship battle and some vital retrospective reckoning about how she – and other women in entertainment – have been treated. It’s fantastic to welcome this top-class line-up of broadcasters on board and to bring this important story to screens internationally.”

Red Arrow Studios International also holds international distribution rights to sister series The Weekly (30 x 27’), which won four News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2020.