RCS - STV Group PLC - STV STUDIOS CONFIRMS 3 DRAMA SERIES COMMISSIONS

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22/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0124E  STV Group PLC  22 February 2024

 
 

 

 

 

7am, Thursday 22 February 2024

 

 

STV STUDIOS CONFIRMS THREE HIGH-END DRAMA SERIES COMMISSIONS FOR TWO CITIES
TELEVISION

 

·    STV Studios outlines details of new commissions for newly
consolidated production label

·    Two Cities Television to produce new drama, Amadeus, for Sky

·    A 3(rd) and 4(th) series of Blue Lights to be made for BBC One and
iPlayer

 

STV Studios this week confirms three drama series commissions for its newly
consolidated production label, Two Cities Television ('Two Cities').  These
include two further series (3 and 4) of Belfast based, critically acclaimed
police drama, Blue Lights for BBC One and iPlayer; and new drama for Sky,
Amadeus.

 

Amadeus reunites the acclaimed writer of Giri/Haji and The Lazarus Project Joe
Barton, BAFTA-winning actor Will Sharpe (Giri/Haji, The White Lotus S2) and
director Julian Farino (Giri/Haji). Deftly reimagined from Peter Shaffer's
award-winning stage play, Barton's adaptation of Amadeus expands and
interrogates the mythic rivalry, promising a corrupting symphony of jealousy,
ambition and genius. Set within the musical hub of bustling Vienna at the end
of the 18th century, twenty-five-year-old Amadeus arrives in the city no
longer a child and determined to carve his own path. Recently unemployed and
without the management of his father, Amadeus finds an unlikely ally in a
young singer who will become his wife, fiery Constanze Weber Mozart. Her
connections help bring him into the orbit of the talented court composer
Antonio Salieri, setting the three of them on a collision course where only
one will ultimately live to tell the tale.

 

Blue Lights is co-created and written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, and
is an authentic, gripping and darkly funny drama about ordinary people doing
an extraordinary job. Series one, which aired in March last year, followed
three new PSNI probationary recruits as they navigated their way through their
first few months in a uniquely complex place to be a response police
officer.  It launched to more than 7 million (BARB 28 Day 4 Screen).  The
much anticipated second series airs this spring.

 

In January 2024, STV Studios announced that it had increased its equity stake
in Two Cities
(https://www.stvplc.tv/newsroom/2024/stv-studios-takes-majority-stake-in-two-cities-television/)
from 25% to a majority 51% in a materially earnings enhancing deal.  STV
confirmed that the high-end drama producer had secured revenues of £55m over
the next three years and this week's news confirms the details of these series
now that they have been announced by the broadcasters, Sky and BBC.

 

Two Cities Television is led by joint CEOs, Michael Jackson (formerly
Controller of BBC One and BBC Two, CEO of Channel 4, President of Programming
at USA Entertainment and Chairman of Universal Television) and Stephen Wright
(formerly Head of Drama for BBC Northern Ireland where he commissioned Line of
Duty and The Fall).

 

David Mortimer, MD of STV Studios, said: "Last month, we announced our
increased stake in Two Cities Television, led by the brilliant Michael Jackson
and Stephen Wright, and we're now delighted to confirm the exciting projects
coming up for the company.  Amadeus looks set to be an outstanding original
piece for Sky; and a commitment to a further two series of Blue Lights from
the BBC is testament to the quality and popularity of the show and the talent
behind it."

 

Simon Pitts, CEO of STV Group Plc said: "STV's consolidation of Two Cities is
clear evidence of the ongoing success of our Studios strategy of investing in
high potential production companies. The Two Cities team are at the top of
their game, as these new high end drama commissions show, and we're incredibly
proud to be their partners."

 

Ends.

 

Contact: Kirstin Stevenson (STV Studios)  Kirstin.stevenson@stv.tv
(mailto:Kirstin.stevenson@stv.tv) / 07803970106

 

 

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