Lionsgate grows UK investment

US studio Lionsgate has taken a stake in fledgling UK drama company Potboiler Television, part of movie studio Potboiler Productions.

Lionsgate and Potboiler Productions worked together on period film drama A Little Chaos

Lionsgate will partner with Potboiler on its expanding television slate and has also signed a first-look deal for global distribution of its projects following the investment.

Financial details of the deal and the level of Lionsgate’s stake in the company were not disclosed.

The deal marks Lionsgate’s latest move into UK television after it invested in the production companies Primal Media and Kindle Entertainment in the past 14 months.

It also recently co-financed the Channel 4 comedy Damned and hired former ITV executive Steve November as its creative director of UK television.

Potboiler Productions was set up by the late film producer Simon Channing Williams alongside Gail Egan in 2000 and joined forces with Andrea Calderwood’s Slate Films in 2009.

Since then, Lionsgate and Potboiler Productions have collaborated on several film projects, including Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos and Trespass Against Us, a forthcoming feature starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson.

“Lionsgate UK has a reputation for boldly supporting British product and talent, investing more in its home territory than any other distributor. This partnership with Andrea and Gail, two renowned film and television producers, and the Potboiler team deepens that commitment and extends both companies’ diversification into scripted television product created for a global audience,” said Zygi Kamasa, CEO of Lionsgate’s European office.

“This deal is a perfect example of the building blocks Zygi Kamasa and his team are assembling as they develop a robust television business alongside their premier film brand,” said Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs.

Lionsgate’s slate encompasses nearly 90 series on 40 US networks and platforms, including Orange is the New Black, Nashville, Casual and The Royals. Its TV arm also last year acquired US cablenet Starz.

Forthcoming shows include Dear White People for Netflix, White Famous for Showtime, Step Up for YouTube Red, Kicking & Screaming for Fox and Candy Crush for CBS.

The Potboiler deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by executive VP of TV operations and corporate development Laura Kennedy and Alexandra Keen, executive VP of business and legal affairs, together with Reno Antoniades and Oliver Shipton for Potboiler. Consultant Marc Lorber brought the deal into Lionsgate UK.