ITV

Tag: Shane Murphy

  • FremantleMedia to distribute ‘The IT Crowd’

    FremantleMedia to distribute ‘The IT Crowd’

    MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID) will be distributing the brand new talkbackTHAMES sitcom, The IT Crowd, worldwide.

    The IT Crowd, which premieres with a double bill on the UK’s Channel 4 today , is the latest highly-anticipated comedy offering from talkbackTHAMES producer, Ash Atalla.

    Written and directed by Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd is about an IT department – Roy (Chris O’Dowd), Jen (Katherine Parkinson) and Moss (Richard Ayoade) – who work in the basement of Reynholm Industries while their beautiful colleagues work upstairs in fantastic surroundings. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, The IT Crowd is a surreal look at the underclass of a company.

    FID will launch the hot new comedy at MIPTV 06 in Cannes in April, where it will feature within an exciting slate of programming.

    Fremantle International Distribution head of acquisitions and development Shane Murphy said, “FID has a tremendous heritage in comedy and The IT Crowd is the beginning of a renewed focus on quality comedy programming. We are delighted to be working with talkbackTHAMES, along with some of the UK’s most exciting comedy talent.”

    FID is also distributing another of Ash Atalla’s creations, Man Stroke Woman, which launched on the UK’s BBC3 in November 2005. The series, which aired throughout November and December, achieved market shares up to 73 per cent above the channel’s average for the timeslot, and up to 114 per cent above the primetime average for viewers aged 16 to 34.

    The show is now set to make the move to terrestrial, and will settle into its new home on BBC2 at the end of February.

  • World Congress of History Producers to be held in Rome

    World Congress of History Producers to be held in Rome

    MUMBAI: Some of the world’s leading television program commissioners will meet face-to-face with delegates, network at round-table lunches, and provide critical insight at broadcaster briefing sessions throughout the 2005 World Congress of History Producers in Rome from 1 December to 4 December 2005.

    These face-to-face sessions, decision making lunches, and broadcaster briefings will bring World Congress delegates together with such notable program commissioners as National Geographic Channel’s senior vice president of production, Michael Cascio; UK’s head of acquisitions & development, Fremantle International Distribution, Shane Murphy; Australian Broadcasting Corporation commissioning editor, Stuart Menzies; The History Channel UK’s head of co-productions & acquisitions, Louise Dillon; RTI SpA – Mediaset Group, head of programme acquisitions, Daniela Bagliani; Tom Koch, director, WGBH International; Michael Katz, vice president, Programming & Production, AETN International, The History Channel USA; and Kristina Hollstein, director, Documentary Co-production, ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Germany, states an official release.

    “This represents an extraordinary opportunity for producers to meet face-to-face with global leaders in history and biography programming,” said the event’s, executive producer, Craig Thompson. “The World Congress of History Producers is dedicated to serving its constituency with relevant and beneficial services, and we are honoured to have such strong support from the broadcasting community.”

    Additional highlights of this year’s History Congress include: Genre Confusion; The Blurring Boundaries of History Programming where panellists will debate and discuss the blending of documentary genres including science, history, current affairs and drama; Tapping into New Markets, a look at connecting the media with the global community as a source for new stories and expanding markets; and The Ethics of Access: Getting Organizations to Open Up, where a panel of experts, including members from Opus Dei, will discuss the challenges and consequences of permitting media access to the internal structures of private organizations.

    The World Congress of History Producers is produced annually by Achilles Media, with the support of the top international players in history and biography programming. The Board of Directors, Editorial Committee and Advisory Council for the History Congress are international in scope and represent the crème de la crème of producers and broadcasters in the genre. Host Broadcaster of the 2005 event is RAI Educational, the release adds. For complete details and to register go to www.history2005.com.