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PRODUCTION
Shooting kicked off in Dublin on Monday for ITV and BBC streamer BritBox’s latest commission, a new dramedy series titled “The Dry” to be produced by Element Pictures (“Normal People,” “The Favourite”) in association with Screen Ireland and ITV Studios. Irish broadcaster RTÉ is also partnering on production.
Roisin Gallagher (“The Fall”) Ciarán Hinds (“Game Of Thrones”), Pom Boyd (“Vanity Fair”), Siobhán Cullen (“Origin”) and Moe Dunford (“Vikings”) headline the series cast, joined by newcomer Adam Richardson. In the show, Shiv Sheridan (Gallagher) returns to Dublin after living abroad in London, sober and well intentioned for the first time in years. Being back home, however, proves to make staying on the wagon more difficult than she expects.
Paddy Breathnach (“I Went Down”) directs the series, penned by writer Nancy Harris. Harris is also on the executive producer team with Emma Norton, Michael Dawson, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe. ITV Studios will distribute international, with the series launching exclusively on BritBox in the U.K. sometime next year.
FINANCIAL
Multi-territory Asian cinema operator Orange Sky Golden Harvest issued a profit warning advising that losses in the first half of this year will increase to at least HK$170 million ($21.8 million) compared with $155 million ($19.9 million) in the same period last year. It blamed the coronavirus for causing temporary closure of cinemas and seat restrictions at those cinemas allowed to operate. It operates multiplexes in Hong Kong (currently open), Singapore (open with significant restrictions) and Taiwan (reopened from July 13, 2021).
FIRST-LOOK
Cineflix Media is teaming with executive producer Jacqueline Bynon to launch a new production company, More to the Story Media. The upstart company will operate out of Toronto, where it will develop and produce investigative true crime series, documentaries, movies and podcasts for the international marketplace. Several projects are already in development at the label, which the company says will be produced in a way that honors the victims which engaging audiences and exposing the truth. In return for backing the startup, Cineflix Rights holds the exclusive first-look to distribute any content from More to the Story internationally.
DOCUMENTARY
Wildflame Productions’ hour-long documentary “Strictly Amy: Crohn’s and Me” has been picked up by the BBC, where it will air ahead of this year’s season premiere of “Strictly Come Dancing,” on which Amy Dowden has been a dancer since 2017. Dowden was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 19, and in “Strictly Amy” Wildflame follows the dancer as she adapts to life with the disease that can, at any time, cause severe pain and hospitalization. In the special, Dowden confronts the disease while researching and learning more about it. She reaches out to other sufferers and explains how she overcomes the condition in her daily life. Considered especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus, Dowden spent much of the last year-and-a-half isolated in her home, wondering how the layoff will affect her life and career going forward, and if she will be able to return to the program she’s called home for several years.
HIRING
British management company Margravine Management has hired Joshua Brandon as its U.K. managing director. The move comes as Margravine kicks of an aggressive expansion plan, in which Brandon will play a key role. Most recently, Brandon founded the consultancy company Management 16, having previously served as president of Insanity Group North America and COO at We Generate. Margravine is a joint venture between IMG and digital talent reps Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee.
