BBC Studios has taken full control of U.K. television outfit House Productions, acquiring the final 25 percent of the company, run by Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell.
House Productions is behind the limited series Brexit: The Uncivil War and upcoming BBC mini-series Sherwood.
The deal, which BBC Studios unveiled on Tuesday, follows similar takeover moves by the BBC’s commercial arm of Clerkenwell Films, producer of End Of The F***ing World and of Gentleman Jack producer Lookout Point. BBC Studios also holds a majority stake in Steve Coogan’s shingle Baby Cow.
Other shows on House Productions’ upcoming slate include Netflix’s The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Stephen Butchard’s The Good Mothers, a co-production with Italian company Wildside, being produced for Disney+’s Star. On the feature side, House is co-producing the Netflix film The Wonder from Oscar winner Sebastian Lelio (A Fantastic Woman), starring Florence Pugh together with Ireland’s Element Pictures.
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BBC Studios chief creative officer Mark Linsey, who oversees producer partnerships, said Ross and Howell’s company “exemplifies bold, British, creativity.”
Before setting up their indie in 2016, Ross and Howell were the heads, respectively, of Film4 and Working Title TV.
“We know how lucky we are to have partners in BBC Studios who share not just our ambition for growth and scale, but also for the way in which we achieve that growth, for the people we work with and the stories we tell,” Ross and Howell said in a statement.
The deal was negotiated by Laura Franses on behalf of House Productions (advised by Tom Manwaring of Helion Partners) and Matt Garside, Managing Director of Content Partnerships for BBC Studios.
British TV trade magazine Broadcast was first to report news of the planned deal in November.
