Comments Off on Casting announced for Kudos’ House of Guinness
Kudos has today announced casting for its brand-new Netflix series, House of Guinness. The cast includes –
Anthony Boyle (Masters of the Air, Manhunt) will play Arthur Guinness
Louis Partridge (Pistol, Enola Holmes) will play Edward Guinness
Emily Fairn (The Responder S1& S2, Black Mirror:Demon 79) will play Anne Plunket
(née Guinness)
Fionn O’Shea (Normal People, Dance First) will play Benjamin Guinness
James Norton (Happy Valley / Bob Marley: One Love) will play Sean Rafferty
Niamh McCormack (Everything Now, The Magic Flute) will play Ellen Cochrane
Seamus O’Hara (Blue Lights, An Irish Goodbye) will play Patrick Cochrane
Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones, In The Land of Saints and Sinners) will play Byron
Hedges
Dervla Kirwan (True Detective: Night Country, Smother) will play Aunt Agnes Guinness
Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones, The Long Shadow) will play John Potter
Danielle Galligan (Shadow and Bone S1 & S2, Obituary) will play Lady Olivia Hedges
David Wilmot (Station Eleven, Bodkin) will play Bonnie Champion
Hilda Fay (The Woman In The Wall, Spilt Milk (forthcoming) will play Sultan
Steven Knight, Writer, Executive Producer and Creator said: “I am thrilled that we have such an exceptional cast and such an exceptional team to tell this story inspired by an exceptional family”
Anne Mensah, Netflix Vice President of UK Content said: We are thrilled to be embarking on this epic and wondrous journey with our partners at Kudos. Steve Knight’s scripts read like pages torn out of a classic novel, spinning the story of the four heirs to the Guinness fortune, and how their lives and loves are changed by it overnight. We cannot wait to see this story come to life through Tom Shankland’s inspired vision and his breathtaking cast.”
Karen Wilson, Joint MD of Kudos, said: “I can’t think of a better cast of actors to bring Steven’s incredible scripts to life. We’re in the very early stages of filming, but I already know this is going to be an unmissable drama. Netflix audiences around the world are in for a real treat.”
Comments Off on Banijay Rights Sends Premium Scripted Package to Spain’s Movistar Plus+
Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay Entertainment, today announces it has signed a landmark premium scripted package deal with Movistar Plus+, Spain’s leading TV and SVOD service.
Comprising more than 60 hours of stand-out drama, the agreement includes BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning Wolf Hall, Steven Knight’s high-octane series This Town, upcoming family saga The Hardacres, historical drama Marie Antoinette, BAFTA award-winning The Sixth Commandment and coming-of-age seriesMy Mad Fat Diary.
Marion Vergnaud, SVP Iberia, Italy and Malta, Banijay Rights, who brokered the deal, said: “From the inner workings of the Tudor court to sprawling family sagas, our catalogue contains an eclectic range of premium dramas, and we are thrilled to be working with Movistar Plus+to bring this selection to Spanish audiences.”
Sonia Salas, Content Manager-Series, Movistar Plus+, added: “We are very happy that Banijay Entertainment’s titles will join our catalogue of international series. Together with Movistar Plus+ original productions, our acquisitions make up an offer of premium quality series, of varied genres, tackling current themes and always with a differentiating point to please our Spanish audience.”
Wolf Hall, directed by Peter Kosminsky (The Undeclared War, The State) and adapted for television by Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, Frank), stars Academy Award-winner Mark Rylance in his BAFTA-winning role of Thomas Cromwell, with Emmy Award-winner Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII. The Golden Globe-winning series was produced by Playground Television for the BBC and Masterpiece PBS and the eagerly awaited second series, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, has completed filming.
This Town is created, written and executive produced by Steven Knight. The series is directed by Paul Whittington and produced by Tim Whitby and Charlotte Surtees. Executive Producers are Karen Wilson, Katie McAleese and Martin Haines for Kudos, and Jo McClellan for the BBC. Matthew James Wilkinson (Stigma Films), Nick Angel and Laura Conway (Kudos North) serve as Co-Executive Producers, Alice Webb and Marc Robinson (Mercury Studios) as Co-Producers.
The Hardacres chronicles the rags to riches story of a working-class family in 1890s Yorkshire. A sweeping family saga adapted by Amy Roberts and Loren McLaughlan (The Winter King, Call the Midwife), the series follows the lives, loves and fortunes of the ‘Hardacres’ as they move from a grimy fish dock to a grand country estate. The Hardacre family consists of Claire Cooper (The Continental, The Peripheral) and Liam McMahon (Hunger, The Secret, Warrior Nun) as loving married couple Mary and Sam Hardacre, alongside Julie Graham (Time, Ridley, Penance), as Mary’s wily mother, Ma, and their three kids, Joe, Liza, and Harry, played by Adam Little (Ackley Bridge, Coronation Street), newcomer Shannon Lavelle and Zak Ford-Williams (Better). The series is produced by Playground, in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions, Newgrange Pictures and Banijay Rights for Channel 5.
Created by Deborah Davis (The Favourite), Marie Antoinette follows the extraordinary story of the incredibly modern and avant-garde young queen, played by Emilia Schüle (Ku’damm 56/ 63), with Louis Cunningham (Bridgerton) as the King of France, Louis XVI. The drama is a CANAL+ Creation Originale, produced by CAPA Drama, Banijay Studios France and Beside Productions.
The Sixth Commandment tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and a charismatic young student, Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke), who bonded over their love of books and involvement with the Church of England, set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory. The series, written by Sarah Phelps (A Very British Scandal, The Pale Horse) and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), was awarded the BAFTA for Best Limited Drama Series and Best Leading Actor for Timothy Spall and is produced by Wild Mercury Productions – a Banijay UK company – and True Vision for BBC One.
My Fat Mad Diary takes a warm, hilarious and honest look at teenage life from the perspective of an overweight sixteen-year-old girl. Produced by Tiger Aspect, a Banijay UK company, for E4 and adapted from Rae Earl’s real-life diary and book of the same name, the series was written by Tom Bidwell (Watership Down). Starring Sharon Rooney (Brief Encounters, The Tunnel), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, Doctor Foster), Claire Rushbrook (Whitechapel) and Ian Hart (The Last Kingdom).
Kudos, Wild Mercury Productions, Tiger Aspect and Banijay Studios France are Banijay Entertainment companies.
Comments Off on Banijay Brands Deploys SAS Rogue Heroes
Banijay Brands, the commercial arm of content powerhouse Banijay, today announces it will represent a range of commercial rights for the Kudos (a Banijay UK company) series, SAS Rogue Heroes.
Created by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol), SAS Rogue Heroes is produced by Kudos for the BBC with MGM+. Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, the show centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalised after a training exercise gone wrong. The first series became a huge hit with viewers and critics alike, attracting an audience of 9.4 million viewers on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK. Season two, which again will be a dramatised account of the origins of the SAS, has begun filming.
Owain Walbyoff, Chief Commercial Officer, Banijay says: “With breath-taking cinematography and beautifully crafted characters, SAS Rogue Heroes is a visually powerful show that lends itself perfectly to a broad range of products and activations. Banijay Brands has extensive expertise in driving the commercial performance of our shows and we are delighted to add Steven and Kudos’ brilliant creation to our portfolio.”
Martin Haines joint Managing Director, Kudos added: “Viewers worldwide have connected deeply with Steven’s storytelling and this has opened the door for the exploration of products and experiences for audiences to enjoy beyond the screen. With our second series on the horizon there is so much more to come for SAS Rogue Heroes fans and I look forward to seeing how the brand evolves further in this way.”
Key cast for the series includes Jack O’Connell as Paddy Mayne, Connor Swindells as David Stirling, Sofia Boutella as Eve Mansour, and Dominic West as Dudley Clarke. Gwilym Lee (The Great, Bohemian Rhapsody) joins for series two to play Bill Stirling, David Stirling’s brother and founder of the 2SAS regiment, while Con O’Neill (Happy Valley, Our Flag Means Death) will play General Montgomery.
SAS Rogue Heroes is distributed internationally by Banijay Rights. The series was developed for television and written and executive produced by Steven Knight. Series two (6×60’) will be directed by Stephen Woolfenden (Outlander, Willow) with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series will be executive produced by Karen Wilson, Emma Kingsman-Lloyd and Martin Haines for Kudos, and Nick Lambon for the BBC.
Comments Off on Banijay Rights Sends Rogue Heroes to China and the Middle East
Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay, today announces further landmark sales of Rogue Heroes, following the gripping World War Two drama’s renewal by the BBC last night.
In deals negotiated across the Banijay Rights global sales team, the first season of Rogue Heroes has been picked up by Wing Sight Culture & Media Co for streaming in China and STARZPLAY in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, TVNZ in New Zealand, Paramount+ in Germany, and DIRECTV in Latin America have all acquired the series.
These new agreements follow previous sales of the drama to premium network EPIX (soon to be known as MGM+) for the US, HBO Max in Europe, Prime Video in Canada, SBS in Australia and Canal+ in France.
Produced by Kudos (a Banijay UK company) and Nebulastar for the BBC – and entitled SAS Rogue Heroes in the UK market – the series is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.
Cathy Payne, CEO, Banijay Rights, said: “These latest global deals cap off an exceptional couple of months for Rogue Heroes, with a recent BBC renewal a fantastic way to end the year. We’re excited to extend the reach of Steven Knight’s and Kudos’ epic drama to several new territories, including China and the Middle East for the very first time.”
Martin Haines, Joint MD, Kudos, said: “The series has been a huge global hit, with audiences captivated by the incredible world that Steven Knight has brought to life for our Rogue Heroes. We’re thrilled that even more people will now get the chance to watch.”
Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, Rogue Heroes centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong. Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.
Rogue Heroes was developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and is directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. Knight also executive produces the series alongside Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.
Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil) plays David Stirling, with Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water) as Paddy Mayne, Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk, The King) as SAS Founding member Mike Sadler, and Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) as Eve Mansour. Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult) plays Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke.
Commissioned by the BBC, SASRogue Heroes premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK in October 2022. Filming on season two will take place in 2023. Banijay Rights is also global distributor for This Town, a major upcoming six-part BBC drama from Steven Knight and Kudos which tells the story of a family and four young people who are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music.
Comments Off on Banijay Rights Sends Rogue Heroes to France
Banijay Rights today announces a further landmark acquisition of major new six-part limited series Rogue Heroes, as MIPTV 2022 in Cannes draws to a close.
In a deal negotiated by Isabelle Queme, SVP French-Speaking EMEA at Banijay Rights, Rogue Heroes has been picked up by CANAL+ in France and for all CANAL+ territories around the world to broadcast in late 2022.
The agreement follows premium network EPIX’s acquisition of the drama for the US in November last year – the first international deal for the series – and further sales to HBO Max in Europe, Prime Video in Canada and SBS in Australia in early 2022.
Produced by Kudos and Nebulastar for the BBC – and entitled SAS Rogue Heroes in the UK market – the series is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.
Isabelle Queme, SVP French-Speaking EMEA, Banijay Rights, said: “Steven Knight and Kudos’ magnificent Rogue Heroes continues to build huge momentum worldwide and we are beyond thrilled to secure this latest deal with CANAL+; taking this epic – and important – Second World War story to a whole new audience across France and all CANAL+ territories around the world.”
Jean-Marc Juramie, Senior EVP, Pay TV Content, CANAL+ Group, added: “We are thrilled to add this incredible event series from acclaimed writer Steven Knight to our line-up here at CANAL+. Our subscribers from all over the world will discover this important Second World War story about extraordinary men, whose stories have been further elevated by this outstanding cast.”
Martin Haines, Joint MD, Kudos, said: Rogue Heroes is a truly ground-breaking series created by the fantastic Steven Knight, and we are delighted that audiences around the globe will have the opportunity to watch what will be unmissable TV.”
Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, Rogue Heroes centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong.
Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.
Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and will be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.
Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil) will play David Stirling, with Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water) as Paddy Mayne, Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk, The King) as SAS Founding member Mike Sadler, and Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) as Eve. Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult) will play Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke.
Commissioned by the BBC, SAS:Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Comments Off on EPIX, Banijay Rights Take SAS: Rogue Heroes to US
Premium network EPIX today announced it has acquired the major new six-part limited series SAS: Rogue Heroes from global distributor Banijay Rights.
In a deal negotiated by Banijay Rights’ Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions, the acquisition marks the first international deal for SAS: Rogue Heroes.
Produced by Kudos and Nebulastar for EPIX and BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two. Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, the series centers on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong. Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.
SAS: Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and will be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC. Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil) will play David Stirling, with Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water) as Paddy Mayne, Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk, The King) as SAS Founding member Mike Sadler, and Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) as Eve. Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult) will play Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke.
“Steven Knight and Kudos have created a gripping historical drama that complements EPIX’s lineup of elevated, cinematic storytelling,” said Michael Wright, President, EPIX & President MGM Scripted Television. “We’re delighted to be teaming up with Banijay Rights to give this series an exclusive home on EPIX for the American audience.”
“SAS: Rogue Heroes is a masterstroke of a series from the visionary Steven Knight, packed with a stellar cast who bring this fantastic story to life. We are thrilled that EPIX have come on board to take this fantastic drama to a wider US audience,” said Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions, Rest of the World, Banijay Rights.
Martin Haines, Co-Managing Director of Kudos added: “EPIX is a perfect partner that shares our vision and ambition. We are delighted they are our US partners on this epic show.”
The series will also star Amir El Masry (Industry, The One), Theo Barklem-Biggs (The First Team, Carnival Row), Corin Silva (The Bay, Emmerdale), Jacob Ifan (Bang, The Accident), Dónal Finn (Cursed, The Witcher), Jacob McCarthy (The Last Summer, A.P. Bio), César Domboy (Outlander, The Walk), Michael Schaeffer (Chernobyl, The Salisbury Poisonings) and Miles Jupp (The Great, The Durrells).
Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Comments Off on Grantchester Returns to ITV as Filming Begins in Cambridgeshire
Filming for the sixth series of the hugely popular crime drama Grantchester has commenced in Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire.
With Robson Green returning as DI Geordie Keating and Tom Brittney as Grantchester’s Reverend Will Davenport, the series resumes in 1958 with the crime fighting duo renewing their partnership to solve new cases.
In the first episode of the new series, Geordie, Cathy and their family, Will, Leonard and Mrs C take a much needed holiday together. However, what sets out to be a fun-filled break for everyone at a holiday camp, is interrupted by a tragic death at the resort. Geordie and Will are left with no choice but to help out, as an investigation into the death begins. As events unfold on the trip, there will be serious repercussions for the rest of the series.
Tessa Peake-Jones returns as Mrs C, Al Weaver as Leonard Finch, Kacey Ainsworth as Cathy Keating, Oliver Dimsdale as Daniel Marlowe and Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman.
Special guest actors for this series include Jemma Redgrave, Gary Beadle, Dominic Mafham, Rachael Stirling, Miles Jupp and Rebecca Front.
Kudos Executive Producer Emma Kingsman-Lloyd says: “In these difficult times we are delighted to be able to film another series of our beloved Grantchester. The cast and crew have worked tirelessly to bring the series to the screen and we know the audience are very excited to see what Will, Geordie and the Grantchester family have in store for them.”
MASTERPIECE Executive Producer-at-Large Rebecca Eaton notes, “A charming, good-hearted drama about community is what we all need right now, and that’s exactly what Grantchester is. Welcome back!”
The series will be executive produced for Kudos, part of Banijay UK, by Emma Kingsman-Lloyd (Deadwater Fell, Humans) and by writer and series creator Daisy Coulam (Deadwater Fell, Humans). The Executive Producer for MASTERPIECE is Rebecca Eaton at GBH Boston. Richard Cookson will return to produce the series with Rob Evans directing the opening block.
Adapted from the Grantchester Mysteries novels by James Runcie, the series was developed for television by Daisy Coulam. The new series will be written by Daisy Coulam, John Jackson (Trust, Curfew), Louise Ironside (The Split, The Tunnel), Tolula Dada (forthcoming BBC production, Red Rose) and producer, Richard Cookson.
Grantchester is commissioned by PBS MASTERPIECE and PBSd for US audiences and is one of ITV’s most popular returning series. Banijay Rights will be responsible for international distribution.