NBC buys Merlin

American TV network NBC have announced that they have bought the new BBC family drama Merlin and will run it at peak time in their 2008 schedule, reports Leigh Holmwood for Media Guardian.

NBC have already commissioned another British-made series, Crusoe, to run in prime-time.

Merlin is being made by Shine, with Julian Jones as the lead writer.

Jane Tranter [Controller, BBC Fiction] comments: "The writer Julian Jones and award-winning team at Shine have delivered scripts which are bold and original, entertaining and enchanting, and director James Hawes's bravura vision for this piece is perfectly suited to the adventure we are all embarking upon. Merlin is a wonderfully ambitious and beautifully crafted series which we're sure will enchant families later this year."