Innovative pact will see Australian natural history specialist produce science and history series co-funded by Canadian giant
Canadian giant Blue Ant Studios has struck an innovative creative partnership with Australian outfit WildBear Entertainment to greenlight a trio of factual series, Broadcast can reveal.
The pact will see natural history specialists WildBear broaden its programming slate with specialist factual history and science series Secrets of the Lost Cities (6 x 60 minutes), World War II: History on Trial (6 x 60 minutes) and Engineering by Catastrophe (6 x 60 minutes).
The 18-hour deal, unveiled on day one of the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers in Marrekesh, is driven by market demand and aimed at mitigating the challenging commissioning landscape. Blue Ant Studios will retain full worldwide distribution rights.
The agreement was brokered by Lilla Hurst, global head, acquisitions & content strategy at Blue Ant and Edwina Thring of Wild Thring Media, representing WildBear.
New financial models
The news comes as Blue Ant increasingly looks to new models of commissioning to get shows off the ground, as Blue Ant’s global head of content financing & partnerships, Ben Barrett, told Broadcast International last week.
Combining cutting-edge science, experts and high-end graphics, Secrets of the Lost Cities explores the world’s most ancient and mysterious cities, looking to discover the secrets of their power and the reasons for their downfall. Each episode will focus on one region with a featured city plus secondary stories.
History doc World War II: History on Trial interrogates the infamous Nuremberg trials, as they near their 80th anniversary. It will examine the arguments made by the Allies and Axis powers and aim to provide fresh insights into the trajectory of the Second World War.
Engineering by Catastrophe follows the construction of some of the world’s latest and most failsafe structures – buildings, dams, stadia, container ships or bridges – which incorporate the very latest in engineering science to overcome previous disasters.
The series relives the historical disasters that inspired their construction and taught engineers how to innovate.
WildBear Entertainment has just gone into production on each series, led by chief exec and executive producer Michael Tear. Hurst will serve as an executive producer on each title.
Mark Bishop, co-president, Blue Ant Studios, said: “As both a creative and financial partner with producers and buyers around the world, Blue Ant Studios is committed to finding new ways of working and investing in different financial models to bring great content into the marketplace and onto the screen.
“Having already acquired numerous completed WildBear titles for international distribution, we know that its programming is extremely well-produced and always in demand.
”So, while greenlighting these 18 hours could be considered a risk, working with a trusted partner like WildBear mitigates that risk and ensures we continue to fuel our pipeline with the sort of great factual series that buyers are seeking.”
WildBear’s Tear added: “We are delighted to be working so closely with Blue Ant Studios in this way, sharing the potential risk – and, hopefully, the upside. It is wonderful to have such backing from Lilla and the team.
“This support not only demonstrates confidence in our productions but also greatly speeds up the process and allows us to quickly get series into the marketplace at a time when commissioning decisions are being made rather slowly.”
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