WWII Series ‘The Cape Raider’ Heads Mipcom Slate for Both Worlds

South Africa’s Both Worlds is leaning into IP and genre as it brings a packed slate of ambitious scripted projects to Mipcom this week, including an adaptation of the bestseller “The Cape Raider” and partnerships with Federation Studios and actor Djimon Hounsou’s Fanaticus production banner.

The International Emmy-nominated production outfit, which recently released the Cape Town-set comedy-drama “The Morning After” on Prime Video, has wrapped Season 2 of “Recipes for Love and Murder”: Global Screen will be introducing it to buyers this week at Mipcom.

The quirky murder-mystery series starring Maria Doyle Kennedy (pictured), a co-production with M-Net, AMC, AcornTV and Global Screen, is one of several IP-based series that Both Worlds head Thierry Cassuto will be taking to the Cannes industry event.

The company announced that it’s acquired TV adaptation rights to South African author Justin Fox’s bestselling novel “The Cape Raider” and other upcoming books from his Jack Pembroke Naval Adventures series, the acclaimed WWII naval thrillers that follow Cape Town’s Royal Navy and the war fought at Africa’s southernmost tip.

The series’ hero, Jack Pembroke, who was mentally and physically wounded by defeat in Dunkirk, needs to rally in order to lead a ragtag team of South Africans. The epic series will be part of Both Worlds’ slate for the first time this year at Mipcom.

The company has also acquired the rights to the French romantic epic novel “Liv Maria” and Irma Venter’s Ami Prinsloo series of books, and is in the process of developing both into series. “Liv Maria,” by Julia Kerninon, is a sweeping personal drama of a woman finding herself across countries and decades, which Both Worlds is producing alongside Paradoxal as a six-part drama series. Irma Venter’s Ami Prinsloo books are modern, fast-paced, female-led crime thrillers which will be adapted into a repeatable series.

Founded by Cassuto in 1998, Both Worlds has found success in the adaptation space with “Recipes for Love and Murder,” which is based on the popular book series by Sally Andrew. A partnership between Both Worlds Pictures, Paradoxal, Acorn TV, M-Net and Global Screen, the show recently sold to UKTV for its U&Drama channel and has now sold to 98 countries worldwide. Global Screen and AMC manage sales for the series.

Also on the company’s slate at Mipcom this year is a foray into fantasy and science fiction, with Both Worlds announcing a partnership with actor Djimon Hounsou’s Fanaticus to present “Vodun,” a modern African take on the superhero genre, deeply rooted in West African culture, spanning between Benin, Haiti, South Africa and the American South. Also in development with Fanaticus is “Valindaba,” an action-thriller series about South Africa’s weapons-grade uranium falling into the wrong hands.

Lastly, Both Worlds and Federation MEAC — a production subsidiary of French powerhouse Federation Studios and its Empreinte Digitale devoted to the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean — are co-producing “The Silent Zone,” inspired by the SKA telescope in the Karoo desert. Set in one of the most remote, desolate parts of the world, the show explores what happens when dark matter experiments go awry, putting love and life at risk.

Both Worlds has been expanding its global footprint with the successful launch of series like “Recipes” and “The Morning After,” a blue-sky comedy-drama distributed worldwide by Federation Studios. The show is currently available on Prime Video in the U.S. and will air soon on Germany’s ARD.

The company’s local scripted slate includes 13-part one hour drama “The Newsmakers,” currently in pre-production for MultiChoice’s KykNet channel, and “Tarantula,” an 8 x 30” comedy-drama in development for Showmax.

“It’s incredibly busy and exciting times currently at Both Worlds, and we feel lucky and proud to be involved in so many diverse and ambitious projects, notably Justin Fox’s ‘The Cape Raider,’ which highlights a part of World War II that has never been explored on screen and has all the hallmarks of a breakout hit,” said the company’s founder and executive producer Cassuto.