Netflix is moving to produce lower-cost local programming internationally for the first time and has commissioned its first major project outside of the US.
The online streaming service has ordered scripted comedy A Toca for its Brazilian service and the Portuguese-language series will launch later this week.
The deal is the first in the company’s strategy to commission lower budget scripted programming for its international platforms and could ultimately lead to the commissioning of UK-specific content.
A Toca (The Burrow) is a short-run comedy produced by Felipe Neto that began as a serues of skits on the Nao Faz Sentido online channel.
It is a sketch comedy, starring local comedians including Silvio Matos, Lucas Salles, Daniel Curi and Marina Rebello, with sketches including a surreal job interview to a romantic dinner with Darth Vader.
Netflix has previously ordered one-off stand up comedies for some of its Latin American services, but this is the first time it has ordered local scripted content.
Separately, Netflix has commissioned its latest high-profile drama, Marco Polo.
The company has picked up the 9 x 60-minute series, which was originally created for US cable network Starz. The drama, which is produced by Ben Silverman’s Electus and The Weinstein Company, is based on the explorer’s early years in the court of Kublai Khan.
The series, which has been shot in China, will debut next year across all of its platforms in the US, Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, Netherlands and UK and Ireland.
This story was first published by Broadcast.
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