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Brazilian media behemoth Globo and Endemol Shine Brasil, part of Banijay Latin America, have forged a non-scripted IP strategic partnership to develop and produce a next generation of franchises from Brazil, with the aim of jointly crafting original IP with global appeal, as well as of course local relevance.

The ambitious pact will further the partners’ previous collaborative efforts, which has produced the likes of such mega hits as “Big Brother Brasil,” “No Limite” (“Survivor”),” “The Masked Singer,” “Dança dos Famosos” (“Dance of the Famous”) and “The Wall,” among others. Both companies will have a hefty presence at Mipcom.

Globo’s proven ability to create and produce Brazilian content that reaches and engages more than 70 million people daily, combined with Endemol Shine Brasil’s knowhow and access to the global reach of parent company Banijay Entertainment, makes this a formidable pairing.

Said Nani Freitas, CEO of Endemol Shine Brasil: “Our partnership with Globo goes back many years, all the way to Endemol’s arrival in Brazil. The combination of our expertise creates a highly powerful environment for developing culture-defining entertainment. That is why it is especially meaningful to take another step forward in this relationship and join forces in the creation of new entertainment formats from the very beginning of the development process, with the potential to connect audiences far beyond our market.”

Amauri Soares, Executive Director of Globo Studios, concurred: “Globo has been expanding investments in creative development hubs, connecting our talent with strategic partners to accelerate the creation of original formats. By bringing together Globo’s creativity with the international expertise of Endemol Shine Brasil and Banijay Entertainment, we are taking another step toward transforming our studios into a hub for developing Brazilian intellectual properties with global reach.”

Under the agreement, Globo will have priority rights to exploit the new formats across its channels and platforms, while Endemol Shine Brasil will spearhead international expansion through Banijay Entertainment’s worldwide network of more than 170 labels across 25 territories, opening a direct route to international markets.

“Everyone knows launching new original programming in our markets is no easy task, which makes this partnership all the more significant. I’m very excited and proud Endemol Shine Brasil has possibility to do exactly that with a major player like Globo. I can’t thank Amauri enough for this great opportunity to collaborate,” said Laurens Drillich, CEO, Banijay Latin America.

Endemol Shine Brasil has been aggressively expanding its production footprint across traditional, digital and vertical microdramas.

In April, it teamed up with ReelShort on the Brazilian version of the microdrama platform’s biggest hit, “Married at First Sight.” It also formed a partnership with A Fábrica, a Banijay Americas company, to create a slate of vertical-format microdramas.

Its new docu-reality series “Underground City” (“Cidade Subterrânea”), an original format it created, which delves into São Paulo’s subway system, premiered on GNT and Globo’s streaming platform, Globoplay, and also aired on TV Globo’s Fantástico.

Mipcom runs over Oct. 10-15.

“SNL U.K.” once again skewered the royal family in this week’s cold open, showing a contentious reunion between Prince William and Kate and Prince Harry and Meghan at Sandringham Estate.

“This place brings back so many memories,” Ayoade Bamgboye as Meghan said to Prince Harry (Jack Shep). “Look, this is where your grandpa asked if I was related to Beyoncé.”

“Classic. And this is where he asked if I was related to him! But still, I can only wonder who sent us this mysterious invite,” Shep as Prince Harry said, holding up a red envelope.

“It’s your family, H,” Bamgboye’s Meghan said. “They must want us to be royals again! I’ll bet we won them over with my famous brownie recipe: it’s brownie and oven.”

Then, Prince William (Freddie Meredith) and Kate (Annabel Marlow) appeared, also with a red envelope in hand. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Prince Ginger Pubes,” Meredith as Prince William said.

“Oh look, William! It’s the woman from ‘Suits,’” Marlow’s Kate added, gesturing to Meghan.

“Jokes on you, she’s not on ‘Suits’ anymore. She doesn’t do anything anymore!” Shep as Prince Harry replied.

King Charles (Larry Dean) and Queen Camilla (Emma Sidi) then entered the room, with Charles saying: “Oh boys, I’m so happy to see you back together. I can’t wait to tell mummy once I’ve died!”

However, it’s soon revealed that they didn’t send the invitation either. Preceded by an evil laugh, former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (George Fouracres) — whose title was stripped due to his links with Jeffrey Epstein — appears and discloses that it was him that brought the family together.

“Didn’t you hear the good news? The search warrants were unlawful! That means it doesn’t count. I’m innocent!” Fouracres as Andrew exclaimed.

“Listen, Andrew —” Dean as Charles began.

“That’s Prince Andrew to you!” Fouracres’ Andrew fired back.

“No, it isn’t. Andrew, enough is enough,” Dean’s Charles replied. “You’re arrogant, you’re entitled, you represent an outdated institution founded on centuries of war, tax evasion and slavery. And that’s all great! But you’ve also been accused of terrible things, and that’s where I draw the line.”

However, they all decide to put their differences aside for one drink, with Dean’s Charles saying: “Very well, Andrew. We can have one drink together. And that’s it. Except for the million pounds I’ll give you for the rest of your life.”

Saturday’s episode of “SNL U.K.” was hosted by Danny Dyer with musical guest Sasha Keable.

The sophomore feature from Hirokazu Kore-eda protégé Nanako Hirose, “Between Two Lovers” tackles a variety of potential hot-button issues, from polyamorous relationships to same-sex parenting, in its contemporary Japanese setting. The film stars Masami Nagasawa as a free-spirited children’s author who invites her doting husband and secret girlfriend to enter into a three-way relationship of convenience, when both partners simultaneously express their desire to start a family. But what begins as a bold and daring attempt to broach progressive issues in a notoriously conservative society ultimately loses its nerve, acquiescing to a number of eyebrow-raising narrative compromises.

Internationally recognizable talent both above and below the line should ensure that “Between Two Lovers” travels far beyond its debut in Competition at the Busan Film Festival, but more progressive audiences may be left frustrated by where Hirose leaves them.

Uta (Nagasawa) has built a comfortable life for herself and her husband Morio (Tasuku Emoto), thanks to the popularity of her “Little Miss Mushroom” series of picture books. While her work regularly brings her into close proximity with children, Uta has little interest in starting a family of her own. Conversely, Morio is desperate to have kids, but any effort to discuss the topic with his wife is quickly dismissed.

Little does he know, Uta has also been involved in a passionate six-year affair with her female editor, Junna (Shizuka Ishibashi), and happily flits back and forth between her two homes, beds, and lovers. Junna is eager to become a mother, although several legal barriers prevent her from accessing sperm donations or fertility treatment. She also wants Uta to accept her sexuality and get a divorce, so that they can live together openly.

Everything comes to a head when Morio invites Junna over for dinner, under the misapprehension that he is extending an olive branch to the colleague who demands so much of his wife’s time. The compounding frustrations of this situation, fueled by too much alcohol, finally expose Uta’s double life. However, desperate to enjoy all the benefits of her unconventional and self-serving situation, without shouldering any of the blame, Uta proposes that Morio be the donor for Junna’s child, and that all three of them move in together.

Hirose, who also writes and edits, has constructed a brilliantly volatile scenario, vulnerable to any number of potentially explosive and destructive dramatic developments. Disappointingly, her screenplay proceeds to unfold in a procession of frustrating get-outs and compromises, repeatedly choosing the least interesting or challenging direction to take this would-be throuple. The archaic legal restrictions restricting same-sex couples or unmarried women, for example, are acknowledged and adhered to, rather than being openly challenged or criticized.

The film certainly expresses an interest in the shifting dynamics of this unconventional unit, especially once Junna does fall pregnant and moves into the family home. Morio, already a tender and delicate soul, becomes increasingly protective of the woman carrying his child. At the same time, Junna finds herself sliding into a more conventional role, at once maternal but also spousal. The ever-precocious Uta, meanwhile, feels more and more ostracized within the group, as the supposedly idyllic threesome she conceived to feed her own compulsive nature relegates her to a sulking adolescent. For good or ill, the film also refrains from forcing Uta to ever clarify her sexuality or choose one partner over the other.

With the influence of Kore-eda on full display, Hirose raises several legitimate questions about what constitutes a real family, as well as the perceived role of women in society and the guardrails that continue to exist so as to limit and enforce these outdated expectations. While it could be argued that the very fact “Between Two Lovers” addresses these issues at all, and does so this explicitly, is already a bold stride in the right direction, much of that intention is undone in how they are resolved and acquiesced to on screen.

Performances across the board are strong, even if the characterizations themselves are more difficult to embrace. Uta is frustratingly selfish and naive, but Nagasawa willfully throws herself into the role, in a manner that makes her unlikable to a degree we have rarely seen her. Ishibashi makes for a resilient and empathetic Junna, even as her character inevitably bears the brunt of much of the film’s divisive moralizing, while Emoto’s Morio is a quivering wreck of fragility and good intentions.

Technical contributions are polished, with particular kudos to Ryo Sugimoto’s production design, which creates a pair of equally warm, yet subtly contrasting, living spaces in the married couple’s suburban home and the women’s more illicit love nest, deftly reflecting Uta’s dual existence. HIMI’s score is also employed sparingly yet effectively, but these aesthetic elements fade quickly from memory, overshadowed by the film’s more contentious narrative choices.