Pinewood, home to the Star Wars and James Bond films, is to expand beyond its Hollywood heartland with the launch of a new TV division that will fund and develop high-end drama series.
Pinewood Television, which will invest in shows with a minimum budget of £1m an episode, will be led by Helen Gregory whose credits include Sky’s Fortitude, the BBC’s The Last Kingdom and Scandal, and Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rimes’s upcoming series The Catch.
“The global demand for high-end television continues to rise dramatically and, with high end TV fiscal incentives available [tax credits], the Pinewood television business will participate in this growing market,” said Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Group.
Pinewood Television is a joint venture with media investment company StoryFirst, which has previous investments including the Russian version of Hello! magazine, Hello! TV and Sony Pictures Cable Channels.
“We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Pinewood, developing and building Pinewood Television into world class originator and owner of high quality television drama,” said Peter Gerwe, chief executive of StoryFirst.
Last year, Pinewood invested in Amazon’s first UK original drama, period fashion drama The Collection.
Pinewood also advises the Isle of Man and Welsh governments’ TV and film investment funds.
