HBO, Sky secure Bad Wolf stakes

Jane Tranter (left) and Julie Gardner

US premium cablenet HBO and UK satcaster Sky have taken minority stakes in Bad Wolf, the prodco set up in 2015 by former BBC Worldwide execs Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner.

The investment has been made as part of HBO and Sky’s US$250m coproduction pact and will see representatives from the two companies taking seats on Bad Wolf’s board.

HBO and Sky will also get the first look at projects from the LA- and Wales-based production company, which launched its own studio earlier this year.

Sky has invested £1.6m (US$2m) in the prodco while HBO’s investment has not yet been revealed.

Bad Wolf is already working with Sky on a TV adaptation of Deborah Harkness’s fantasy novel A Discovery of Witches, and was also behind drama series The Night Of for HBO. The prodco is also working on BBC1’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s book series His Dark Materials.

HBO and Sky unveiled their US$250m coproduction scheme to develop high-end drama in April, focusing on shows that feature “engaging stories with international points of view and casting.”

The first series to emerge was Chernobyl, a five-parter about the disaster at the nuclear facility in 1986, which will be produced by UK prodcos Sister Pictures and The Mighty Mint.

The Bad Wolf deal, which comes after Danny Cohen-fronted Access Entertainment took a 24.9% stake in the prodco earlier this year, further cements HBO and Sky’s relationship, which has been strengthened over recent years.

Sky agreed its first output deal with HBO in 2010 and extended the arrangement across Europe in 2015.

The two companies have also produced numerous shows together, including forthcoming drama The New Pope.