‘Animals’ And ‘Black Pond’ Producer Sarah Brocklehurst Launches UK Studio; Ties With BBC Studios
BAFTA-nominated Black Pond and Animals producer Sarah Brocklehurst has launched a production company and struck a partnership deal with BBC Studios. BBC Studios will help develop, produce and distribute Brock Media’s content, which will include TV and film projects for global audiences. BBC Studios has the option to take an equity stake further down the line, having invested in several drama indies recently such as Brexit: The Uncivil War’s House Productions and The End Of The F***ing World’s Clerkenwell Films. Brocklehurst’s Animals was nominated for two BIFAs and she previously picked up an Outstanding Debut BAFTA nom for 2012’s Black Pond. She has hired former ITV and Big Talk exec Katie Brown as Head of Development, Empress Films’ Rohina Cameron-Perera as Associate Producer and Film4’s Mélys Codo as Development Executive. BBC Studios Chief Creative Officer Mark Linsey called Brocklehurst a “bold and fearless creative with a strong track record of creating distinctive stories with honesty, humour and heart.”
Blink Studios To Adapt Charlene Carr’s ‘Hold My Girl’
John Morayniss’ new content outfit Blink Studios has optioned its first novel, acquiring the rights to Charlene Carr’s upcoming Hold My Girl for a TV series adaptation. In a competitive situation with multiple bidders, Blink won out for the heart-wrenching dual narrative women’s fiction book about two women whose eggs are switched during IVF, only to be revealed a year later when one of them is raising the wrong daughter and the other is grieving over a stillborn child that wasn’t hers. Canadian studio Blink was launched by former eOne TV Chief Morayniss late last year and has already received backing from Endeavor Content and US entertainment network INSP, while signing former Netflix Original Series Director Carolyn Newman and Transplant Exec Virginia Rankin. “We are committed to working with and discovering great Canadian voices, which is why we are delighted to partner with an emerging and brilliant talent like Charlene,” said Newman.
RTL Germany Greenlights ‘Top Dog’ Season Two
RTL Germany has greenlit a second season of its local version of A+E Networks’ competition format Top Dog. Produced in Germany as Der Beste Hund Deutschlands, the show sees dogs and their owners compete on a supersized canine obstacle course. A+E Networks said the first German season averaged 1.7M viewers and the second has been extended to seven two-hour episodes with a celebrity special. Hosted by veteran sports broadcaster Curt Menefee in the U.S., America’s Top Dog has aired for three seasons on A+E Networks’ A&E Channel.