“The Handmaid’s Tale,” the TV series that has just received 13 nominations at the 2017 Emmy Awards, is coming to TIMVISION as an exclusive première in Italy. From September, in fact, TIMVISION customers will be able to watch the original American production, which has achieved incredible success among the public and critics throughout the world, thanks to the agreement signed with MGM for distribution on TIM’s on-demand TV platform.
The TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” produced by MGM Television and inspired by the novel by the same name, by Margaret Atwood, translated into Italian as “Il racconto dell’ancella,” made its debut in the USA in April 2017 on Hulu where it had unprecedented success.
The 13 nominations just received for the 69th edition of the Primetime Emmy Awards include the categories “Outstanding drama series,” “Outstanding leading actress in a drama series” for Elisabeth Moss, “Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series” for both Ann Dowd and Samira Wiley, and “Outstanding guest actress in a drama series” for Alexis Bledel.
This is an important agreement in addition to those already signed by TIM with other players in the sector and represents a further piece of the TIMVISION strategy aimed at the ongoing enrichment and expansion of the catalogue to offer subscribers ever higher quality content.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” is a new original production with 10 episodes centered around the figure of the handmaid Offred (property of Fred, her Commander) and tells the story of a dystopic future not so far away. The United States of America has fallen and been replaced by the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian, militarized and misogynist State led by religious extremists in which women are considered as objects owned by the State and stripped of all rights. The handmaids, the only fertile women still left on the planet live in the residence of the Commander, into a sort of slavery and required to repopulate a world now destroyed by war, terrorism and natural events.
The stellar cast of the TV series - defined by the American press as “the season's best new show and certainly its most important” and as “a show that could work anytime and one that will likely be watched and discussed for years to come” - includes Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men and winner of a Golden Globe for Top of the Lake), Samira Wiley (Poussey in Orange is the New Black), Alexis Bledel (Rory in Gilmore Girls, Sin City), Ann Dowd (The Leftovers, Masters of Sex, Marley & Me) and Yvonne Strahovski (Dexter, Chuck). The showrunner is Bruce Miller (The 100), who is also the executive producer along with Warren Littlefield (Fargo), Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Ilene Chaiken. “The Handmaid’s Tale” is produced by MGM Television with international distribution by MGM.
Thanks to ever closer collaboration with the main international producers and distributors, in the autumn, in addition to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” TIMVISION will have exclusives of many new premières: “The Good Fight,” the eagerly-awaited spin-off of the series “The Good Wife,” written and created for on-demand enjoyment.
Another novelty for the autumn is “Snatch” – produced by Sony Pictures Television and launched in the USA on the Crackle platform – the TV series based on the famous film of the same name from 2000 directed by Guy Ritchie; the cast stars Rupert Grint, known to a global audience for playing Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter saga, Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl) and Luke Pasqualino (Skins). The premières also include “Mary Kills People”, by Entertainment One (eOne) and Cameron Pictures, a controversial and provocative drama with Richard Short (Vinyl, American Horror Story, White Collar), Jay Ryan (Beauty and the Beast, Top of the Lake) and Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal, Off the Map) as doctor Mary Harris, a single mother stressed out by her day job, who by night transforms into an “angel of death.” The series has just been renewed for a second season.
In addition, the fifth season of “Vikings,” the historical drama created by Michael Hirst which has now become a cult, and the second season of “Graves,” by Lionsgate Television, the dramedy TV series with Nick Nolte (three Oscar nominations and winner of a Golden Globe), the outright protagonist playing a disastrous former President of the USA who is anything but politically correct, will be shown as exclusives on TIMVISION alone.
The TIMVISION catalogue thus becomes ever richer and more competitive with the best of cinema, TV series and titles offered as exclusives.
Rome, 14 July 2017
