Netflix has secured the rights to Porchlight Films’ Operation Buffalo for across the Asia Pacific region, excluding China, with the spy thriller to stream from February 28.
Co-producer and distributor About Premium Content (APC) has also sold the series to Belgium’s RTBF.
The deals come after previous sales to Acorn TV in the UK and Eire, UPC in Switzerland; RTP in Portugal, NRK TV in Norway and Viasat World for Central and Eastern European territories.
Created by Peter Duncan and Tanya Phegan and originally commissioned by the ABC, Operation Buffalo turns the frightening truths behind British atomic testing in the 1950’s into a blend of espionage thriller and political satire set in the outback of South Australia.
The show follows Major Leo Carmichael (Ewen Leslie), an Australian Army Engineer and WWII hero tasked with keeping the top-secret nuclear base running smoothly. But testing the most dangerous weapon in the world is no walk in the park with a Commanding Officer (James Cromwell) who is unfit for the job; a new meteorologist (Jessica de Gouw) who is starting to ask too many questions; a rapist loose on the camp; a slew of leaks in the press and the Government watching their every move! And as it turns out, the land of Maralinga may not be as uninhabited as it seems.
The six-part series is written and directed by Duncan and produced by Porchlight Films’ Vincent Sheehan and Phegan, who co-created the series with Duncan. It was nominated for 11 AACTA Awars.
APC participated in the financing of the project and holds worldwide distribution rights. The series was made with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with the ABC and Create NSW, and with support from the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).
APC joint CEOs and co-founders Laurent Boissel and Emmanuelle Guilbart said: “Operation Buffalo is an original and entertaining take on a spy thriller, and it has been fantastic to see the series recognised with richly deserved accolades such as Best Comedy at the Berlin TV Series Festival last year. We look forward to new audiences discovering the series on Netflix and RTBF and extending into further territories in the coming months.”