All the latest news from the global content industry on Thursday, 10 April

 

FX extends Welcome to Wrexham

Disney-owned US network FX has extended docuseries Welcome to Wrexham into a four season.

The show, from Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, will premiere 15 May with the first two episodes of the eight-episode season. Episodes will stream next day on Hulu and become available the following day on Disney+ in select international markets, including the UK.

The series tracks how McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Reynolds (Deadpool) navigate running the professional football club, following their deal to  uy the club in 2020.

It is produced by More Better Productions, Maximum Effort Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment and Boardwalk Pictures.

 

Sky greenlights UK version of Saturday Night Live

Comcast-owned Sky in the UK has given the go-ahead for a local edition of NBC’s venerated sketch show Saturday Night Live.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) UK will be produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS) UK and SNL US showrunner Lorne Michaels’ outfit Broadway Video. Michaels, who created the format and has overseen it for NBC for most of its 50-year existence, will serve as an executive producer.

Further information on the production teams is expected soon, but the London and Australia-based UTAS teams are currently overseen by Helen Kruger-Bratt, who reports to president Toby Gorman. Sky, NBC and UTAS are all part of Comcast. 

 

AMC scores San Francisco 49ers docuseries

AMC Networks has greenlit sport docuseries Gold Rush (w/t), which will explore the dramatic run of the San Francisco 49ers’ during the 1980s and early 1990s when the team won five Super Bowls.

The four-parter is an AMC Studios and Skydance Sports co-production with producing partners NFL Films, Religion of Sports (ROS) and Tom Brady (for both ROS and 199 Productions).

It is set to premeire exclusively on AMC and AMC+ in 2026 and will use rare and never-before-seen footage from NFL Films, including video of team speeches and behind-the-scenes photos of San Francisco’s head coach Bill Walsh, as well as interviews with players such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott.

 

C4 YouTube channel sold to Spud Gun

UK-based animation firm Spud Gun Studios is to take ownership of Channel 4-backed YouTube channel Mashed and its 5m-plus subscribers as part of a drive to super-size its branded content offering.

Youth-skewing animation-focused Mashed largely houses Spun Gun-produced branded content made in partnership with computer game publishers including Larian Studios, Santa Monica Studios and Microsoft to align with video game launches, among other projects.

Spud Gun is run by managing director Tom Jenkins – who launched Mashed in 2013 – and creative director Tom Payne. Mashed was originally set up by C4 in 2013 in partnership with TV and digital indie The Connected Set, which was behind the 2023 launch of Spud Gun. At that point, C4 committed to investing in the channel until at least the end of 2024, having backed it since its inception.

Spud Gun will continue to run the channel as it transitions into independent ownership under the leadership of its long-time creators and producers.

 

Kanal D’s Love Trap heads to Czech Republic

Turkish drama Love Trap has been picked up in the Czech Republic following a deal with Kanal D International.

The romantic comedy follows a charismatic but irresponsible heir to a textile empire and a working-class girl stuck in a dead-end life who link up to escape an unwanted marriage but are pulled into a scheme full of secrets, humour and unexpected romance. Broadcaster details have not been revealed. 

 

BBC, ZDF, France TV’s Lady Grace to start filming

Upcoming tween drama spy series The Lady Grace Mysteries is to start filming in Brussels from 14 April befofe moving to County Durham in the UK from next month.

The show, which targets 8 to 12-year-olds, is being c0-produced for BBC Children’s and Education, Germany’s ZDF and France Télévisions by Cottonwood Media and Coolabi Productions. Federation Kids & Family and ZDF Studios handle worldwide sales

The 10 x 24-minute show is set in the British court of Queen Elizabeth I and is based on the children’s detective fiction novels of the same name which first published in 2004. The story tells the story of Lady Grace Cavendish, the world’s first female teenage detective working as a private spy for Queen Elizabeth I.