Seoul, 5th September 2014 – Last night, Sherlock scored another top honour at the 9th Seoul International Drama Award (SDA), when it was awarded ‘The Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year’. The ceremony was held at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul. SDA is a festival that brings together all professionals in the field of TV drama production and media industry as well as global audiences who enjoy television dramas. The event was attended by over 1000 celebrities and industry partners.
Soojin Chung, General Manager of BBC Worldwide Korea, was present to accept the award on behalf of Hartswood Films and BBC. She said: “We are overwhelmed by the love from Sherlock fans in Korea. The award caps off honours we’ve won around the world including Emmys, BAFTAs, National Television Awards, Television Critics Awards and a Peabody. This award from the SDA truly demonstrates the international appeal of Sherlock.”
Sue Vertue, Producer of Sherlock added: “‘We are thrilled to receive this award and are honoured that Korean fans have taken Sherlock so much into their hearts.”
Each year, ‘The Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year’ is awarded to a foreign drama that has been most viewed and acclaimed in Korea during the eligibility year that is selected by the organising committee.
This is the second time a BBC drama has taken home an award at the Seoul Drama Awards. In 2009, Doctor Who (series four) also took home the ‘Favourite Foreign Drama of the Year Award’.
Sherlock’s winning streak reaffirms the series’ popularity beyond its home country. Just last week at the Emmys, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, was awarded ‘Outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie’ and ‘Outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie’, respectively, for the third and final episode of series three, Sherlock: His Last Vow. Co-creator and writer for the series, Steven Moffat, bagged the ‘Outstanding writing in a miniseries or movie’ award.
Sherlock is a BBC drama, and a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson.
Since it premiered in 2010, Sherlock has garnered immense international success, spreading across the UK, Russia and Asia. China was the second country, out of the UK, to premiere Sherlock series three. By the end of August 2014, online video portal in China, Youku, had received more than 72 million hits for series three and 1.7 million viewers watched it on Chinese IPTV platform, BesTV, when it premiered in January 2014.
The 9th Seoul International Drama Award was organised by Seoul Drama Awards Organizing Committee and Korean Broadcasters Association.
– Ends –
Further information:
Jeanne Leong
BBC Worldwide Asia
Tel: +65 6849 5292
Email: Jeanne.Leong@bbc.com
Cassandra Wong
BBC Worldwide Asia
Tel: +65 6849 5295
Email: Cassandra.Wong@bbc.com
About BBC Worldwide
About BBC Worldwide. BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Its vision is to build the BBC’s brands, audiences, commercial returns and reputation across the world. This is achieved through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC around the world, in a way that is consistent with BBC standards and values. The business also champions British creativity globally.
In 2013/14, BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £157.4m and headline sales of £1,042.3m and returned £173.8m to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website: http://www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview
bbcworldwide.com
twitter.com/bbcwpress