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COL Group International has formalized a cross-continental distribution structure and expanded its global microdrama catalogue to more than 1,700 titles, the company revealed at Mip London and London Screenings 2026.

The Singapore-headquartered division, which launched last year as the world’s largest dedicated microdrama distribution slate, is now moving into a structured second phase of international growth built around regional distribution alliances spanning MENA, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

At the center of the new architecture are three distribution agreements. Narativ will oversee deployment across MENA, CIS and Africa, while Harbour Rights takes on Europe and Latin America. In Southeast Asia, Rock Networks has come aboard as the exclusive telco distribution partner for FlareFlow, COL’s flagship app, handling carrier integrations and subscription rollouts across telecom ecosystems in the region.

The company’s content pipeline has grown well beyond its original foundation of 1,000 English and Chinese microdrama series – anchored by Sereal+ and FlareFlow, alongside studio 17K, whose titles have performed strongly on ByteDance-owned HongGuo. The slate now tops 1,700 series, with more than 700 new titles drawn from South Korea, Japan, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the U.K.

Central to this expansion phase is an exclusive global distribution deal with Dubai-based BlingWood, giving COL broader access to premium Middle Eastern and Indian microdrama content. The pipeline also takes in Indian series from Pratilipi, Korean titles from BeLive Studios and British reality-led formats from Tattle TV – billed as the U.K.’s first dedicated microdrama app – including the title “Dog Dates.” COL said additional regional partnerships and genre rollouts are still in development.

The company said its distribution partners will also gain access to curated premium English and Chinese catalogues from U.S. and international microdrama platforms beyond FlareFlow, positioning COL as what it describes as a neutral global gateway for premium vertical content.

“Microdrama is entering its next competitive chapter, where quality, retention and monetization standards are increasingly shaped by data and operational discipline,” said Timothy Oh, general manager of COL Group International. “Our role is not simply to offer catalogue volume, but to help partners select, position and scale the right content for their platform and audience.”

COL Group is a publicly listed Chinese media and entertainment company with interests in content development, production and IP management. In addition to FlareFlow, it is behind ReelShort, one of the pioneering platforms in the U.S. microdrama market.

As the U.K. TV industry scrambles for cash beyond U.S. players, the 2026 London TV Screenings weigh in as a tribute to its resilient status as international’s biggest talent hub.

This year’s line-up takes in upcoming shows by Jack Thorne, George Kay, Chris Brancato and Bill Dubuque, co-creators of “Adolescence,” “Lupin,” “Narcos” and “Ozark.” 

Talent attracts talent. Stars in Screenings shows – drawn from their four founders Banijay, Fremantle, ITV Studio and All3Media Intl., plus the BBC, big U.S. players and U.K. and overseas independents – take in Bella Ramsay and Daisy Haggard, Shemar Moore, Catherine Zeta Jones, Brenda Blethyn and Sheridan Smith and Australia’s top-notch Anna Torv and Robyn Malcolm.   

To help you cut through the slates, here’s Variety’s pick of 20+ shows that will whet buyers’ appetites:

“Anna Pigeon” (Cineflix Rights)

A banner title in USA Networks’ drive into character-driven blue-sky procedurals – and there’s a huge expanse of blue sky in the Alberta locations where “Anna Pigeon” shot, if a trailer dropped last October is anything to go by. “Out here, you can leave your past behind,” says Anna, She needs to. After tragic loss, she starts over as an itinerant crime-solving park warden, her halting recovery endowing a multi-episode backbone. Cineflix Right’s big LTVS scripted play  and Versant-owned USA Network’s first co-commission with Canada’s Bell Media. Tracy Spiridakos, “Chicago P.D.” lead over 2017-24, plays Anna. Morwyn Brebner (“Coroner,” “Rookie Blue”) showruns.      

“California Avenue” (Mediawan Rights)

Starring Bill Nighy (“Living,” “About Time”), Helena Bonham Carter (“(The Crown,” “Nolly”) and Erin Doherty (“The Crown,” “Adolescence”) and Tom Burke (“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,”), a series reuniting Hugo Blick, Drama Republic, Eight Rooks and the BBC following “The English,” “The Honourable Woman” and “Black Earth Rising.” Seeking a fresh start, Lela and her daughter join a canal-side caravan community, as Lela reconnects with estranged parents and falls for Cooper. But the life she escaped begins to hunt her down. 1970s-set, “a riveting family saga featuring A-list talent,” says Mediawan. A humor-fuelled “world of precious relationships and unexpected revelations,” adds producer Greg Brenman at Drama Republic. 

“The Cage” (Fremantle)

A powerful package: Written and created by Tony Schumacher (“The Responder”), fronted by Sheridan Smith (“Mrs Biggs,” “Cilla,” “She Fought the Law”) and Michael Socha, star of Sean Meadows’ “This Is England” saga and “The Gallows Pole.” And produced by high-flying Element Pictures, behind “Poor Things,” “Room” and “Normal People.” Smith and Socha play Leannie and Matty, a single mum and compulsive gambler who skim cash from the safe of their Liverpool Casino, soon with the mob and police on their tail. Expect a taut crime drama, “high-stakes and high-energy,” says Fremantle, which stands out from the pack by its illuminating performances, a story of “two unforgettable characters” and its heart, through crime thriller/ family drama blending.    

“Careless,” (All3Media International)

Billed by All3Media Intl. as “bold, provocative and relentlessly compelling,” a psychological thriller with Scottish backpacker determining to become carer to a notorious rock’n’roll legend Mike. He gets the gig, ingratiates himself but his real intentions may put Mike and wife Angela in grave danger. Fronted by Solly McLeod (“House of the Dragon”), Robyn Malcolm “After the Party”), Katie Leung (“Bridgerton”) and Richard Roxburgh (“Rake”) a mystery thriller which promises engrossing top-notch performances. Made for Australia’s Stan and the U.K’s Channel 4 and created by Helen Fitzgerald (“The Cry”) and Louise Fox (“Broadchurch”) for Easy Tiger Productions (“Colin From Accounts”) and “The Tattoo of Auschwitz” maker Synchronicity Films.

“The Center,” (Movistar Plus+ International)

From tandem creator David Moreno and director David Ulloa, who broke out with Canneseries gangster saga “The Immortal,” set at Spain’s Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, “The Center2 weighs in as a fast-paced country-hopping espionage thriller. It surprises, however, with three Movistar Plus+ hallmarks: Auteurist originality, character focus, and high production values. Ep. 2 kicks in, for instance, with fears of a sleeper at the CNI. Its identity is known before the episode plays out. The personal constantly interrupts the professional. And no scene is too humdrum not to be stylishly shot, as the series shuttles from one new location to another to another.

“Deadpoint” (BBC Studios)

A powerful package fronted by Callum Scott Howells (“It’s a Sin”) and Christine Tremarco (“Adolescence”) from “Baby Reindeer” and “Misfits” producer Clerkenwell. Despite a pathological fear of climbing after a tragic accident, Aaron sets off to rescue sister Seren in stunning Snowdonia, colliding with a far-right faction plotting a violent outrage in the local mountains. “A fresh, timely take on the action thriller in the beautiful, brutal Welsh mountain setting, a side of Britain never seen before, and full of nerve-shredding, propulsive cliffhangers (sometimes literally),” says BBC Studios. Marco Kreuzpaintner (“Those About to Die”) lead directs.   

“Dustfall” (Federation Entertainment)

Selected for 2026 Series Mania main competition and starring “The Newsreader’s” Anna Torv, a Primetime Emmy nominee for “The Last of Us.”  Here, she plays detective Tig Pollard investigating how 18-year-old Edie is found naked in a cane field with no memory of how she got there. Pollard’s “deep sense of justice is challenged by a world where victims are doubted, predators hide in plain sight, and the legal system too often falls short,” says Federation. A prime premium series, chicly shot with cinematographic ambition, produced by Soapbox Pictures and Moonriver TV Production for Australian broadcast network ABC in association with the BBC. Emma Freeman (“The Newsreader”) directs.

“The Five-Star Weekend” (NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution)

The upcoming Peacock drama series is fronted by “Alias” star Jennifer Garner as an impeccable lifestyle influencer who after devastating loss stages a weekend getaway in Nantucket with best friends. “However, the curated coastal escape quickly turns into a tumultuous reckoning,” says the synopsis. Readying for an exclusive first-look unveil in London, also starring Chloë Sevigny and Regina Hall, produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, and based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Elin Hilderbrand. The series is created by Bekah Brunstetter, a writer on “This Is Us” and “American Gods.”    

“Hit Point” (Studiocanal)  

One of Studiocanal’s four action titles at LTVS, along with the Ronan Bennett Jean-Pierre Melville makeover “Army of Shadows,” “Apollo Has Fallen” and “Spinners” Season 2. Detectives Leo (Nick Blood, “Day of the Jackal”) and Bella (Saffron Hocking, “Top Boy”) trace their latest case into London’s underworld. Just wrapped production and not your average cop-show, Studiocanal argues, but a much grittier action thriller with intertwined edge of your seat action and sizzling romance. From Howard Overman, writer of “War of the Worlds” and the “Paris Has Fallen” franchise, and Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy and Overman for Urban Myth Films, producing for UKTV.

“The Hunt:Prey vs. Predator” (Seven.One Studios International)

Set for a first episode unveil in London, a reality adventure competition unfolding “deep in a vast unforgiving forest” where 10 contestants are dropped into a real world game of hide-and seek. Developed by Redseven Entertainment and now produced simultaneously for the U.K. Channel 4 and Germany’s Prosieben and its VOD service Joyn. “With in-house developments such as ‘Married at First Sight,’ we have already created global reality hits. ‘The Hunt’ is a promising new format The adaptation for the British and German markets by our production subsidiaries and distribution by Seven.One Studios International demonstrate the creative exchange and strength of Seven.One Studios,” says Henrik Pabst, CEO of Seven.One Studios.

“The Legend of Kitchen Soldier,” (CJ ENM)

Park Ji-hoon (“Flower of Evil”) stars as Kang Sung-jae, a young man from the bottom rung of Korea’s social ladder who enlists to escape a harsh reality, only to stumble upon a mysterious virtual “Quest” system that sets him on an unlikely path to becoming a legendary army cook. From the cookhouse to the dormitories and training grounds, each mission he clears peels back the base’s hidden secrets — including those surrounding his father’s death. Yoon Kyung-ho co-stars in this high-concept military comedy-fantasy, directed by Jo Nam-hyeong and written by Choi Ryong, produced by Studio Dragon and Studio N as a TVING Original series.

“Pierre” (Sphere Abacus)

Fronted by David Harewood – known for “Homeland,” “Sherwood” and “Supergirl” – in his first lead role in a 40-year career. Here, he plays Pierre, a West London duty solicitor shaken up by the suspicious death of a young black client, and now prepared, as Harewood told Variety “to walk through fire to do the right thing.” “For the first time, I’ve been able to show my full range: the funny, the serious, the clever and the witty. The husband, the dedicated father, the public servant,” he added. “Pierre” is produced by The Lighthouse for Channel 4, with Sarmad Masud (“Boarders”) lead directing. 

“Maxima,” Season 2

Some fairytales end with a royal wedding. Season 2 of “Maxima” starts with one, Variety has observed. Maxima, a bundle of nerves when just about to marry Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, asks if she’s ready to serve 17 million people. Racing towards the couple’s coronation, the series takes in the birth of daughters and the Apeldoorn royal family attack but the most constant drama of “Maxima” Season 2, is how Maxima can carry out her responsibilities as a wife, mother and future Queen while retaining her own voice. One of Europe’s major post-peak TV sales hits, now sold by Beta Films to over 85 territories, and generating a first spinoff.

“M.I.A.” (Paramount Global Content Distribution)

From “Ozark” co-creator Bill Dubuque and MRC, behind Peacock hit “Poker Face,” M.I.A.,” a Peacock crime drama-thriller, delivers the origin story of Etta Tiger Jonze who, after her family’s murder, sets out to take down one of Miami’s most powerful cartels. “Etta’s pursuit for revenge will push her to the edge, defining who she is and what she’s ultimately capable of,” the synopsis runs. Shannon Gisela stars along with a starry supporting cast taking in Cary Elwes, Edward James Olmos, Alberto Guerra, Billy Burke and Sonia Braga. “M.I.A” will screen for the first time at the LTVS.

“Number One Fan,” (Keshet Intl.)

Keshet Intl.’s first English-language pickup this side of COVID, a seemingly light drama for very early stretches about morning show host Lucy, the nation’s BFF whose meets simpering Donna, who declares herself Lucy’s Number One Fan. But her fandom turns to a darker obsession as Donna abducts Lucy’s daughter and reveals she knows Lucy’s terrible hidden secret which could derail her career and life. Billed by Keshet Intl. as a high-stakes psychological duel starring Jill Halfpenny (“The Long Shadow”)  and Sally Lindsay (“The Madame Blanc Mysteries”), produced by Clapperboard for 5, directed by Paul Wilmshurst, who helmed episodes of “The Day of the Jackal” and “The Last Kingdom” and lead written by Rachel Kilfeather (“Vikings: Valhalla”).  

“The Others,” Season 3 (Globo)

Fresh off scoring the Studio Babelsberg Production Excellence Award at Berlinale Series Market with “Emergency 53,” Globoplay is now readying Season 3 of one of its rapidly consolidating greatest scripted franchises to date: “The Others,” from “Under Pressure” writer Lucas Paraizo. Here, after robbing Sérgio’s casino, Cibele (Adriana Esteves) and Marcinho (Antonio Haddad) skedaddle to a quiet mountain community with Tavares (Cadu Fávero) in hot pursuit. “What at first seems like an idyllic place is also permeated by intolerance,” Paraizo has told Variety. Major Brazilian star Lázaro Ramos plays a new neighbor in a Season 3 which also talks about “humans and nature,” Paraizo added.

“Sorority” (TV France Distribution)

Starring Lula Cotton-Frapier, seen in Dominik Moll’s “The Night of the 12th” which swept France’s 2023 César Awards, “Sorority” is set in 1889 Paris, delivering the tale of two women, a nanny and mid-wife, who join forces with a third, grieving the loss of her child. Together they seek to “carve out a place for themselves in a male-dominated world and claim their freedom,” the synopsis runs. Written by Alexandra Echkenazi (“Simon Coleman”) and directed by Savina Dellicour who helmed two episodes of breakout Netflix 2023 hit “Who Is Erin Carter?” Liberty TV produced for France Télévisions this period drama, a genre in which the French public broadcaster excels.     

“S.W.A.T. Exiles” (Sony Pictures Television)

Still starring Shemar Moore as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson and one of the big LTVS conversation drivers, a spinoff which has “big epic action,”· but “pushes it into more personal territory,’ showrunner-EP Jason Ning has told Variety. SPTs biggest bet at the Screenings, with Harrelson pulled out of forced retirement to lead a last-chance, experimental S.W.A.T. unit made up of untested, unpredictable young recruits. An action thriller that’s about the Gen X/Gen Z cultural divide, as SPT’s Katherine Pope has observed, as well as Hondo’s battle to preserve his legacy and sense of self. Part of a foreseeable star-studded SPT showcase on Thursday.  

“Two Weeks in August,” (ITV Studios)

“Call the Midwife” star Raine plays Zoe, on a two-week vacation at an idyllic Greek villa where an impulsive kiss sends the holiday spiralling towards nightmare. “Zoe’s a devoted wife, a mother and a carer but the story is really about what happens when she acts on her deepest desires,” ITV Studios’ Tom Clarke tells Variety. A very contempo relationship drama acquiring a survival thriller edge in later stretches, from “I May Destroy You,” producer Various Artists Limited (VAL) for the BBC in association with ITV Studios and creator-writer Catherine Shepherd who co-wrote Apple TV+ hit “The Shrink Next Door.” 103

“The Westies” (Fifth Season/MGM+)

Produced by MGM+ Studios and created by “Narcos” co-creator Chris Brancato and writing partner Michael Panes and fronted by a powerful key cast led by J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), Titus Welliver (“Bosch”), Jessica Frances Dukes (“Ozark”), the ‘80s Hell’s Kitchen-set chronicle of its violent home-turf gang battling with the mafia to share the spoils of the construction of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center. Helmed by “The Sopranos” and “Game of Thrones” director Alan Taylor. “It’s sharp, character-driven storytelling set against the gritty pulse of 1980s New York, with all the ambition and edge you want from a world like this,” says Fifth Season’s Jennifer Ebell.  

“A Woman of Substance” (Banijay Rights)

Along with the Jack Thorne-created “Falling,” one of two big, big titles from the Banijay-owned The Forge Entertainment at LTVS, handled by Banijay Rights and just annouced as a Britbox pickup for the U.S.. 1911, a young Emma Harte works at a stately home in Yorkshire. New York, the 1970s, Harte is now the world’s richest woman, surveying her empire from a luxurious penthouse. Reimagining Channel 4’s record-breaking smash hit, now led by “Vera” star Brenda Blethyn, adapting the first half of Barbara Taylor Bradford best-selling first novel in the series but expanding the canvas of the original TV series. A foreseeably ravishing down-the-decades tale of revenge, ambition and one woman’s empowerment and – ultimately – love and reconciliation.  

Naman Ramachandran contributed to this article