Passion, Renowned sign first-look pact

Stacey Dooley: Hate & Pride in Orlando looks at the impact of the Pulse nightclub shooting

Tinopolis-owned UK sales house Passion Distribution has signed a first-look deal with factual and factual entertainment production outfit Renowned Films.

The exclusive agreement sees Passion pick up rights to four Renowned shows: The Peng Life, an as-yet unnamed music-themed doc, Top Dad and Stacey Dooley: Hate & Pride in Orlando.

The Peng Life (4×30’) is a new review show from UK pubcaster Channel 4 with internet celebrity Elijah Quashie, also known as ‘The Chicken Connoisseur.’ Each episode sees the fried chicken restaurant critic visit a new city to review food at two price points, the cheapest and most expensive.

Renowned’s forthcoming 90-minute music doc for Sky Arts tells the story of the UK’s most subversive music genre, Grime.

Stacey Dooley: Hate & Pride in Orlando (1×30’) follows the presenter as she explores the impact on LGBT+ communities of one of the worst shootings in US history, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016.

Six-part documentary Top Dad follows actor and musician Ashley Walters, star of British crime drama Top Boy, as he dives into modern day fatherhood and explores what it means to raise a family in the turbulent political landscapes of our time.

London- and Los Angeles-based Renowned Films was established in 2012. Its early success attracted investment from Channel 4’s Growth Fund, and most recently it has partnered with US independent content and television studio Critical Content.

The first-look deal was announced by Max Welch, founder and creative director at Renowned and Emmanuelle Namiech, CEO of Passion.