Lupin and Hijack creator George Kay is launching an All3 Media-backed indie.
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Observatory Pictures has been set up in partnership with New Pictures, the All3Media-owned drama producer behind shows including Kay’s ITV drama The Long Shadow .
Under terms of the pact, all of Observatory’s projects will be co-produced with New Pictures, with All3Media International holding international distribution rights.
Kay will work closely with New Pictures’ CEO Willow Grylls and executive producer Matt Sandford. He will look to create and shown “ambitious, commercially-successful high-end drama series” for streamers and networks in the UK and internationally.
We understand Kay’s previous indie, Idiotlamp Productions, which he ran with director Jim Field-Smith, will remain operational, but only for existing IP such as Hijack . All new Kay creations will go through Observatory.
“This new partnership affords me the opportunity to create ambitious new shows and the freedom to secure the most suitable platform for each of them,” said Key. “Willow is a fantastic producer, and I look forward to continuing the great relationship I formed with her and the New Pictures team on The Long Shadow . I can’t think of a better partner, and I’m thrilled to have the backing of Jane [Turton], Sara [Geater] and Louise [Pedersen] at All3Media and All3Media International.”
Kay’s credits including Apple TV+’s plane drama Hijack , Netflix’s French crime caper Lupin and Criminal , an unusual anthology drama that spawned various European incarnations all set in the same police interrogation room. He has also written true crime TV dramas The Long Shadow and Litvinkenko , both for ITVX, plus BBC2’s Stag , and wrote opening season episodes for Killing Eve , The Hour and The Tunnel . Previously an unscripted producer, he also wrote and produced on Channel 4’s My Mad Fat Diary and is the co-creator of the BBC’s BAFTA-winning Gareth Malone series The Choir .
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“George is a phenomenally talented writer who I’ve been lucky to work with on the BAFTA-winning The Long Shadow ,” added Grylls. “As a screenwriter, he has an acute gift for character and storytelling, as a showrunner, an incredible ability and ambition to produce internationally defining shows that resonate with a global audience. I’m absolutely thrilled to be forming this unique and innovative partnership with him and All3. Backing new and established creative talent is at the heart of everything we do at New Pictures.”
Grylls’ company is known for shows such as HBO’s Catherine the Great , Paramount+’s No Escape and The Missing , the BBC1/Starz co-production. Upcoming on its slate are Kris Mrksa’s upcoming ITV drama Protection , the BBC’s Crongton and eight-part thriller Empire of Dirt , which is being produced through a partnership with Kit Harington and writer Daniel West’s Thriller Films.
For its parent company, All3Media, the deal is one of its highest profile since RedBird IMI bought the UK-based super-indie for £1.15B ($1.5B) in May. Following a relatively quiet period for the Traitors owner, it has been expected to look at expansion with the support of its new owner. Today’s deal could give an example of the types of creative dealmaking it will favor.
“From Lupin and Criminal , Litvinenko to The Long Shadow and Hijack , George has written and co-created award-winning scripted series that have travelled the world,” said All3 CEO Turton. “At All3Media, our focus is on quality — in both the programmes that we produce and the creative talent behind those shows — so I am delighted that George is partnering with New Pictures and All3Media to produce and distribute all of his new shows.
The Observatory Pictures agreement was brokered by Willow Grylls and Kay’s UK agent, Joe Phillips at Curtis Brown. In the U.S., Kay is represented by WME.
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