COMMISSION
Discovery Plus has commissioned Chimp Television and Kremelwood to produced “Richard Hammond’s Workshop” (working title), a new six-part docuseries featuring the former “Top Gear” co-host as he sets out to start a prestige classic car restoration and repair business near his hometown of Herefordshire.
In the program, Hammond will work to learn the business of restoration from scratch. He will be joined by father-son duo Neil and Anthony Greenhouse, who actually know what they’re doing. The series will also feature members of Hammond’s family, offering a look into the person behind the persona made famous on “Top Gear” and “The Grand Tour.”
“I’ve spent 25 years critiquing other people’s cars and now I’m putting my own work out there,” Hammond said in a release. “My grandfather was an automotive craftsman, who knows, maybe I’ve inherited some of his skill! So, this is a real business, a real project and I really hope people enjoy watching the highs and inevitable lows throughout the series!”
SALES
All3Media has closed several key deals for the new Stan Original and Spectrum Originals thriller series “Eden,” produced by Every Cloud Productions’ Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox (“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”) and Balloon Entertainment (“Clique, Kiss Me First”). The contemporary thriller was scooped by Canal Plus in France, CMore in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and Sky in New Zealand, having launched earlier this month in Australia as a Stan original series. It will premiere in the U.S. from July 12 on Spectrum Originals. Set in an idyllic coastal community, “Eden” unspools as the disappearance of a young woman kickstarts a series of traumatic events which uncover a dark core at the center of the would-be paradise.
PARTNERSHIP
In a major step into the European marketplace, Wurl has launched a strategic partnership with streaming platform Rakuten TV to deliver live streaming channels and monetization services to the streamer and its channel app on Samsung TV Plus across Europe. In 42 countries, Wurl delivers 241 feeds from more than 50 channel brands on Rakuten TV and Samsung TV Plus. The video asset delivery and monetization services are provided via Wurl’s AdPool platform. Wurl is also currently working with Samsung TV Plus and LG to launch additional European channel brands in the future.
ACQUISITION
International indie distributor Lineup has acquired the reality format “Where Does the Money Go” for global distribution and closed the first sale of the program with Kable 1 in Germany, where it will be produced by Tresor. The original is a Skyhigh TV production for NPO1 in the Netherlands, where a second season was recently commissioned. A heavy hitter in its timeslot, the show tracks four families from different socio-economic situations which are tasked with setting a monthly budget and saving a pre-determined amount in that time.
PRODUCTION
Love Nature and CosmoVision Media Group have wrapped production on their upcoming documentary special “Osprey” (working title), a one-hour deep dive into the lives of a pair of ospreys as they come together across continents to watch their youngest chick thrive and become a powerful raptor. “Osprey” is co-produced by Love Nature and The WNET Group, with Blue Ant International overseeing licensing and pre-sales for the documentary. The special will launch on Love Nature’s linear and streaming platforms outside the U.S. and U.K., and debut as part of PBS’ Nature Series in the U.S. and on Sky in the U.K.