Disney+ Unveils First Look of Psychological Thriller Series ‘The Stolen Girl’ – Global Bulletin
MATERNAL MYSTERY
Disney+ has dropped first-look images for its upcoming U.K. original series “The Stolen Girl,” a psychological thriller toplining Denise Gough, Holliday Grainger, Ambika Mod and Jim Sturgess.
The five-part limited series, previously developed under the working title “Playdate,” comes from scribe Catherine Moulton (“Baptiste”) and helmer Eva Husson (“Mothering Sunday”). The project adapts Alex Dahl’s bestselling page-turner “Playdate.”
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The story follows Elisa, a mother whose world implodes after her nine-year-old daughter Lucia vanishes during what was meant to be an innocent sleepover. The seemingly perfect host mother Rebecca, along with her daughter Josie, disappear without a trace – leaving behind only a vacant holiday rental where their supposed family home once stood.
As authorities launch a Europe-wide search, scrutiny falls heavily on Elisa and her husband Fred while family secrets bubble to the surface. Narrative promises to explore whether Rebecca’s shocking actions could have deeper justification than initially apparent.
Nicola Shindler executive produces through Quay Street Productions (an ITV Studios banner) alongside Brightstar’s Tanya Seghatchian and John Woodward (“The Power of the Dog,” “Cold War”). Additional EPs include Dahl, Husson, Moulton and Disney+’s Hannah Scott.
EXECUTIVES EXPAND
Fifth Season-backed Blink49 Studios is beefing up its content operations with two major executive appointments, positioning itself for expanded reach in branded content and international formats.
The Canadian production company has brought on formats veteran Adam Steinman as executive VP of global formats and acquisitions. Based in Los Angeles, Steinman will report to both Tara Long, president of global unscripted, and Pancho Mansfield, president of scripted. The exec comes with heavyweight credentials, having held key positions at Warner Bros. International Television Production and maintaining an overall deal at Walt Disney Television Alternative. His track record includes global format hits like “Impractical Jokers,” “The Bachelor” franchise and “Who Do You Think You Are?”
In a parallel move, Adam Puchalsky steps in as president of the newly created brand studio division, reporting to Long from New York. The appointment signals Blink49’s push into brand-funded entertainment, leveraging Puchalsky’s background at Wavemaker, UM Studios, and Hartbeat, where he spearheaded campaigns for P&G, Coca-Cola, and JPMorgan Chase.
The moves follow Blink49’s recent appointment of Mark Ford as chief creative officer for unscripted media development and production. Since its 2021 launch, the studio has built a portfolio including scripted series “Wild Cards” (CBC/The CW), “Sight Unseen” (CTV/The CW), and “The Trades” (Crave), alongside unscripted offerings “Queen of the Castle” (CTV Life), “Beast Games” (Prime Video), and “The Braxtons and Toya & Reginae” (WE tv).
DIGITAL DOMINATION
Channel 4 News is dominating the youth demographic, logging a whopping 1.83 billion views globally in 2024 — a 49% year-over-year surge. The Brit news outfit’s TikTok game is particularly strong, raking in over 1 billion views and accounting for 57% of its digital footprint. The platform’s drawing serious young eyeballs, with two-thirds of viewers under 35 and a third under 25.
Heavy-hitting content driving the numbers includes coverage of global conflicts, climate change, and political drama on both sides of the pond. The pubcaster’s conflict coverage has pulled in 407 million views across platforms since October 2023.
YouTube remains C4’s engagement champion, with viewers glued to their screens for 875 million minutes. The news org’s streaming exclusives are hitting paydirt too — “Trump: The Comeback King” scored half a million views with an impressive 12-minute-plus average watch time.
The digital victory lap comes as Channel 4 News snags News Provider of the Year at the British Journalism Awards, adding to its 2024 hardware haul that includes an International Emmy, BAFTA, and RTS trophy. Channel 4’s upcoming study “Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust,” dropping Jan. 30, promises to dig deeper into young viewers’ media consumption habits and trust issues in today’s fractured news landscape.
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