Netflix takes Rake

Richard Roxburgh in Rake.


The first two series of Rake have been bought by Netflix, which will launch the legal drama in the US, UK and Canada on March 1.

DCD Rights has sold the show produced by Essential Media & Entertainment and Peter Duncan and Richard Roxburgh's Blow by Blow to numerous territories but there is no deal yet with a terrestrial broadcaster in the UK. Essential hopes a UK deal may eventuate after the show airs on Netflix.

The third series of Rake will premiere in the US on DirectTV’s Audience Network on April 8. The broadcaster aired the two prior series. The Sundance Channel Global bought Rake 3 for Latin America, Benelux, Baltics and Eastern Europe.

The US remake created by Peter Duncan, starring Greg Kinnear as defence lawyer Keegan Deane, is screening on Thursday nights on the Fox network, produced by Essential and Fedora Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television.

The pilot episode directed by Sam Raimi aired last week and was judged by some critics as the best yet, with more edge and rawness than the earlier segments. The storyline followed Deane as he defended a cannibal. It drew 4 million viewers, holding its audience despite stiff competition from NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage.

The US version has been bought by the Universal Channel in Australia and the UK.

.