Oz Comes to the UK

(Updated 20/3/08): The top-rated mini series Tin Man, inspired by The Wizard of Oz and screened on SciFi Channel US last year, will air in May on the UK SciFi Channel.

As we reported last year, the fantasy adventure, produced by RHI Entertainment, earned the miniseries "most watched miniseries in Sci Fi history" status with 6.3 million viewers over the three nights.

The screening follows SciFi's successful bid for exclusive pay TV rights to the critically acclaimed drama across three European regions; the Benelux, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the UK.

The agreement - negotiated by SCI FI’s Head of Acquisitions Monica Iglesias and RHI Entertainment’s President Production & Distribution Joel Denton - also includes mobile, internet and VoD catch up rights for the UK.

The series is an epic re-imagining of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that gives the story a heavy science fiction fantasy emphasis and gives only allusionary references to most of the original story. Gone is the Wicked Witch Of The West and country-bumpkin Dorothy Gale… leather-clad sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson) is pitted instead against DG (Zooey Deschanel), a young woman living in the American Midwest is who transported to the decaying world of The O.Z (The Outer Zone) to fulfil her destiny.

Richard Dreyfuss delivers a powerful performance as The Mystic Man – the contemporary version of The Wizard – alongside Glitch (Alan Cumming), an odd man missing half his brain; Raw (Raoul Trujillo), a wolverine-like creature longing for inner courage; and Cain (Neil McDonough), a heroic former policeman (known in The O.Z. as Tin Men) seeking vengeance for his scarred heart.

The acquisition of Tin Man continues SCI FI’s relationship with international distributor RHI, through which the channel secured similar UK, CEE and Benelux rights for the new Flash Gordon series, which is the inspiration for a new comic being produced by a British team.

Starring Eric Johnson of Smallville fame in the title role, the series is already airing on the SCI FI channel in Poland, and Tin Man will premiere on Sundays at 8.00pm from May 11 in the UK.