Endemol forms writer pact, preps slate

LA-based Endemol Studios has agreed its first overall writer/producer deal by forming a partnership with the showrunner of upcoming family drama Kingdom.

Byron Balasco has agreed a two-year pact with Endemol Studios that will see him developing and supervising new projects for the studio. He will continue to exec produce and act as showrunner on Kingdom, the 10-episode series set to debut on DirecTV on October 8.

Philippe Maigret, CEO at Endemol Studios, said the agreement was part of the firm’s strategy to “aggressively pursue” writers and producers that it could work with.

Endemol Studios launched in August 2011 and has worked on shows including Hell on Wheels for AMC and Red Widow for ABC, while Balasco’s credits include ABC cop show Detroit 1-8-7 and CBS procedural Without a Trace.

Parent company Endemol has also revealed the scripted and entertainment formats it will unveil at Mipcom next month.

The prodco, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is bringing multiplatform format The Singer Takes It All, which originally aired on Channel 4, to market for the first time alongside BBC quizzer Two Tribes and Endemol Germany’s celeb-focused series Hard to Believe.

Endemol is also launching scripted formats including medical drama The Orpheus Project from its Israeli-based division and No Identity from its Spanish arm, which tells the story of a lawyer who learns she is not the biological daughter of her parents.

Endemol is currently being lined up to be part of 21st Century Fox’s joint venture with Apollo Global Management, which would see it brought together with rival production giants Core Media and Shine under one umbrella.