Alcon launches international studio and lines up UK takes on Insomnia and Prisoners
Two nerve-shredding Hollywood films could be reborn as British TV series.
Alcon Media Group, the company behind Blade Runner 2049 and Practical Magic 2, is exploring UK series adaptations of Christopher Nolan's Insomnia and Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners, according to Deadline. The plan sits inside a wider push into Britain and Europe.
The drive is led by a new international arm. Alcon launched Alcon International Studios in summer 2026. Diego Piasek has been appointed President.
Piasek is a former Amazon executive who most recently co-founded Offline Sports, an unscripted sports studio. He works closely with Alcon chief operating officer Scott Parish and Alcon Television Group head Ben Roberts on the UK and European expansion. Alcon is led by co-founders and co-chief executives Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.
The unit planned to launch its first slate at Mipcom, the Cannes market where broadcasters and streamers buy new programmes. That slate includes First Woman, starring Andrea Riseborough and Ashley Walters. The drama was ordered by ITV, meaning the broadcaster has commissioned it to series.
The rest of the slate leans on familiar film titles. Alcon said it will explore UK takes on Insomnia, Nolan's 2002 thriller starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, and Prisoners, Villeneuve's 2013 kidnap drama starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Three more film properties are also in line for possible UK series versions: P.S. I Love You, The Book of Eli and Something Borrowed.
No writers, episode counts or broadcast dates have been announced. The projects are in exploration, not yet ordered to series.
Alcon International Studios has also organised international funding elsewhere. It put together the international co-financing package, meaning funding shared between partners in different countries, for a Point Break TV reboot. Studiocanal is partnering with AMC on that project.
TV fans may recognise the title Insomnia. It is a different project from the Paramount+ UK drama based on Sarah Pinborough's novel Insomnia, which was greenlit in 2023 and produced by Left Bank Pictures, according to Deadline. Alcon's version traces back to Nolan's film.
For viewers, this means names to file away. A new studio chief. A first ITV commission. And a list of films that may yet return as British series.
