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MIPCOM: Disney+ Takes Romance About Couple With Down Syndrome ‘Ralph & Katie,’ Autism Dramedy ‘The A Word’
Disney+ buys Down's Syndrome Rom-Com 'Ralph & Katie' and autism dramedy 'The A Word' from Keshet International ahead of MIPCOM 2022.

MIPCOM: Disney+ Takes Romance About Couple With Down Syndrome ‘Ralph & Katie,’ Autism Dramedy ‘The A Word’

‘Ralph & Katie’Keshet International

Disney+ has fallen in love with Ralph & Katie.

In a deal unveiled on the eve of international TV market MIPCOM, Disney+ picked up rights across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), excluding the U.K., for the BBC One dramatic comedy about a newlywed couple with Down Syndrome.

The six-part, half-hour series, a spinoff of the BBC’s hit Autism drama The A Word, premiered in the U.K. on Oct. 5 to rave reviews. Leon Harrop and Sarah Gordy star as the eponymous newlyweds Ralph and Katie, in characters first created for The A Word, which is the British adaptation of Yellow Peppers — the ground-breaking hit Israeli family drama written and created by Keren Margalit for Keshet Broadcasting.

ITV Studios and Keshet U.K. co-produced Ralph & Katie in association with Tiger Aspect for BBC One. The A Word is a Fifty Fathoms/Tiger Aspect and Keshet U.K. production for BBC One.

Disney’s deal, with sales group Keshet International, also included multiple rights for all three seasons of The A Word. The A Word. The series is already available on Disney+ across the Nordics and Belgium. It will be rolled out in staggered launches in Portugal, Italy, Spain and France from November, and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland next year. Ralph & Katie will debut on Disney+ across EMEA in early 2023.