Wayne Garvie has set out ambitions for Sony to become the “biggest drama studio in Britain” as latest addition Bad Wolf lands a Netflix development starring Billie Piper and works up an Arthurian adaption from The Last Kingdom creator.
Speaking with Bad Wolf chief exec Jane Tranter at MipTV, Sony Pictures Television International Production president Garvie said he has an eye on the number of opportunities which exist with European broadcasters.
“It’s a brilliant time to be thinking differently about deals,” he said, as he looks for further scripted avenues beyond the UK and the SVoD operators.
Broadcast revealed that Sony closed a deal to acquire Bad Wolf in December, bolstering the group’s scripted output alongside The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures and Sex Education’s Eleven. Garvie said the three major indies can work in a way that feels “complementary.”
Elsewhere in the session, Tranter unveiled Bad Wolf’s first project since joining the group - a ten-part returning series adapted from Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles.
In what Tranter described as a “revisionist retelling”, The Winter King will follow Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from outcast son to legendary warrior and leader in the 5th century.
The series is being produced by Bad Wolf in association with One Big Picture, with international distribution being handled by Sony Pictures Television.
Kate Brooke and Ed Whitmore are adapting the novels, with Otto Bathurst (His Dark Materials, Halo) as lead director.
The Winter King was self-financed by Sony and Bad Wolf, with Tranter confirming that the series has already been sold. It will start shooting in Wales and the West Country in 2022.
Bad Wolf is also working up a development of former Empire magazine editor Terri White’s 2020 memoir, Coming Undone, with Netflix, according to Deadline.
Billie Piper has been attached to star in and exec produce the project which documents White’s poverty-stricken childhood, enduring physical and sexual abuse from her mother’s partners and a mental health crisis that saw her spend time in a psychiatric unit.
White is adapting the book herself.
This story first appeared on Screen’s sister site Broadcast.
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