“Upstairs, Downstairs”
FilmRise has expanded its deal with ITV Studios for over 5,000 hours of programming containing 3,000 hours of newly added content of premium British dramas both classic and new and many never before made available to stream in the US. The deal includes a renewal of Gordan Ramsay’s immensely popular “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares” franchises as well as an array of unscripted/factual content across Home & Garden, Lifestyle, True Crime, Competition and Reality genres - with many key titles to be exclusively distributed on AVOD and FAST by FilmRise in the United States and Canada. The deal was announced jointly today at NATPE by Max Einhorn, SVP Acquisitions & Co-Productions and Rob Kaplan, SVP Sales, U.S. & Global Accounts, Global Partnerships, ITV Studios.
FilmRise began its relationship with ITV Studios during its early years and became instantly successful with the single series “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares” across AVOD and FAST. Currently FilmRise manages six FAST Channels for Hell’s Kitchen in N. America and seven FAST Channels for Hell’s Kitchen/Kitchen Nightmares in the U.S.
Einhorn states, “With the expansion of this deal with ITV Studios, we are positioning ourselves as a key player to further distribute exceptional British drama and non-scripted content to the US FAST and AVOD audience. We are very proud that ITV Studios recognizes our ongoing dedication to share their content with our wide customer base."
ITV Studios’ Rob Kaplan, adds that “FilmRise has done an impeccable job of reaching audiences and successfully monetizing many of ITV Studios’ most popular titles in the rapidly evolving digital content ecosystem. They continue to provide viewers with a myriad of access points to easily discover and enjoy our programs for free. We are thrilled to meaningfully expand our long-standing collaboration with such a respected partner."
Among the new programming being added to the deal is seasons 1-5 of “Brassic” which became Sky One’s most successful comedy series in seven years after it began airing in 2019 and seasons 1 & 2 of “Romulus” the epic tale of the origin of Rome, set in 8th Century BC. The complete series of “Prime Suspect” starring Dame Helen Mirren as well as all five seasons of the iconic series “Upstairs, Downstairs,” are amongst the list, in addition to four seasons of “Nanny 911,” the hit reality series where British nannies were brought into homes with troublesome tots, and 12 seasons of “The Hotel Inspector” where celebrated hotelier and businesswoman Alex Polizzi visits struggling British hotels to try and turn its fortunes around by giving advice and suggestions to the owner.