TRAIN: KOREAN DRAMA SET FOR UK ADAPTATION

Firebird Pictures, a BBC Studios Production Label, has signed a contract with global IP powerhouse CJ ENM and acquired the rights to remake popular Korean drama format Train in the United Kingdom.

Established in 2019 by Elizabeth Kilgarriff and Craig Holleworth, Firebird Pictures works with and champions top level and emerging talent to create high-end, character-led series for UK and international audiences.

CJ ENM’s popular Korean drama Train follows the story of a detective who investigates a case that leads him to a world divided into two parallel universes. Moving back and forth between the two worlds, he finds out that his love may be gone in one world, but she’s very much alive in the other. While tracking down the truth behind his love’s death, he simultaneously tries to protect her in the other, uncovering the connection between the two universes.

Elizabeth Kilgarriff, CEO, Firebird Pictures, said: “When we first saw Train we knew immediately that it had the magic combination of all brilliant television series: clever and propulsive story-telling of epic proportions, but with an utterly relatable and compelling emotional heart running through every scene...

"With two unforgettable central characters, Train is a love story, a detective show, a journey across the multiverse; a story that defies expectations at every turn and one that we can’t wait to re-tell in a British setting”.

Diane Min, Head of Format Sales, CJ ENM, commented: “With the partnership with Firebird Pictures, we are excited to see a new version of the beloved drama Train.”

Firebird Pictures’ credits include major, new, six-part series Wilderness for Amazon Prime Video, starring Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Coleman, based on BE Jones’ novel and written by Marnie Dickens, which is due to air this year. It is also in production with its adaption of Nikki May’s best-selling debut novel Wahala, written by Theresa Ikoko for BBC One.

Firebird Pictures is a Production Label within BBC Studios Productions, a global content studio producing and distributing high quality content to audiences around the world. Across its Production Units, Labels and Invested Indies, BBC Studios is the UK’s most awarded producer and the UK’s most commissioned creator of new content.