Max Goldbart
EXCLUSIVE: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder producer Moonage Pictures is on the sales block, Deadline has learned.
We understand that BBC Studios will retain a minority interest in the company it took a stake in in 2018 for the time being, although this could change depending on who comes in for Moonage. There is understood to be plenty interest in Moonage and the sale has generated chatter in UK TV M&A and production circles. Moonage and BBC Studios declined comment.
Run by the former Peaky Blinders producing trio of Frith Tiplady, Matthew Read and Will Gould, Moonage has delivered a number of shows of late. The London-based prodco was behind the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder adaptation for the BBC and Netflix starring Emma Myers, which is currently sitting pretty at the top of the streamer’s global top-10 most-watched list.
Meanwhile, with Miramax and STX Television, Moonage co-produced another big Netflix hit, Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen TV series spin-off, which dominated top-10s earlier this year and has just been recommissioned. Another recent project is Nicolas Winding Refn’s Famous Five adaptation for the BBC and ZDF, which is sold by BBC Studios, while upcoming is Netflix Italy’s The Leopard, Moonage’s debut non-English language show. Speaking to Deadline several months back, the Moonage bosses said they were confident in the face of a tricky market.
According to its latest Companies House filing, Moonage turned over £12.2M ($15.6M) for the year to March 31 2023, which fell by just over £5M but was prior to the delivery of a number of big shows. It made a small profit of £639,000.
Sources speculated over the companies that may be interested in Moonage. ITV Studios has dipped into the UK drama market of late, having bought Sherlock producer Hartswood last month, while Universal International Studios, which owns the likes of Carnival and Monkey, was also floated as potential by one producer source. All3Media, which could soon be unleashed on the M&A market now that RedBird IMI has completed its £1.15B ($1.45B) takeover, may also be after a new drama outfit, a different source suggested.
BBC Studios retains a minority stake for the time being. It has exited minority stakes in the recent past such as with Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story indie 72 Films, which was subsequently snapped up by Fremantle, while it has also upped stakes into majority shareholdings in the case of Sherwood producer House Productions and The Jetty maker Firebird. The company also owns outright the likes of Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow and Gentleman Jack producer Lookout Point.