ZDFneo has signed on to the BBC’s upcoming drama Shy & Lola, giving the series a German broadcast partner as BBC Studios prepares to market the show at MIPCOM next month. The move increases the programme’s international backing ahead of the global market, where BBC Studios will be offering Shy & Lola alongside other co-productions.
The series stars Bel Powley and Hayley Squires as two very different women forced into an uneasy alliance after a murder drags them into the criminal underworld in Shy’s small coastal town in the north of England. Squires plays a cleaner scraping by who dreams of a new life in Portugal, while Powley portrays an ex-model turned grifter who arrives with trouble in tow. The pair begin as exploited novices but develop a surprising knack for crime as the story unfolds.
Shy & Lola is produced by Clerkenwell Films, the company behind Baby Reindeer, with Amanda Coe attached. The BBC and ZDF have a history of high-end drama collaboration, including work on projects such as Honey, though Shy & Lola is not being positioned as part of that formal pact. BBC Studios also has a long-term relationship with ZDF and will be offering Shy & Lola for international sales alongside Channel 4’s Break Clause, another co-production involving ZDF.
BBC drama chief Lindsay Salt previously flagged the series as part of a substantial slate, saying Amanda Coe’s "superb scripts will surprise and amuse viewers in equal measure." The casting links to other high-profile projects: Squires is known for The Night Manager, which will air Season 3 soon, and Powley will appear as Aunt Petunia in HBO’s Harry Potter.
With ZDFneo attached, Shy & Lola gains a broadcast partner that can anchor German distribution and help the series secure additional territory sales at MIPCOM. The pairing of two recognised actors and production backing from Clerkenwell positions the series as a notable entrant in the BBC’s upcoming international slate.
