Tag Archive: Tally Garner

  1. BBC announces new Richard Gadd drama Lions (w/t)

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    The BBC has commissioned Lions (working title), an original six-part drama about two men across the decades, written and created by the multi award-winning writer and performer Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer, Code 404). Set and filmed in and around Glasgow, the series is made by Mam Tor Productions (a Banijay UK company) for BBC One, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer.

    When Niall’s estranged ‘brother’ Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives. Spanning almost forty years from the 1980s to the present day, this ambitious series will cover the highs and lows of the brothers’ relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults – with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. It will capture the wild energy of a changing city – a changing world, even – and try to get to the bottom of the difficult question… What does it mean to be a man?

    Creator and writer Richard Gadd says: “When I first started talking about this project with the wonderful Tally Garner and Morven Reid, it was love at first sight. For them, anyway. I kept it purely professional. I am absolutely thrilled to be working with them in bringing Ruben and Niall to the screen alongside Lindsay Salt, Gaynor Holmes, and the incredible BBC team. It is a dream come true to be part of such a historic broadcaster with a reputation for bringing the best comedy and drama (and comedy-drama for that matter) to our screens. A dream which will likely wear off when it comes to tight writing deadlines and rainy shooting days on the streets of Glasgow. Just joking. I have never been happier to work on anything in my life and I would like to thank Tally, Morven, and Gaynor for everything – as well as the inimitable Lindsay Salt who has always been my biggest champion and to whom I will always owe a great debt of gratitude.”

    Tally Garner, executive producer for Mam Tor productions, says: “My fellow exec Morven Reid and I are unbelievably excited to be embarking on the journey of making the extraordinarily multi-talented Richard Gadd’s new show. Richard has that rare gift of creating characters who challenge your senses while stealing your heart, and in Ruben and Niall he has created something very special. We can’t wait to watch as director Alexandra Brodski brings them to life. Enormous thanks to the wonderful Lindsay Salt and Gaynor Holmes for their tireless support, and for allowing Ruben and Niall to steal their hearts too.”

    Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “Richard Gadd’s hugely imaginative, one-of-a-kind exploration of Niall, Ruben, and their intertwining lives is bold and brilliant storytelling that will make you sit up and lean in. This is a relationship you really haven’t seen before, and we can’t wait to unpack it across six surprising, moving, funny, highly original episodes.”

    Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland, says: “We’re delighted to be working with our BBC colleagues and Screen Scotland on this truly innovative drama. Richard’s writing for stage and for screen has always been visceral, dynamic and captivating and Lions’ youthful exploration of modern manhood is sexy, sad and shocking in equal measure. BBC Scotland is always looking for distinctive talent and projects to support and in Lions we’ve come on board with something very special.”

    Kieran Hannigan, Head of Scripted at Screen Scotland: “We are incredibly excited to be supporting this brilliant new show, Richard is an extraordinary and compelling talent and it’s fantastic that he is teaming up with the wonderful team at Mam Tor and the BBC.”

    Lions (w/t, 6×45) was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, and is created and written by Richard Gadd. The lead director is Alexandra Brodski (Somewhere Boy, Rivals) and the producer is Wendy Griffin (Limbo, The Lost King). Executive producers are Tally Garner and Morven Reid for Mam Tor Productions, Richard Gadd, and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC with Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland. Lions (w/t) is supported by Screen Scotland, and Banijay Rights will distribute the series internationally.

  2. Banijay UK acquires CHLOE producer Mam Tor Productions

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    Banijay UK has acquired Mam Tor Productions, the high-end drama producer founded by renowned producer Tally Garner.

     With a focus on high end, contemporary and original returning series, and working predominantly with new talent, women and other underrepresented groups, Mam Tor’s latest series, six-part original drama CHLOE, was a hit for BBC One earlier in the year and subject to a pre-sale bidding war before being acquired by Amazon Prime Video.

    Mam Tor Productions is the first company to be acquired by Banijay in the UK since it acquired Endemol Shine in 2020 and its first scripted acquisition in the UK. The deal was led by Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland. Banijay Rights will have a first look deal on all future projects as part of the deal.

    Patrick Holland, CEO, Banijay UK said of the deal; “‘I’m so excited to be welcoming Mam Tor to Banijay UK. Tally is an exceptional talent who has developed a brilliantly curated slate, working with some of the most exciting writers. ‘Chloe’ was a superb piece that Banijay Rights were able to partner on and our investment in Mam Tor builds on that brilliant relationship.

    I want Banijay UK to be a home where great talent get to make their very best work so Tally and Morven, her head of development, are truly welcome. We can’t wait for the next chapter of Mam Tor’s journey and are delighted to help facilitate that.”

    Marco Bassetti added, “Talent sit at the heart of this business. From brilliant talent, brilliant ideas are born, and in growing our collective, we strive to further strengthen our world-class portfolio of IP. Tally is a great addition as we continue to build our capabilities in the scripted space, and we welcome her to the group.”

    Tally Garner, CEO, Founder and Executive Producer at Mam Tor said “Banijay Rights and Cathy Payne are the most amazing partners for CHLOE that I could have wished for, and Morven and I are absolutely thrilled to be joining the Banijay UK team and their utterly inspirational CEO Patrick Holland.  We love our projects so much, and with his expertise and support are truly excited to begin the next chapter for Mam Tor with Banijay UK.”

    Mam Tor brings together a highly qualified management and development team that has decades of experience in identifying, nurturing, developing and producing high quality original drama for television.  Tally Garner founded the company in 2014. Prior to this she was founder and Head of Film and TV at Cuba Pictures following a decade as a literary agent at Curtis Brown. Producer credits include Boy A, winner of five Television BAFTAs and Broken, winner of Best Film at the BIFAs. She also exec-produced London Road and the seven-part adaptation of bestselling novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell for BBC1.

     The team includes Head of Development, Morven Reid, who prior to joining Mam Tor in 2019, was Senior Script Editor in Continuing Drama at BBC Scotland, Script Editor at the BFI Film Fund and held Script Editing roles within Drama Republic and Bad Wolf. Development Executive Rachel Harvey joined from the BBC drama commissioning in 2021 where she worked on projects including The Responder and Red Rose.

     Mam Tor will sit alongside scripted businesses in the UK group including Kudos, Tiger Aspect, Double Dutch, Shiny Button, Blacklight and Douglas Road.

     The deal was brokered by Jeremy Gawade of Lee and Thompson.