‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Producer The Garden Details How It Is Expanding Its Fixed Rig Expertise To More Genres Following Success Of Netflix Gameshow
23.01.2024 - 11:03
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: The co-producer of Squid Game: The Challenge is bringing its fixed rig expertise to more genres following the success of the Netflix smash, and has promoted three execs to help with the push.
Prolific British unscripted outfit The Garden has nurtured a reputation over the past decade for a string of hit fixed rig shows for broadcasters such as 24 Hours In Police Custody and 24 Hours in A&E, but has recently turned to more formatted fare including the Squid Game gameshow and Channel 4‘s Alone, a UK version of the History hit.
CEO John Hay, who has taken sole charge from Magnus Temple and Nicola Hill, said the reshaping of the outfit’s strategy has been a long time coming, and there are plans to move the dial further.
“Everything in TV takes forever,” he told Deadline. “We have been pushing this [slate expansion] boulder for four to five years and it’s finally started to roll.”
Beyond Squid Game and Alone, Hay said his team is also expanding slate to other genres, pointing to premium documentary series such as the BBC’s Our Falklands War and an upcoming feature-length on the miners’ strike.
“We are evolving from being a company best known for domestic fixed rig shows to being a company that still has fixed rig at its heart but is taking something we’ve learned from that and applying it across a wider range of genres,” said Hay.
The Garden has two soon-to-be-revealed greenlights for streamers that tap into this DNA, Hay revealed, as he cautiously welcomed a “good moment” for the ITV Studios-owned company amidst a tricky time for the UK TV industry.
A trio of The Garden promotions will solidify the new strategy, with Lucie Duxbury becoming Head of Programmes, Spencer Kelly taking on Director of Factual and 24