Investigations into toxic pollution and unsolved crimes sit alongside searches for missing relatives, personal journeys and the story of one of football’s greatest players in Warner Bros. International Television Production’s (WBITVP) MIPCOM 2026 finished programming slate.
In Wall to Wall’s Buried with Michael Sheen (2 x 60’) for BBC Two, the acclaimed actor revisits a story that has troubled him for almost a decade. Haunted by the final testimony of a dying whistleblower, he investigates claims that toxic industrial chemicals were dumped across the Welsh communities where he grew up. Joined by journalists, scientists, lawyers and local residents, he follows a trail from former dump sites in the UK to the US, raising questions about PCB pollution, public health, corporate responsibility, and whether the consequences are still being felt today.
Comedian and actor Guz Khan embarks on a personal journey in Guz Does MMA (1 x 60’), produced by Ricochet for BBC Three. Turning 40, and reaching an age his father never did, gives him a reason to take his health more seriously. Over the course of a year, he swaps show business for a local gym and commits to the demanding world of mixed martial arts training. Seeing how many Muslim fighters have reached the highest levels of MMA, Guz begins asking what role faith plays in their success. A challenge that begins with fitness becomes more personal, as Guz reflects on faith, masculinity, fatherhood, and grief.
Personal discovery and family mysteries feature prominently in two productions from WBITVP New Zealand. Breakthrough with David Lomas (8 x 60'), for Three New Zealand, sees the investigative journalist take on seemingly impossible searches for missing family members. Crossing borders, cultures and generations, Lomas pieces together extraordinary stories in pursuit of answers, understanding and sometimes life-changing reunions.
For TVNZ, My Family Mystery (12 x 60') follows presenter Sonia Gray as she helps families investigate unanswered questions that have shaped their lives. Each search begins with a single clue and a mystery that has resisted every attempt to solve it. Working with researchers, DNA experts, and internet investigators, Sonia follows the trail through archives, family records, personal testimony, and forgotten histories. Finding an answer can restore a missing piece of someone’s identity, reconnect families, and finally bring closure to a mystery that has endured for decades.
Also from WBITVP New Zealand for Three, My House My Castle (10 x 30’) explores the inventive ways people make their homes work better. A tiny garden gets a new purpose, while denser living inspires clever new ways to find space. Designers, builders, and other specialists share where money is worth spending, while the people behind the properties explain the choices they made and how those decisions worked out in real life.
The finished slate also includes the original Finnish production of The Dark Side (20 x 30’), in which crime journalist Riku Rantala and former narcotics officer Kale Puonti revisit major criminal cases from across Finland. Some remain unsolved, while others have an official conclusion but still leave questions worth asking. In the studio, they examine the evidence, timelines, and different theories, with cinematic scenes created entirely through generative AI, visualising crucial moments and locations that no camera captured. Across cases ranging from murders to complex frauds, they consider what is known, what remains uncertain, and what the evidence might still reveal. Produced by WBITVP Finland for Nelonen.
Rounding off the finished slate is Dutch scripted drama BASTA (7 x 60'), which follows the extraordinary career and personal struggles of football legend Marco van Basten. From playing for his father’s approval to learning under Johan Cruijff at Ajax and carrying the expectations of AC Milan, Marco has spent his life pushing himself further. When his ankle begins to fail, stopping feels impossible. Marco plays through the pain and eventually chooses a risky operation that offers one more chance to return to the pitch. But the operation intended to help him play again leaves that hope further away than ever. Produced by Hollands Licht for Videoland, BASTA follows a man who has spent his life learning how to win. Now he must face losing the game that has always defined him.
Returning favourites
Alongside these new titles, WBITVP is bringing new seasons and episodes of some of its established scripted and unscripted brands to MIPCOM.
Long-running British drama Waterloo Road returns with new episodes, following the pupils, teachers and families of a Greater Manchester school as they navigate the challenges of education, adolescence and community. Produced by Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North for BBC One in the UK.
From WBITVP New Zealand, the seventh season of Celebrity Treasure Island, produced for TVNZ2, sees another group of famous faces leave their everyday comforts behind to compete in a high-stakes island adventure, battling for survival and prizes for charities close to their hearts.
The returning slate also includes new seasons of The Repair Shop and The Repair Shop: On the Road, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, Who Do You Think You Are?, 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, The Bidding Room, and Selling Houses Australia.
The slate also features a new season of The Golden Bachelor Australia, alongside new seasons of local versions of First Dates and other established WBITVP brands.
André Renaud, WBITVP’s GVP of Format and Finished Sales, comments: “For such a varied set of titles and stories, our MIPCOM slate is united by people searching for answers. Michael Sheen investigates an issue rooted in the communities where he grew up, Guz Khan explores fatherhood, grief, and faith through his journey into mixed martial arts, and David Lomas searches for people believed lost. BASTA follows Marco van Basten as he faces losing the game that has always defined him, in a series that has already won three prestigious Gouden Kalveren awards within a month of launching. These are all stories driven by people looking for answers, understanding, or a way forward, and together they become a finished slate with real range.”