Cineflix Rights and Super Channel have greenlit two new factual series from Toronto’s Go Button Media, War Trains (8 x 60 min.) and Ancient Disasters (10 x 60 min.), both of which are now heading into production.
The series orders are part of Go Button’s 60-hour slate deal with the two companies, which was announced last June. Cineflix Rights, the U.K.-based distribution arm of Cineflix Media, functions as the international distributor, while Super Channel is the Canadian broadcaster.
War Trains explores the role of the train in modern warfare. The series combines archival footage, interviews with historians and engineers and CGI recreations to cover the evolution of trains and their impact in landmark battles and conflicts around the globe.
Ancient Disasters examines natural catastrophes that devastated ancient civilizations, and how each society responded. It combines CGI, dramatizations and testimonials from experts to explain the science behind disasters such as the Great Fire of Rome, and analyzes why some societies could recover from these calamities while others could not.
Go Button has also announced that two previously greenlit series under the slate deal — Mysteries of Ancient Medicine (pictured, 10 x 60 min.) and Oracles and Prophets (10 x 60 min.) — have been bought by National Geographic International.
“It feels right to mark the start of Go Button’s 10th anniversary year by going into production on two such powerful series, in collaboration with two of our most enduring partnerships,” said Daniel Oron, co-founder and executive producer of Go Button Media, in a release.
(From Jamie Casemore, Playback Daily; Fire in Rome painting by Hubert Robert)
