The CW Buys Sky’s Patrick Dempsey Drama ‘Devils’ As Net Tinkers With Summer & Fall Schedule

Peter White
·3 min read

Click here to read the full article.

The CW has picked up Sky Italia original Devils, starring Patrick Dempsey, as it continues its acquisition of international shows for its fall schedule.

The move means a slight schedule change to accommodate the hour-long drama with Two Sentence Horror Stories and Dead Pixels moving from their previously announced slots.

More from Deadline

The broadcaster acquired the financial thriller from NBCUniversal Global Distribution and will air it on Wednesdays at 8 PM on its fall schedule ahead of Canadian import Coroner. It replaces Two Sentence Horror Stories and Dead Pixels in this slot for the fourth quarter with the British comedy now airing over the summer and the horror anthology series moving to Sunday nights.

Devils was a hot commodity given that it is an English-language drama starring a recognizable U.S. star that was in the can before the pandemic forced a production shutdown. Deadline highlighted the show in a recent piece about buzzy international titles that would suit U.S. networks looking for completed shows.

The move also reunites Dempsey, known to a legion of Grey’s Anatomy fans as McDreamy, with The CW boss Mark Pedowitz, who oversaw the ABC drama for its first five seasons at Touchstone Television.

Dempsey told Deadline last year that he enjoyed working on an international story with a different perspective on the financial world than the U.S. is used to.

“Everyone’s making their own projects from France to Italy, they’re no longer just waiting for the American market so I think it’s really important that we start collaborating internationally and use [our] visibility to cross pollinate. It’s an incredible time because there are so many stories to be told, depending on which country you’re from with young filmmakers and writers,” he added.

Dempsey stars alongside Alessandro Borghi (Suburra) and Kasia Smutniak (Loro). Based on the best-selling novel by Italian trader Guido Maria Brera, the ten-part series is set in the London office of a major U.S. bank, where the ruthless Head of Trading, Massimo Ruggero (Borghi) from Italy, has been welcomed and introduced to the world of finance by Dominic Morgan (Dempsey), the bank’s CEO. When Ruggero ends up involved in an intercontinental financial war rocking Europe, he has to choose whether to ally himself with his mentor or fight him. The book was partly inspired by the financial crisis that swept global markets in 2008.

It also features Laia Costa (Victoria), Lars Mikkelsen (The Killing), Malachi Kirby (Roots), Paul Chowdhry (Swinging with the Finkels), Pia Mechler (Everything Is Wonderful), Harry Michell (Chubby Funny) and Sallie Harmsen (Blade Runner 2049).

The series, which is produced by Lux Vide and Orange Studio and funded by Sky Studios, launched at Mipcom last October and has been sold to 160 territories.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.