BBC Two acquires Fremantle’s Enslaved
August 21, 2020
BBC Two has acquired Enslaved: The Lost History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and created a new four-part docuseries featuring Hollywood icon and human rights activist Samuel L. Jackson following a deal with global producer and distributor Fremantle.
Enslaved sheds new light on 400 years of human trafficking, as millions of enslaved Africans were shipped to the Americas by Western European slave traders.
Over 12 million people were kidnapped and sold into slavery. At least two million perished en-route at sea. Using new diving technology – such as advanced 3D mapping and ground-penetrating radar – to locate and examine sunken slave ships on three continents, the series reveals an entirely new perspective on the history of the transatlantic slave trade.
Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two, said: “I had the privilege to meet with Samuel L Jackson, Afua Hirsch and Simcha Jacobovici at the start of their production last year and I was determined to bring their essential, hugely ambitious and important series to the BBC. These are stories that demand to be told and which sit at the very centre of our shared history.”
Jamie Lynn, EVP, Head of EMEA Distribution who brokered the deal at Fremantle, added: “With Black History Month just weeks away, it’s a real privilege to be able to announce such a pertinent partnership with the BBC and create a platform for audiences young and old across the UK to engage with this landmark series. British viewers will also be fascinated to see Bristol’s role in this history, as writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch visits the now infamous – and since toppled – statue of Edward Colston. With impressive and ground-breaking production values, this is an unmissable look at a near lost history.”