SPT takes majority stake in Blue Lights creators’ fledgling Belfast indie Hot Sauce
Adam Patterson (left) and Declan Lawn
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has backed investigative-journalists-turned-drama-creatives Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson’s fledgling Northern Ireland scripted indie Hot Sauce.
The duo, who created the name Hot Sauce to represent their creative partnership, will now launch it as a fully fledged production company in Belfast with backing from SPT, which will have a majority stake in the company. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
C21 understands they will be recruiting for the rest of their team in due course.
As a majority-owned company, Hot Sauce joins the SPT International Production group portfolio alongside fellow scripted companies Left Bank Pictures, Eleven, Eleventh Hour Films and Cardiff-based Bad Wolf.
It will be SPT’s second production company in Belfast, after non-scripted and formats specialist Stellify Media.
Lawn and Patterson met working for the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme Panorama. They went on to co-write BBC drama The Salisbury Poisonings, which became the BBC’s most-watched drama of 2020.
Their first feature film, Rogue Agent, starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton, was released on Netflix UK and by IFC Cinemas in the US in 2022.
Their original series Blue Lights, about policing in contemporary Belfast, has aired for two seasons on the BBC. Lawn and Patterson will continue with their writing commitments on Blue Lights following the launch of Hot Sauce. They will continue to be represented by United Agents (UK) and WME (US).
Matthew Justice, executive VP and head of UK and Europe at SPT, said: “This deal was a ‘yes’ on multiple levels for us at SPT. First, it’s an investment in Declan and Adam. We are massive admirers of their work. Finding creative talent that have got the chops, ability and ambition to grow a business around their creativity is always an enticing proposition.
“They have a unique, analytical approach to crafting drama and have had everyone knocking on their door thanks to the success of Blue Lights, so to have this opportunity to bring them into the SPT family and build the next chapter of Hot Sauce with them is tremendously exciting.
“This is also an investment in the industry in Belfast. We have long had presence in the Northern Ireland creative community through Stellify, but we know that the scripted industry there is brimming with talent and potential.
“This deal further builds out our national portfolio and, alongside Bad Wolf’s base in Wales and Left Bank’s production work in Scotland on Outlander and Department Q, highlights the creative brilliance across our entire national production landscape.”
Lawn and Patterson, co-CEOs of Hot Sauce, said in a joint statement: “This investment by SPT shows how much faith this global media powerhouse has in the future of Belfast as a creative hub in television and film.
“With their ambition and expertise, they are the perfect partners for us and we could not be more excited to build Hot Sauce with them in the years ahead. The fact that we will be doing all of this in our hometown makes it even more special.”
