Sky doc Once Upon a Time in Londongrad to spotlight Russian connections

Docuseries Once Upon a Time in Londongrad

European pay TV operator Sky has commissioned a docuseries about how the UK became reliant on Russian money and missed opportunities to contain the Kremlin’s influence, as part of a slate of new originals.

Once Upon a Time in Londongrad is produced by Rise Films in association with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, BuzzFeed Studios and Concordia Studio. It is directed by Killing in the Name and WeWork director Jed Rothstein.

The six-part series explores 14 mysterious deaths in the UK with alleged connections to Russia, delving into the hidden underworld of Russian exiles in London to link some of the most internationally significant cases in living memory, including the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

Once Upon a Time in Londongrad was commissioned by Jack Oliver, head of coproductions for Zai Bennett, MD of content at Sky. The executive producer is Teddy Leifer and series producer is Guy Horlock for Rise Films, while co-executive producers for BuzzFeed Studios are Richard Alan Reid and Karolina Waclawiak. The series will air on Sky Documentaries in the UK and Ireland and will be distributed internationally by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

The docuseries is part of a slate of new original shows unveiled by the European satcaster in London today.

Sky Documentaries will also air The Essex Murders (working title), a three-part documentary on the so-called Rettenden Murders, produced by Peter Fincham and Tim Hincks’ BBC Studios-backed prodco Expectation.

The Rettenden Murders in the mid ’90s led to two men being jailed for life after three men were found shot dead in a Range Rover in an Essex country lane. The incident shone a light for the first time on the violent drugs trade and the huge money involved, but the two men jailed, Jack Whomes and Mick Steele, have continued to maintain their innocence.

Sky is also reviving Fantasy Football League, the classic comedy football show that aired on both the BBC and ITV between 1994 and 2004.

Originally fronted by Frank Skinner and David Badiel, the reboot will be hosted by Matt Lucas and Elias James. Comedy specialist prodco Avalon will produce the 16-part series for Sky Max and it will premiere with the new football season in the autumn.

Another reboot of a classic BBC show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, has been renewed for a second 9×60’ season, produced by Fremantle-owned Talkback.

To coincide with the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in November, Got Got Need (3×60’) will see comedian Jack Whitehall challenge former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp and his manager father Harry to collect as many real-life meetings with actual World Cup stars as they can. Jackpot Productions will produce.

Finally, Hold the Front Page is being produced by Red Arrow Studios-owned CPL Productions for Sky Max. The 6×60’ series sees comedians Josh Widdicombe and Nish Kumar travel around the country working for a different local newspaper each week, trying to find stories to make the paper’s front page.