Sphere Abacus handling worldwide distribution
London/Hampshire – Wednesday 30th September 2026 – Indie prodco Woodcut Media and distributor Sphere Abacus are heading to MIPCOM with a gripping new true crime documentary series Horror at the Hotel.
Currently in production, Horror at the Hotel (8 x 60’) is produced by Woodcut Media and distributed worldwide by Sphere Abacus who has presold the series to 5 (UK & Ireland), Bell Media for Crave (Canada), and Radial Entertainment (US).
For many, hotels are escapist paradises, but on occasion they have also tragically become the perfect setting for a murder. Each episode of Horror at the Hotel unravels a homicide committed within the unique world of a hotel, where guests can check in as strangers—and killers can hide in plain sight. With cases spanning the US and UK, and featuring testimony from police, the victims’ families and those closest to the investigation, the series pieces together what happened, the true horror of each crime, and how the killer was finally caught.
Series producer is Woodcut’s Tracey Moore, with Matt Blyth and Angie Cox serving as executive producers.
Tracey Moore, Series Producer, Woodcut Media commented: “Associating hotels with murder scenes is the last thing on your mind as they are usually considered places of sanctuary. But this is not always the case as Horror at the Hotel reveals. The series offers an enlightening insight from the law enforcement officers faced with the herculean task of solving a homicide alongside emotional testimony from families left to pick up the pieces after their lives have been shattered by these tragedies.”
Jonathan Ford, Managing Director, Sphere Abacus said: “We’re delighted to be working with Woodcut in representing this fascinating true crime series and are pleased to see that it’s already resonating with international broadcasters and platforms.”
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About Woodcut Media:
Founded by award-winning producer Kate Beal in 2014, UK indie Woodcut Media is a female-led operation with a diverse team at its core, whose main ethos is to provide an honest and trusted voice – creating programming that tells incredible human stories with creativity, authenticity, and care. As well as being one of the leading true crime doc producers in the UK, Woodcut also specialises in a broad range of unscripted content – factual entertainment, specialist factual, and premium/talent led programming. Titles include World’s Most Evil Women (Radial Entertainment), Confessions of a Female Serial Killer, (Amazon’s Prime Video), series World’s Most Evil Killers/Britain’s Most Evil Killers (10 seasons, 200 episodes), Fiennes: Return to the Wild, Fiennes: Return to the Nile with Joseph and Sir Ranulph Fiennes (Nat Geo), Cut from a Different Cloth, Mandela, My Dad and Me, featuring Idris Elba, and Titanic in Colour (Nat Geo) to name a few. In December 2024 Woodcut launched (in partnership with KI and Seven Network) its first FAST channel (‘Crime Files’) in Australia. The same month Woodcut achieved B-Corp certification and also began its expansion into the digital space with the roll-out of YouTube channels under The Uncut Network (True Crime Uncut, Underworld Uncut, History Uncut, Essentially Uncut). In 2026, Woodcut Media became part of the TV Foundation’s Class Confident network. www.woodcutmedia.com
About Sphere Abacus
Sphere Abacus, a Bell Media company, is a global content distributor that acquires and distributes a diverse catalogue of premium, multi-genre programming. This includes titles commissioned by Bell Media and programming produced by Sphere Media and other exceptional third-party producers.
The company works with independent producers to facilitate pre-sales and development financing, as well as broadcaster commissions. Embracing a fully transparent reporting ethos, Sphere Abacus focuses on building strong client relationships and generating positive solutions at every stage of the process to successfully deliver scripted and non-scripted entertainment that counts to a global audience. In 2026, Rocket Rights and Rights Booster were acquired by Sphere Abacus and Rocket Booster was formed. Rocket Booster will spearhead the expansion of all multi-platform digital and social media digital distribution across the combined Sphere Abacus and Rocket Booster catalogues.
