Pernel Media Takes ‘Rise And Fall Of’ Franchise To Rome

EXCLUSIVE: Pernel Media has added to its Rise and Fall of franchise by exploring one of the greatest empires of all, Rome.

The popular doc series will tackle the epic 1,200 year empire in a single, continuous narrative, from the founding kings to the fall of the west in 476 AD. The series is built on one central argument: Rome never truly ended. Its laws, its languages, its architecture and its political institutions are the direct foundations of the world we inhabit today, and the doc will combine on-location archaeological sequences with AI historical reconstructions to prove the argument. Contributors include Eve Mc Donald, Samir Aounallah and Alexander Mariottin.

Pernel’s Rise and Fall Of franchise for French broadcaster RMC Découverte has so far explored the Mayas, Incas and Aztecs, and has sold to more than 100 countries including Nat Geo and Disney+ in various territories.

Pernel founder Samuel Kissous said: “The Rise and Fall collection has found audiences in over 100 countries because it treats these civilisations with the same narrative ambition we bring to our fiction. Rome is where that ambition reaches its natural peak.”

Earlier this year, Kissous told us how he transformed Pernel from a French factual company to a trusted drama supplier of Paramount UK network 5.

Rise and Fall of Rome is produced for RMC Découverte in France, directed by Vanessa Pontet (The Real War of Thrones, 8 seasons), Anne Viry-Babel (Pharaohs at War) and Marina Boyenval (The Lost Cites of Genghis Kahn). Pernel Media is currently in discussion with numerous international broadcast partners.e