WE tv, Barcroft to make Extreme Love

Barcroft’s Extreme Love already runs to 57 episodes

US cablenet WE tv has ordered a linear longform version of UK prodco Barcroft Media’s digital series about unusual relationships.

Extreme Love (8×60’) features tales of relationships where conventional notions of romance are reconceived for the 21st century.

Examples include the 21-year-old woman who spends time as an ‘adult baby,’ the 4ft tall weightlifter and the transgender woman he has fallen for, and real-life vampire couples.

The new series is a coproduction between WE tv, Barcroft and UK distributor TCB Media Rights, and follows on from the deal agreed between Barcroft and TCB in April to convert the original into a longform version.

Barcroft’s digital, mid-form series has already spawned 57 episodes and attracted hundreds of millions of views on the company’s YouTube channel and Facebook Watch page.

Barcroft’s CEO Sam Barcroft will exec produce the series alongside Laura Capaldi, WE tv’s Lauren P Gellert, David Stefanou, Lauren Lazin and Nicole Vogel, and TCB’s CEO Paul Heaney.

Barcroft has also agreed a coproduction deal that will see Kew Media-backed TCB handling distribution of its digital series brand Shake My Beauty.

The agreement gives TCB worldwide rights to sell an 8×60’ longform TV series based on the Barcroft show. Shake My Beauty tells the stories of people who use social media as an empowerment tool to help overcome body image insecurities caused by physical or psychological challenges.

Barcroft has produced 25 episodes of shortform documentaries in the Shake My Beauty strand that have collectively attracted more than 17.7 million views to date on the Barcroft TV YouTube channel and over 5.2 million views on Facebook Watch in just four months.