ITVS buys into Blumhouse TV studio

US film company Blumhouse is partnering with ITV Studios (ITVS) to launch an independent TV prodco and is working on a small-screen version of movie franchise The Purge and a limited series for Showtime.

The Purge series will be led by the film’s creator James De Monac

ITVS has taken a 45% stake in Blumhouse Television, an investment that will see it become an independent prodco in its own right, following its launch in 2012 as part of Jason Blum’s film business.

Blum’s firm is in the midst of a 10-year deal with Universal Pictures and has produced movies including The Purge, Insidious and Paranormal Activity.

The TV venture is already working on an adaptation of The Purge with Universal Cable Productions for cablenets USA and Syfy. The series will be led by the film franchise’s creator James De Monaco and continue to centre on the premise of a legal 12-hour annual bout of lawlessness.

Showtime has also greenlit limited series Secure & Hold: The Last Days of Roger Ailes, from Oscar winner Tom McCarthy and based on journalist Gabe Sherman’s biography The Loudest Voice in the Room, about the career and recent downfall of the Fox News’s chairman and CEO.

Blumhouse Television is known for producing HBO true-crime series The Jinx. It is working on the forthcoming series Sharp Objects, based on Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novels, for the same broadcaster.

The company said the investment from ITVS will see it grow and scale as an independent TV studio with the autonomy and resources to invest in development and production of original content for global exploitation.